Elfra Van Beek Z now also impresses in Shanghai

It had been over a month since in sunny Mexico City, but over the past few days there was once again some vigorous show jumping in the Longines Global Champions Tour. For this third leg of the season, the caravan of Jan Tops and his team headed to the state-of-the-art Shanghai Juss International Equestrian Centre as they did last year, with several Z-horses once again giving their best.

The most eye-catching name in this was that of the 11-year-old black stallion Elfra Van Beek Z, a son of El Salvador and Vagabond de la Pomme from the breeding farm of Guido Herrijgers. Elfra Van Beek Z has now been one of Belgian Champion Gilles Thomas' top horses for several years and after their good performance in Mexico City, the successful duo had another particularly strong competition in Shanghai. For example, on Friday during the opening day they had an important share in the^2nd place of the Valkenswaard United team with a flawless performance in the first round of the Global Champions League.

But individually too, it was another successful weekend for Thomas and his black pearl with a podium place in the 1.50m main class on Saturday evening. In a jump-off for which seventeen combinations managed to qualify, they again kept all the rails neatly in the reels and their finishing time of 40.65 seconds earned them a^2nd place in the final ranking.

Also in this 1.50m class, Thomas' compatriot Thibeau Spits came out strongly with the 9-year-old stallion Conrad Quality Z, a son of Connor and Corrado I who was born and raised at the home of Koen Terryn of Quality Stud. Spits and Conrad Quality Z, who were also good for ^9th place in the 1.45m class earlier on Saturday, also held it clear twice and their finishing time of 41.95 seconds entitled them to ^5th place.

Also among the prize winners were Belgian rider Wilm Vermeir with the 10-year-old stallion Top Invest 313 Z (Thunder van de Zuuthoeve x Concorde - B: Wilm Vermeir and Karolien Bongaerts) and Brazilian rider Luiz Felipe Neto de Azevedo with the 12-year-old grey gelding Pandora Boy Z (Presley Boy x Latano I - B: Luc Heye). They finished ^7th and ^8th respectively in the standings after clear barrage rounds.

During the first round of the Global Champions League on Friday, fast Luxembourger Victor Bettendorf managed to secure another individual podium place with the 14-year-old mare Cancun Torel Z, a daughter of Cosinhus and Grannus bred in France by François-Xavier Guyard, with whom Bettendorf managed to win classes in Valencia and Paris in recent months. Bettendorf and Cancun Torel Z did not make any mistakes in this 1.55m class against the clock and their finishing time of 71.22 seconds earned them ^3rd place in the rankings. Mexican rider Carlos Hank Guerreiro with the 11-year-old gelding H5 Porthos Maestro Wh Z (Picasso Z x Ogano Sitte - B: Frank Fory & Christophe Wouters) and Brazilian Marlon Modolo Zanotelli with the 9-year-old mare Scala du Piedroux Z (Silver Deux de Virton HDC x Crown Z - B: Martin Pierrine) then shared ^6th place in this class. Both combinations managed to finish in 76.20 seconds after a clear round.

Last but not least, Italian rider Lorenzo de Luca also managed to finish twice with the 12-year-old black mare Promise Z, a daughter of Gestion Priamus Z and Graf Grannus bred in Sweden by Jonna Sundblad & CSE AB. They gained ^10th place in the 1.45m class on Saturday and on Sunday morning they closed their competition with ^7th place in the 1.50m speed class.