23 March '26
Impress-K van 't Kattenheye Z confirms his good form in Paris
© Sportfot
A week after their superb2nd place in the Rolex Grand Prix of 's Hertogenbosch, Belgian rider Thibeau Spits and his black pearl Impress-K van 't Kattenheye Z confirmed their class yet again last weekend! Just like many other top combinations, Spits and Impress-K van 't Kattenheye Z appeared at the start of the exclusive five-star Saut Hermès competition in Paris over the past few days, where they once again delivered a cracking performance in the CSI5* Grand Prix.
Under the glass dome of the magnificent Grand Palais, it was once again looking forward to the five-star Saut Hermès competition last weekend. For three days in the French capital, absolute top-class sport could be enjoyed in a historic setting. The CSI5* Grand Prix Hermès on Sunday afternoon was the absolute highlight of the weekend in this respect, which brought a total of 50 combinations to the start. Course designers Santiago Varela and Grégory Bodo had mapped out a tough course for this Grand Prix, with the line from 10AB to 11AB in particular providing quite a challenge. This meant that in the end only six combinations managed to secure a place in the jump-off. So one of those six was Thibeau Spits and his 11-year-old stallion Impress-K van 't Kattenheye Z, the son of Indoktro-K van 't Kattenheye and Vagabond de la Pomme bred by Tony Raman and Mieke Strobbe. As the last combination to start, they made an attempt to match or even surpass their performance from the week before, but when the first element of the double jump went down they decided to slow down a bit. They continued their jump-off and thus secured 5th place.
Also in this CSI5* Grand Prix, Spits' compatriot Gilles Thomas provided a nice result with the 11-year-old grey stallion Chuck Marienshof Z, the son of Colestus and Emerald van 't Ruytershof out of the breeding of Sandra Ecker of Stal Marienshof. Thomas and Chuck Marienshof Z, who had already clinched 6th place in the 1.55m main class on Saturday, saw a fault in the first round, but a fast finishing time meant they eventually just made it into the top ten of the standings.
However, there were also some blue and yellow victories in Paris and one of them was for home rider Mathieu Billot and the 9-year-old mare Cosacara Z, a daughter of Cornet Obolensky and Sandro Boy bred in Germany by Darja Fortströer. Billot and Cosacara Z shone on Saturday afternoon, when they became the overall winners of the 1.50m class. In a class against the clock, they sped to the finish line in 59.32 seconds, putting them just under a second and a half ahead of the competition. On the final day on Sunday, they also confirmed this performance with a 6th place in another 1.50m class.
A second victory then came in the name of Dutch rider Willem Greve and the 11-year-old mare Candy Luck Z, the breeding product of Dirk Geerinckx who combined the blood of Comme Il Faut with that of Canturo. Greve and Candy Luck Z had an excellent start to their competition on Friday morning, becoming the winners of the 1.45m opening class. In both the1st and2nd phases, they did not make a mistake and with a finishing time of 31.84 seconds, they outclassed the competition. On Saturday afternoon, Greve and Candy Luck Z also jumped into the picture again, when they claimed 5th place in the 1.55m main class.
With two top 10 placings, it was also a successful competition for Greve's compatriot Harrie Smolders and the 9-year-old gelding Estrello Eh Z (Emerald van 't Ruytershof x Graf Top) from the breeding farm of the Verlooy family. Smolders and Estrello Eh Z made a first appearance on Saturday with an 8th place in the 1.50m Accumulator class, while on Sunday they jumped to a 9th place in the 1.50m class.
In addition to all that five-star action, Paris also had room for upcoming talents once again with a genuine CSIU25 competition. In this, reigning Belgian Young Riders champion Mathieu Guery had a strong competition with the 10-year-old gelding Time-Breaker S Z (Toulon x Calvados - breeder: P. Sleutels). So Guery and Time-Breaker S Z got off to a flying start on Friday, becoming the overall winners of the 1.40m opening class. After a double clear round, they crossed the finish line in 33.75 seconds in the2nd phase, over a quarter of a second ahead of their closest pursuer. In the 1.45m class on Saturday, Guery and Time Breaker S Z were also once again on target with a place on the podium. A clear jump-off in 35.47 seconds earned them2nd place in the standings.
Finally, a second Z-horse managed to shine during the classes of the CSIU25 competition thanks to Swiss rider Léon Pieyre and the 15-year-old mare Verona V Z (Verdi TN x Cumano - breeder: Antoine & Stefaan Vermeire). They were good for 5th place in the opening class on Friday, while they signed for 3rd place in the 1.45m class on Saturday.