Kayenne Z grabs the lead in Thermal's World Cup

No World Cup action on European soil last weekend, but on the other side of the Atlantic, the North American League did once again compete for the coveted points. At Thermal's Desert International Horse Park in California, the fifth stage of the season was scheduled and it turned out to be an absolute success story for our blue and yellow colours. After a thrilling jump-off, it was the current number 1 in the Z-ranking, Kayenne Z, who completely took the lead.

Fully packed grandstands, an enthusiastic audience and above all absolute top-class sport were the ingredients for a particularly exciting World Cup stage at the Desert International Horse Park on Saturday evening. Like the week before, it was Irish course designers Alan Wade and Colm Quinn who were responsible for designing the course and they had once again produced a dazzling display. A total of twenty-eight combinations ventured their chance in the 1.60m high base course, eight of which managed to keep their cool and thus qualify for the jump-off. Among them were American rider Kyle King and the 11-year-old mare Kayenne Z, a daughter of Kannan and Canezaro bred by Kristof Engelen. King and Kayenne Z re-entered the ring in the jump-off as the fifth combination and produced a masterful performance. They again kept all the rails neatly in the scoops and with a finishing time of 36.46 seconds they not only wrote their very first World Cup on their record, but also their very first five-star victory!

Kyle King: "This horse means everything to me... She has enabled me to do things I have wanted to do my whole career. I've been waiting for a horse like this. So I feel really lucky. She came my way and luckily I had someone to support me to see where we could go."

For breeder Kristof Engelen, the competition in Thermal also became even more special, as in addition to Kayenne Z's Word Cup victory, her eldest son Boeff van de Molen Z (Bamako de Muze x Kannan) also jumped into the limelight at the Desert International Horse Park. Saddled by American rider Tali Dejong, the 8-year-old gelding competed in the two-star competition, resulting in ^10th place in the 1.40m class on Wednesday.

Besides Kyle King and Kayenne Z, his compatriot Kent Farrington and the 12-year-old top mare Toulayna (ex Toulayna van het Bloesemhof Z - Toulon x Parco) also managed to qualify for the jump-off at the World Cup. The current world number 1 and the breeding product of Jasper Doucé were the very last combination at the start to reach the finish line in 36.51 seconds, where a mistake on the way eventually pushed them to ^6th place in the standings.

During the opening day on Wednesday, we also enjoyed a blue/yellow victory in Thermal thanks to Irish rider James Shawke and his also 12-year-old mare Daido van 't Ruytershof Z, a daughter of our stallion Dieu Merci Van T&L Z and Bamako de Muze bred by Bert van den Branden of Stal 't Ruytershof. Shawke and Daido van 't Ruytershof Z, who already jumped an impressive record in the past year, were the winners of the 1.45m opening class, in which they were more than two and a half seconds ahead of their closest pursuer with a whirlwind round in 61.78 seconds.

James Shawke: "I am extremely happy with this first CSI5* victory. I thought the course was very good, but Alan (Wade) always builds good courses. I actually didn't find it that easy: all the lines were kind of the same, everyone had to ride more or less the same number of canter passes. So it came down to going through the corners as fast as possible, but Daido is a very fast horse. She is also very careful and combative, but is definitely temperamental. She has a bit of her own will."