Double gold for Chuck Marienshof Z in Shanghai

After the stages in Miami Beach and Mexico City, the Longines Global Champions Tour was once again competing in the past few days. For this third heat of the season, the truck headed to China and more specifically to the beautiful Shanghai Juss International Equestrian Centre. It turned out to be a fantastic weekend for Belgian rider Gilles Thomas and grey gelding Chuck Marienshof Z, who did two resounding victories throughout the weekend.

During the opening day on Friday, the main focus in Shanghai was on the team competition of the Global Champions League, but in addition to that, there was also an individual Grand Prix Qualifier on the programme. In this, it was former Belgian Champion Gilles Thomas who came out on top with the 11-year-old gelding Chuck Marienshof Z, the son of Colestus and Emerald van 't Ruytershof bred by Sandra Ecker of Stal Marienshof. In this 1.60m class against the clock, Thomas and Chuck Marienshof nicely kept all the rails in the scoops and with a finishing time of 62.96 seconds, they were more than a full second ahead of the competition.

It did not stop at this one victory, however, as a day later Thomas and Chuck Marienshof Z managed to repeat their brilliant performance. In the 1.50m Small Grand Prix they stayed clear in the first round, making them one of sixteen combinations to qualify for the jump-off. There they again showed their class, as they managed to outshine the competition again with a great round in 36.91 seconds.

Furthermore, Christian Ahlmann also signed a presence in Shanghai in the past few days and, among others, provided two strong performances with our 9-year-old stallion Applebridge Tag Z, the son of Aganix du Seigneur Z and VDL Corland bred by Evert and Ilse van Gorp. Ahlmann and Applebridge Z started their show on Thursday with a nice ^4th place during the individual Grand Prix Qualifier, but also immediately made themselves noticed during their very first LGCT Grand Prix. Indeed, in a jump-off for which no fewer than 19 combinations qualified, they secured ^6th place.

In the second and decisive round of the Global Champions League on Friday, the individual classification was won by Swedish rider Peder Fredricson and his 12-year-old chestnut stallion SV Vroom de la Pomme Z, a son of Vigo d'Arsouilles and Untouchable bred by Geert Baertsoen. In this class against the clock, the former European Champion and SV Vroom de la Pomme Z sped to the finish in 68.40 seconds, confirming excellent form from the past few weeks.

Finally, Christian Ahlmann also jumped into the limelight with the 10-year-old gelding Vivario JL Z, a breeding product of Luc and Jules Leemans who then combined the blood of Vigo d'Arsouilles with that of Heartbreaker. Indeed, during the second round of the Global Champions League, they took ^5th place after a clear round in 71.22 seconds.