New Grand Prix victory for Aganix du Seigneur Z son VDL Mindset ES

Exactly a month after their victory in the CSI3* Grand Prix of Herning, Dutch rider Hessel Hoekstra and his Aganix du Seigneur Z son VDL Mindset ES have added another Grand Prix victory to their record! The successful duo appeared at the start of the past few days at the Peelbergen Equestrian Centre of Kronenberg in the Netherlands, where they convincingly became the final laureates of the CSI2* Grand Prix on Saturday afternoon.

The second week of the showjumping tour in Kronenberg again had a well-filled programme, with the CSI2* Grand Prix the highlight of the weekend. No fewer than eighty combinations made their appearance in the ring in this, and of these, eleven managed to finish the 1.45m basic round ridden by Bart Vonck and his team. After an exciting jump-off, the top prize went to Hessel Hoekstra and his 9-year-old stallion VDL Mindset ES, a son of Aganix du Seigneur Z and Kannan bred by Egbert Schep. Hoekstra and VDL Mindset ES made for a whirlwind round of the barrage, as their finishing time of 34.03 seconds put them more than two full seconds ahead of the competition.

The bronze in this Grand Prix was for his compatriot Frank Schuttert and the 11-year-old gelding Luckey SR Z, a son of l'Arc de Triomphe and Quick Star bred by E. and MJ Keys of Keystud. Schuttert and Luckey SR Z also provided a clear jump-off, but with a time of 37.74 seconds they clearly had to acknowledge their superiority to the performance of Hoekstra and VDL Mindset ES. Furthermore, Thijmen Vos also made it to the top of the leaderboard with the also 11-year-old gelding Cadillac Z (Carrera VDL x Quasimodo Vd Molendreef - breeder: G. Weggemans). They finished in 39.63 seconds after a clear round, which in turn entitled them to ^5th place.

At the Milestone Farm Arena, however, the final day in Kronenberg started with the 1.40m Small Tour and in it, too, a Z-horse managed to secure a podium place. Indeed, silver was up for Brazilian rider Thiago Ribas Da Costa and the 13-year-old chestnut mare Catharina W&W Z (Centurio 22 x Griseldi), from the breeding farm of Wilfried Rutten. In both the^1st and^2nd phases, Ribas Da Costa and Catharina W&W Z kept it nicely clear and with a time of 26.59 seconds they secured^2nd place. ^4th place in this morning class was for Frank Schuttert with the 9-year-old mare Balou de Regor DM Z (Balou du Rouet x Kannan - breeder: Christiaan van de Plasse). They managed to stop the clock in 27.19 seconds in the^2nd phase, finishing just next to the podium.

With three strong performances, it was also a successful weekend in Kronenberg for Dutchman Pim Mulder and the also 9-year-old stallion Diamond Z (Diamant de Semilly x Breitling LS), who was born to breeder Freek Hoogenboom. After already finishing ^11th on Thursday during the opening day, Mulder and Diamond Z secured a top-3 ranking in the 1.40m class on Friday. With a double clear round they jumped to a great^2nd place. During the final day on Saturday, they confirmed their good form with a ^6th place during the 1.40m Small Tour.

There were also two top 10 placings for Italian rider Lorenzo de Luca and the 13-year-old mare Noblesse vd Mespel Z (Nabab de Rêve x Escudo I - breeder: Bart Veldeman). They started their competition on Thursday with ^8th place during the 1.40m class, while on Saturday they did just a little better during the 1.45m Medium Tour final, taking ^7th place.

Finally the German Tom Schewe also managed to jump to a podium ranking with the 10-year-old grey stallion Caidinus Pp Z (Cicero Z van Paemel x Toulon - breeder: Stal Poppelaars BV). During the 1.45m Medium Tour on Friday they kept it neatly clear twice, with a ^3rd place as final result.