Sevilla van de Berghoeve Z on the World Cup podium in Tétouan

Last weekend, at the Jumenterie de la Garde Royale in Tétouan, the starting signal was given for a new edition of the Morocco Royal Tour. For three weeks, a host of top riders and horses will be competing against one another in Morocco, giving their very best. The opening week certainly got off to an excellent start for our blue and yellow colours, with a podium finish at the CSI4* World Cup as the icing on the cake.

The World Cup event in Tétouan was the opening round of the Arab League – North African Sub-League and saw a total of forty-two rider-horse pairs take to the course on Sunday afternoon. French course designer Grégory Bodo and his team had mapped out a fine course for this season opener, with the best eleven pairs qualifying for the second round. One of those eleven contenders was the Irish rider Niamh McEvoy and the 9-year-old mare Sevilla van de Berghoeve Z, a daughter of Stakkato Gold and Diamant de Semilly, bred by Paul van den Bosch. McEvoy and Sevilla van de Berghoeve Z had already demonstrated their fine form on Saturday with a resounding victory in the 1.45m class and once again secured a top placing in this World Cup. After a clear first round, they also managed to complete the decisive second round successfully and, with a finishing time of 42.49 seconds, ultimately secured a fine^third place.

Before the start of this World Cup, a 1.45m class was also held for the riders competing in the four-star competition, in which several Z-horses also put in strong performances. One of those horses was the 9-year-old gelding Danny Boy 111 Z, a son of Dominator 2000 Z and Chopin van het Moleneind, bred by the Theeuwes family of Stud 111. Under the saddle of Dutch rider Finn Boerekamp, Danny Boy 111 Z made it through to the ‘Winning Round’, where the pair secured^5th place.

However, Danny Boy 111 Z was not the only horse bred by the Theeuwes family to feature in this morning’s class. Swiss rider Edouard Schmitz also featured near the top of the rankings with the 10-year-old gelding Dillen 111 Z, a son of De Flor 111 Z and Clovis. Schmitz and Dillen 111 Z, who had already secured^7th place in the 1.40m class on Friday, finished just behind Boerekamp and Danny Boy 111 Z in^6th place.

Furthermore, in the four-star competition, two placings were also secured by the French rider Alix Ragot and the 9-year-old mare Serafina Dbh Z, a daughter of Stakkato Gold and Ramiro Z, bred by De Bruyn. They made their debut on Friday with a^5th place in the 1.40m class, before securing a^7th place on Saturday in the 1.50m main class.

In Saturday’s 1.45m class, German rider Marie Ligges made it into the top five of the rankings with the 9-year-old stallion Chellci Orange Z, a breeding product of Patrick De Roeck that combined the bloodlines of Cicero Z van Paemel with those of Chellano Z. After a strong round, they finished in^4th place.

Another^fourth place went to local rider Amine Lyazidi with the 10-year-old stallion Ensor van Spalbeek Z (Elvis Ter Putte x Contender), who was bred by Frans Liefsoens. They achieved this^fourth place in the 1.40m class on Friday following two clear rounds.

Finally, Belgian rider Thomas De Wit secured another podium finish with his 11-year-old home-bred horse Ecuador DW Z, a son of El Torreo de Muze and Quasimodo van de Molendreef. They got off to an excellent start to their competition on Thursday with a^third place in the 1.40m class.