Son of Kassander van ’t Roosakker Z shines in the CSIO5* Grand Prix in Rotterdam

Last weekend, the wonderful CHIO Rotterdam once again hosted a round of the Longines League of Nations, the prestigious Nations Cup circuit in which the world’s top ten show jumping nations compete against one another. Alongside the Nations Cup on Friday, the CSIO5* Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon was one of the absolute highlights of the weekend. In that closing class, the bloodline of our stallion Kassander van ’t Roosakker Z made a strong impression thanks to a superb performance by his son Picobello van ’t Roosakker.

Under a glorious summer sun and in front of packed stands, the Kralingse Bos was the setting for this CSIO5* Grand Prix of Rotterdam on Sunday afternoon. A total of forty-nine pairs took their chance in this 1.60m class, for which the Belgian course designer Bart Vonck and his team had mapped out a fine basic course. In the end, eleven pairs managed to complete the course without any faults, thereby securing a place in the decisive jump-off. One of those eleven was the Swiss rider Jason Smith and the 11-year-old grey stallion Picobello van ’t Roosakker, a son of our chestnut stallion Kassander van ’t Roosakker Z and Canabis Z, bred by Marc Kluskens. Smith and Picobello van ’t Roosakker, who have already made their mark on several occasions at the highest level in recent months, also managed to keep their cool in the jump-off and, with this flawless performance, ultimately secured a fine^6th place.

Another standout combination in the Dutch port city was local rider Maikel van der Vleuten and the 10-year-old stallion Kentucky TMS Z, a son of Kannan and Toulon bred by Tal Milstein Stables. Van der Vleuten and Kentucky TMS Z competed three times over the weekend, managing to finish in the top ten of the rankings on each occasion. On Thursday, they got off to an excellent start to the competition with a 3rd place in the 1.45m opening class, whilst on Friday they finished 6th in the 1.50m class and on Saturday secured another 10th place in yet another 1.50m class.

During Thursday’s 1.45m opening class, van der Vleuten’s compatriot Johnny Pals also achieved a fine result with the 9-year-old stallion Defender VDS Z, a son of our ‘black pearl’ Dominator 2000 Z and Padius, who was born at breeder Daphne van der Schaar’s stud. In both the^first and^second phases, they kept all the bars neatly in place, finishing in^5th place.

Also on Thursday, Harrie Smolders made a name for himself with the 10-year-old gelding Devino Vd Weretherbach Z (De Flor 111 Z x Calvin Z), bred by Heinz Lentz. They competed in the 1.50m class, where they secured^third place after a flawless round.

Finally, Belgian rider Annelies Vorsselmans also managed to secure a podium finish with the 11-year-old mare C. Kulottie W Z (Comme Il Faut x Guidam), bred by P.H.B.M. van Wegen in the Netherlands. During the 1.50m main class on Saturday afternoon, they remained faultless in both the first round and the jump-off, which earned them a fine^second place in the rankings.