09 March '26
Second top ranking in a row for Bisquetta
© Sportfot
After last week's four-star Nations Cup, there was another five-star level of show jumping at Wellington International last weekend, which was now in its ninth week of the famous Winter Equestrian Festival. The $500,000 Bainbridge Companies CSI5* Grand Prix on Saturday evening was, of course, the absolute highlight of the weekend, and in it Laura Kraut and her top mare Bisquetta once again played a starring role.
Saturday evening is traditionally Grand Prix-time in Wellington and the numerous spectators who turned up were once again treated to a particularly exciting event. Just under forty combinations filled the starting list of this CSI5* Grand prix and, of those, nine managed to complete the 1.60m high basic round run by Olympic course designer Alan Wade and his team. One of those nine contenders for a win were home rider Laura Kraut and her 12-year-old mare Bisquetta, the daughter of Bisquet Balou van de Mispelaere and Takashi van Berkenbroeck who was born to breeder Claire McCarthy-Winters as Bisquetta Squalls Estate Z. Kraut and Bisquetta achieved a brilliant 3rd place at the CSI4* Grand Prix of Ocala just last week and effortlessly pulled off that good form. The successful duo rushed to the finish line in 42.91 seconds in the jump-off and with a nice 4th place they thus had a top ranking in a Grand Prix for the second week in a row.
However, there was also a blue/yellow victory in Wellington over the past few days thanks to Irish rider Darragh Kenny and the 13-year-old grey stallion Cosmos BH, a son of Chellano Alpha Z and Artos Z who was born Cosmos Z at our stud farm Zangersheide. Kenny and Cosmos BH immediately got off to an excellent start to their competition week on Wednesday, finishing in the 1.45m main class. In both the1st and2nd phases, they neatly kept all the bars in the scoops and with a time of 29.74 seconds they took a lead of just under half a second over the competition. On Sunday during the final day, they also jumped into the prizes again with 10th place in the 1.50m class.
On Wednesday, however, Wellington's five-star competition started with a 1.40m high speed class and in it, too, a Z-horse managed to distinguish itself with a place on the podium. For that, Brazilian rider Stephanie Macieira and the 9-year-old mare Kantella Van 't Merelsnest Z (Kannan x Plot Blue) from the Van Bunder family's breeding farm took care of that. Macieira and Kantella Van 't Merelsnest Z crossed the finish line in 46.78 seconds after a flawless round, securing2nd place in the standings. Mexican rider Carlos Hank Guerreiro and the 10-year-old mare H5 Kay's Pleasure Hero Z (Kassander van 't Roosakker Z x For Pleasure - breeder: Luc Henry) then drew 7th place in this class.
A few weeks after their victory in the World Cup of Ocala, it was another successful weekend for American rider Mimi Gochman and her 11-year-old grey gelding Iron Maiden, a son of Clarimo ASK and Kashmir van Schuttershof who was given the birth name Cadans van de Ijzervallei Z by breeder Titus Vereecke. Gochman and Iron Maiden jumped into the picture especially on Thursday when they claimed a podium place at the 1.55m WEF Challenge Cup. In a jump-off for which eight combinations qualified, they crossed the finish line in 37.89 seconds, giving them 3rd place in the rankings. In the 1.50m class on Sunday, they rounded off their competition week in 9th place.
That 1.50m class on Sunday also saw Israeli rider Daniel Bluman make his presence felt with the 12-year-old gelding Hummer Z (Harley VDL x Hemmingway), bred by the Bocken family in the Netherlands. In both the first and the second and decisive round, Bluman and Hummer Z provided a clear performance, finishing in 4th place.
Finally, there was also a 4th place for Brazilian rider Felipe Amarel and the 9-year-old stallion Agusto Van Het Harlingvliet Z (Aganix du Seigneur Z x Lux Z - breeder: A. Schutten & A. Hoekstra). They achieved this 4th place in the 1.45m class on Friday, also without any faults.