New win for Landon de Nyze

While Europe enjoyed five-star action at Fontainebleau in France last weekend, the past few days also saw another round of top-level competition on US soil. The setting this time was the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, which hosted the eighth leg of Major League Show Jumping. It turned out to be another good weekend for Mark Bluman and Landon de Nyze, who secured another victory after their performances in recent months.

The five-star competition in Lexington started on Thursday with a 1.50m Grand Prix Qualifier and in it we immediately enjoyed a blue/yellow victory. Indeed, the leading role was reserved for Colombian rider Mark Bluman and the 13-year-old gelding Landon de Nyze, the son of Comilfo Plus Z and Quadrillo who was born Crack de Nyze Z at breeder Danny Nijs. Bluman and Landon de Nyze stayed clear in the basic round and were thus among the 14 combinations that qualified for the jump-off. In it, they managed to keep zero on the scoreboard again and with a finishing time of 38.38 seconds, they were more than a full second ahead of the competition.

But ^3rd place in this opening class was also taken by a Z-horse thanks to reigning Olympic Champion Christian Kukuk and the 10-year-old gelding Akarad Tivoli Z, a son of our new asset Akarad Hero Z and Landwind II B bred in the Netherlands by the Zwartjens family. Kukuk and Akarad Tivoli Z also provided a clear jump-off, but needed 43.02 seconds to complete their round. During the final day on Saturday, they confirmed this performance by claiming another ^7th place in the 1.45m class.

Besides Mark Bluman's victory, his nephew Daniel also managed to jump into the limelight in Lexington. Indeed, during the 1.50m class on Friday, he secured a podium finish with the 12-year-old gelding Hummer Z, the son of Harley VDL and Hemmingway born in the Netherlands to P.H.A.E. Bocken. In a class against the clock, they crossed the finish line in 66.19 seconds, giving them final^2nd place in the rankings.

Finally, in the CSI5* Grand Prix on Saturday evening, American rider Charlotte Murray just made it into the top 10 of the rankings with the 13-year-old gelding Magnum Z (HH Messenger x Diarado - breeder: Erik Verbist). They did manage to keep all the poles in the rails, but one point for time unfortunately kept them out of the jump-off and meant she had to settle for ^9th place.