Silver for Verdini d'Houtveld Z in the CSI5* Grand Prix at Coapexpan

Following last week’s CSI4* World Cup in Puebla, another major international show was on the programme last weekend in beautiful Mexico. This time, the international show jumping community headed to Club Hípico Coapexpan, where a five-star show took place. There, too, our blue and yellow colours were well represented, culminating in a podium finish for a Z-class horse in the CSI5* Grand Prix.

Unlike most other five-star competitions last weekend, the CSI5* Grand Prix in Coapexpan took place on Saturday, with a total of twenty-one riders and horses taking to the arena. Four of them managed to complete a clear round in the first round, thereby securing a place in the decisive jump-off. One of those four riders in the jump-off was the Australian rider Lauren Balcomb and her 15-year-old ‘partner in crime’ Verdini d’Houtveld Z, the gelding by Verdi TN and Caretino, bred by Xavier Van Meckenbeke. Balcomb and Verdini d’Houtveld Z had already demonstrated their class earlier in the week with a^4th place in the 1.45m class on Wednesday and a^2nd place in the Grand Prix Qualifier on Thursday, and so they also delivered a stunning performance in this Grand Prix. Following their clear round in the first round, the pair also managed to keep their cool in the jump-off and, with a finishing time of 50.25 seconds, secured a fantastic^second place.

Also in this five-star Grand Prix, Balcomb’s partner Sharn Wordley once again achieved a fine result with his 12-year-old gelding Brin d’Or de Haute Melen Z, a son of Bamako de Muze and Baloubet du Rouet, bred by Georges Trulemans. Wordley and Brin d’Or de Haute Melen Z, who had won the CSI4* World Cup in Puebla just last week, also qualified for the jump-off, where they ultimately secured^4th place.

With three top-10 placings, the competition in Coapexpan was also a particularly successful one for local rider Alejandro Leonardo Winkler and the 9-year-old stallion D Monator Z, a son of our stallion Dominator 2000 Z and SIEC Vigaro, who was bred in the Netherlands by De Radstake BV. They began their competition on Wednesday with an^8th place in the 1.45m class, followed in the days that followed by a^4th place in the 1.50m class on Friday and a^2nd place in the same class on Sunday.

As well as the five-star competition, there were also two-star events held at Coapexpan, in which there were even two blue-and-yellow victories. One of those victories was secured by the Mexican rider Fernando Parroquin Delfin and the 10-year-old mare Escudero SDN, a daughter of Mr. Blue and Baloubet du Rouet who was born in the Netherlands at VDL Stud as M. Ladoklahoma VDL Z. On Thursday, Parroquin Delfin and Escudero SDN were crowned winners of the 1.40m class, where their clear round in 63.49 seconds gave them a lead of well over a full second over the competition.

The second Z-class victory of the weekend went to the Argentine rider Rodrigo Seoane and the 10-year-old mare Canadian Girl Z, a breeding product of J.A. Weggemans that combined the bloodlines of Carrera VDL with those of Quasimodo vd Molendreef. They made their mark on Wednesday, the opening day, when they jumped to victory in the 1.35m class. On Saturday, they further confirmed this performance by securing^second place in yet another 1.35m class.

Another standout combination was Seoane’s compatriot Juan Bautista Pidutti Hortas and the 9-year-old stallion Champion de Bo Z, a son of Comme Il Faut and Coupe de Coeur from the stud of Philippe Bormans. They made their debut on Thursday with an^8th place in the 1.40m class, but really hit their stride in the 1.45m class on Friday. There, after two clear rounds, they clinched^2nd place.

Last but not least, there were also two Z-class horses that managed to secure^5th place at Coapexpan. For the Colombian rider Ignacio Barreiro and the 10-year-old stallion Almiro Z (Air Jordan Z x Chellano Z – breeder: Paul Serneels) this came in the 1.40m class on Thursday, whilst the Irish rider Conor Swail and the equally 10-year-old gelding Vago Chin vt Willebeke Z (Vagabond de la Pomme x Chin Chin – breeder: Karel Decneudt) secured a top-five finish in the 1.40m class on Wednesday.