Electro vd Kromsteeg Z takes bronze in the CSI2* Grand Prix of Ghlin

Last weekend the Hippodrome Wallonie in Mons was the setting for another edition of Jump In Wallonie Ghlin, which saw jumping at two-star level from Thursday to Sunday. Throughout the weekend, quite a few Z-horses managed to provide fine performances and also at the concluding CSI2* Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon a Z-horse shone with a place on the Grand Prix podium.

The 1.45m CSI2* Grand Prix was the closing round of the international weekend in Ghlin on Sunday afternoon and brought a total of forty-six combinations to the start. Eight of them managed to complete the basic round by French course designer Jean-François Morand and his team to secure a place for the decisive jump-off. One of those eight barragists was Belgian rider Georges Trulemans and the 11-year-old grey gelding Electro Vd Kromsteeg Z, a son of Emerald van 't Ruytershof and Der Senaat 111 bred by Ann Van Putte. Trulemans and Electro Vd Kromsteeg Z, who have only recently formed a combination and also shone the day before with a ^7th place in the 1.40m class, also managed to keep their cool in the jump-off and keep zero on the scoreboard. In doing so, they crossed the finish line in 47.47 seconds and this performance secured them a brilliant ^3rd place.

Earlier on Sunday, a 1.40m class was also scheduled in Ghlin for the two-star competition and in it, victory coloured blue and yellow. It was Brazilian rider Bernardo Alves who jumped to victory with the 13-year-old chestnut mare Vigo's Flip de Muze Z, who, as her name already suggested, was bred by Joris De Brabander. Vigo's Flip de Muze Z is a daughter of Vigo d'Arsouilles out of the legendary mare H&M Butterfly Flip (Robin I Z), the former Grand Prix mare of Swedish rider Malin Baryard-Johnsson. In both the^1st and^2nd phases, Alves and Vigo's Flip de Muze Z did not show any faults and a sharp finishing time of 40.59 seconds extended the duo's record a little more.

Also in this class, Kuwaiti rider Abdullah Al Awadhi was one of the prize winners with the 10-year-old stallion D-Day van de Keihoeve Z, a son of Sea Coast Don't Touch Tiji Hero and Quinar Z born to breeder Reinout Delagaye. Al Awadhi and D-Day van de Keihoeve Z, also good for a ^4th place in the 1.35m class on Friday, also made no mistake, but needed 43.44 seconds to finish their^2nd phase successfully.

On Saturday, the main class of the day was a 1.40m class with jump-off and here too we saw a Z-horse at the top of the leaderboard. It was Portuguese rider Rodrigo Giesteira Almeida who took the win with the 12-year-old stallion U2 Westleven Z, a son of Uto Kervec and Calypso III bred by Wim Onsia, with whom Giesteira Almeida also finished ^7th in the 1.35m class on Thursday. In a jump-off for which 12 combinations managed to qualify, Giesteira Almeida and U2 Westleven Z managed to keep all the bars in the scoops a second time and with a convincing finishing time of 41.23 seconds, they were just under two full seconds ahead of the rest of the field.

^4th place during this 1.40m class was reserved for American rider Kc van Aarem and the 8-year-old mare Elabeeleen V/H Vijverbos Z, a breeding product of Guido Vanhumbeeck who combined the blood of Excellent van de Zuuthoeve with that of Poor Boy. Kc van Aarem and Elabeeleen V/H Vijverbos Z crossed the finish line in 45.70 seconds in the jump-off. For them too, this was the second ranking of the weekend, after they also secured ^8th place in the 1.35m class on Friday. Belgian rider Jerry Van Damme finished ^6th in this class with his 8-year-old homebred gelding Vainqueur Z, a son of Vigo d'Arsouilles and Epleaser van 't Heike Z. After a clear jump-off they crossed the finish line in 45.94 seconds.

In the 1.45m Longines Ranking class on Friday, it was Belgian rider Yves Vanderhasselt who claimed the top prize with the 9-year-old mare Dogma Z, a daughter of the French stallions Diamant de Semilly and Flipper d'Elle born to breeder Filip Bombaert. In a class against the clock, Vanderhasselt and Dogma Z sped to the finishing line in 60.46 seconds, more than a full second ahead of the competition.

But ^3rd place was also taken by a Z-horse thanks to Belgian rider Arnaud Doem and the 10-year-old gelding Flying Heureka Z, a breeding product of J.J. Remijnse and Luc Henry who combined the blood of For Pleasure with that of Verdi TN. They too provided a strong round, stopping the clock in 62.70 seconds. Doem's compatriot Loris Berrittella and the 9-year-old gelding Kissinger Hero Z (Kassander van 't Roosakker Z x Albion du Chene Brule - Breeder: Luc Henry) then took ^5th place in this Longines Ranking Test. They finished in 64.98 seconds.

Finally, Belgian rider Celine Couvreur also had a nice competition with her 8-year-old mare Eat My Dust Edc Z, a daughter of our chestnut stallion Epleaser van 't Heike Z and Ugano Sitte. Couvreur and Philippe Lienard's breeding product started their competition on Thursday with a ^5th place in the 1.40m class and confirmed that performance on Saturday when they secured ^8th place in the 1.40m main class.