Iron Man now also shines in the Rolex Grand Prix of Rome

A week after the Longines Global Champions Tour of Madrid and the Royal Windsor Horse Show, there was another Nations Cup on the programme at five-star level last weekend with Rome's magnificent CSIO at Piazza di Sienna. On Sunday afternoon in the Italian capital, all eyes were naturally on the Rolex Grand Prix, in which there was another cracking performance by Irish rider Cian O'Connor and his grey gelding Iron Man.

The prestigious Rolex Grand Prix of Rome was built at a height of 1.60m and ran over two rounds, with the best 12 combinations from the first round qualifying for a second and, more importantly, decisive round. One of the combinations that managed to finish the first round successfully for Uliano Vezzani and his team were Cian O'Connor and his 12-year-old Iron Man, a son of Charisma Z and Mr. Blue who was born C-Iron Z in the Netherlands at Stoeterij Duysel's Hof. O'Connor and Iron Man already managed to shine in the Grand Prix of Ocala, Abu Dhabi and most recently Fontainebleau in recent months and that excellent form was once again confirmed in Rome. After their clear first round, the successful duo also managed to leave all obstacles untouched in the second round and their finishing time of 35.76 seconds earned them a fantastic^2nd place in the standings, just like in Ocala and Abu Dhabi.

Cian O'Connor: "Iron Man is really special. He has a big gallop and a big heart, but at the same time he is very sensitive to everything. I started riding him in September last year and it did take some time for us to get matched. In the beginning, it did not click immediately between us. Even early this year in Florida, we still had courses where we didn't quite understand each other. That's why I then switched back to smaller classes, such as 1.30m, and built him up again from there. Meanwhile, he has jumped double clear in six consecutive Grand Prix. He doesn't have that much experience against the clock yet and he is a very expressive jumper. He is maybe not as fast as some of the other horses because he really takes his time on the jump, but that is something we are working on."

However, O'Connor and Iron Man were not the only combination that managed to ensure blue/yellow success at this Rolex Grand Prix. There was also a strong performance from US rider Laura Kraut and her 11-year-old top mare Bisquetta, the daughter of Bisquet Balou C and Takashi Van Berkenbroeck who he gave her breeder Claire Mccarthy - Winters the birth name Bisquetta Squalls Estate Z . Kraut and Bisquetta even managed to provide the winning finishing time in 33.39 seconds in that decisive round, but a mistake on the way meant they had to settle for ^6th place finally.

Another notable combination in Rome were Italian rider Lorenzo de Luca and the 10-year-old mare Aphrodite Van Spalbeek Z, a daughter of Atomic Z and Flamenco de Semilly bred by Frans Liefsoens. De Luca and Aphrodite Van Spalbeek Z appeared twice in the competition ring over the weekend and both in the 1.45m opening class on Thursday and the 1.45m class on Saturday they secured^2nd place after a whirlwind round.

On Saturday, however, the main class of the day was a 1.55m class with jump-off and in it Italian rider Davide Vitale stood out with the 14-year-old stallion Earl Grey Z, a breeding product of Paul Schockemöhle, who here combined the blood of Elliot Van Ter Hulst with that of Sandro Boy. In a jump-off for which sixteen combinations managed to qualify, Vitale and Earl Grey Z once again kept all the bars in the scoops, finishing in ^4th place.

In addition to the CSIO5* competition, a CSIU25 competition also took place in Rome in the past few days and a Z-horse managed to impress in it too. That honour was reserved for Italian rider Martina Ferrari and the 13-year-old chestnut gelding Alonko Hero Z, a son of none other than Aganix du Seigneur Z combined with Andiamo Z. Ferrari and the breeding product of R. Van Kalmthout were already good for ^10th and ^3rd place respectively on Thursday and Friday, but experienced their highlight of the weekend during the CSIU25 Grand Prix on Sunday. Indeed, in a jump-off for which seven combinations managed to qualify, they were the only combination that managed to ensure another clear round, impressively adding this Grand Prix to their record of achievements.