Grand Prix victory for Top Invest 313 Z in Lier

Last weekend the world enjoyed a lot of international show jumping, but also in our own country there was something to enjoy and an international competition on the programme. The Azelhof at the home of the Hazebroek family in Lier was the setting for a real three-star competition. On Sunday during the final day, the CSI3* Grand Prix was there to watch out for and in it it was a Z-horse that claimed the leading role and took victory.

Sixty combinations filled the starting list on Sunday afternoon at this CSI3* Grand Prix, which ran over two rounds and included fences at a height of 1.50m. The best 15 from the first round qualified for the decisive round, in which tension was maintained until the end. In the end, it was Belgian rider Wilm Vermeir who claimed victory with his 10-year-old stallion Top Invest 313 Z, a son of Thunder van de Zuuthoeve and Concorde who was born and raised at the home of Wilm Vermeir and Karolien Bongaerts. After their clear first round, Vermeir and Top Invest 313 Z also succeeded in completing the second round and with a finishing time of 61.30 seconds they were a full second ahead of the competition.

On Sunday morning, however, the final day started with a 1.40m class, in which Vermeir's compatriot Gregory Wathelet secured a podium place with the 9-year-old stallion Special Cera du Maillet Z (Stakkato x Come ON - Breeder: Elevage Du Maillet). In a class against the clock, Wathelet and Special Cera du Maillet Z kept all the bars neatly in the reels and their finishing time of 65.51 seconds earned them ^3rd place in the rankings.

Besides the victory of Wilm Vermeir and Top Invest 313 Z in the CSI3* Grand Prix, there was a second blue/yellow victory in Lier. In the 1.35m class on Saturday, it was Colombian rider Santiago Diaz Ortega who was the strongest with the 10-year-old gelding Chasspleen Flamingo Z (Cardento VDL x Dollar du Murier - Breeder: Alexandra Rantet). Here, too, they jumped directly against the clock and with a finishing time of 56.22 seconds, Diaz Ortega and Chasspleen Flamingo Z were just under a full second ahead of the competition. Young Belgian rider Bart Jay Junior Vandecasteele and 10-year-old grey gelding Vamos de La Pomme d'Or Z (Vigo d'Arsouilles) secured another ^5th place in this class.

On Friday, the main class of the day was the 1.50m Longines Ranking Test and in this class too, some Z-horses managed to put their best foot forward. For example, a top-3 ranking was reserved for Dutch rider Thijmen Vos and the 10-year-old gelding Cadillac Z (Carrera VDL x Quasimodo vd Molendreef) from the breeding farm of G. Weggemans. Both in the basic round and the 15-strong jump-off, Vos and Cadillac Z managed to keep their cool and this result yielded a handsome ^3rd place. Belgian rider Leonie Peeters with the 11-year-old stallion Cameroon Eb Z (Kannan x Quantum - Breeder: LVP Stables) and Italian rider Filippo Tabarini with the 10-year-old stallion Creme de La Creme Z (Cornet Obolensky x Carthago Z - Breeder: Ryan Carmel) followed in ^5th and ^6th place respectively.

With two placings throughout the weekend, it was also a successful competition in Lier for British rider Jake Ward and the 15-year-old stallion Davinci Vd Bosrand Z (Diamant de Semilly x Carthago Z - Breeder: Andre Lissens). They immediately started their competition well on Thursday with a ^5th place during the 1.40m opening class and confirmed this performance a day later when they secured another ^6th place during another 1.40m class.

There were also two placings for Estonian rider Mia Marleen Lanno and our 9-year-old mare Activity Z (Aktion Pur Z x Cornet Obolensky - Breeder: ZG Dammann & Graf). In both the 1.40m class on Friday and the 1.45m Longines Ranking Test on Saturday, they managed to take ^8th place in the standings.

Finally, two Z-horses also jumped into the picture during the 1.45m main class on Thursday. There was a ^3rd place for Belgian rider Ugo Berrittella with the 9-year-old chestnut gelding Devino van 't Langeveld Z (Dayton Sitte x For Pleasure - Breeder Bert Thienpond) and a ^5th place for French rider Sarah Dhennin with the also 9-year-old gelding Milano du Jaolas Z (Mosito van het Hellehof x Miami de Semilly - Breeder: Jean Louis Schulthess).