Silver for Vivario JL Z in the Piazza di Siena

A week after the prestigious CHIO of Aachen, another big grass competition was on the programme last weekend with the magnificent CSIO of Rome on the Piazza di Siena. Christian Ahlmann also travelled to the Italian capital and managed to ensure another great result there.

One of the horses Ahlmann competed in Rome was the 11-year-old gelding Vivario JL Z, a son of Vigo d'Arsouilles and Heartbreaker from the breeding farm of Luc and Jules Leemans. Ahlmann and Vivario JL Z jumped into the limelight on Saturday morning with a podium finish in the 1.45m class. In this class directly on time they sped to the finish in 56.16 seconds, which earned them a great^2nd place in the standings.

There was also sporting success in Rome for the blood of our stallion Dieu Merci by T&L Z. Making sure of that was Saudi rider Khaled Abdulrahman Almobty and the 11-year-old mare Diana du Plevau Z (Dieu Merci by T&L Z x Kashmir van Schuttershof - breeder: Marc Palm), who managed two top 10 placings throughout the weekend. The duo made a first appearance on Friday with a 4th place in the 1.55m main class, but they also made it into the top 10 in the CSIO5* Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon. They were among the top 12 combinations who managed to advance to the second and decisive round, in which they claimed ^9th place overall.

There were also two placings for top Australian rider Edwina Tops-Alexander and the 11-year-old mare Caetlin Vd Heffinck Z (Chacco Blue x Cabrio van de Heffinck - breeder: Van De Heffinck BVBA). During both the 1.45m class on Friday and the 1.55m class on Saturday, Tops-Alexander and Caetlin Vd Heffinck Z did not have a fault, which earned them a ^6th place twice.

Then, in the 1.55m class on Friday, there was another podium finish for Frenchwoman Mégane Moissonnier and the 9-year-old gelding Kandoo Z (Kannan x Level Z), bred in the UK by Hilary Parren. The duo crossed the finish line in 68.64 seconds during this speed class, good for a handsome ^3rd place.

Finally, home rider Giacomo Casadei also made himself noticed with the 12-year-old grey mare Corradiena van 't Klein Asdonk Z (Cornet Obolensky x Andiamo Z - breeder: Eddy Thomas). They gained ^4th place in the 1.50m class on Thursday, also after a faultless performance.