23 September '25
Successes in New York
© Longines Global Champions Tour
While in France people could enjoy the fourth and also final leg of the Longines League of Nations, last weekend were busy days on US soil, where two five-star competitions took place just like that. One was the Longines Global Champions Tour of New York, where several Z-horses jumped into the limelight again with some standout performances.
One such horse was the 9-year-old grey stallion Nobel van de Vrombautshoeve Z, a son of Nabab de Rêve and Corrado I bred by Peter Boelens. Nobel van de Vrombautshoeve Z has been forming a tandem with Belgian rider Olivier Philippaerts for some time now and that partnership came out strongly in 'The Big Apple'. During the first round of the Global Champions League on Friday, Philippaerts and Nobel van de Vrombautshoeve Z produced a tight clear round and thus had an important share in the Stockholm Hearts' victory in the team classification.
Moreover, on Sunday afternoon Philippaerts also counted on Nobel van de Vrombautshoeve Z for the LGCT Grand Prix, in which they also put in a strong performance. Once again they kept all the bars neatly in the reels, but two penalties for exceeding the time allowed unfortunately kept them out of the decisive jump-off.
Another striking name in New York was that of the 10-year-old black stallion Impress-K van 't Kattenheye Z (Indoktro-K van 't Katteneheye x Vagabond de la Pomme), the breeding product of Tony and Mieke Raman. Saddled by Belgian rider Thibeau Spits, the black pearl once again showed his class by jumping to an individual 5th place during the second round of the Global Champions League.
On Saturday afternoon, the riders of the five-star competition were expected in the ring for a 1.45m class in two phases and in it two Z-horses managed to shine on the podium. There was a handsome2nd place for British rider Oliver Fletcher and the 13-year-old gelding Hello William, a son of Waldo van Dungen and Stakkato who was born at Lissava Stud Farm as Willie Wonka LVS Z. In both the1st and2nd phases, the Young Riders' European champions in 2024 did not show any faults, finishing in 21.05 seconds.
But Belgian rider Emilie Conter also managed to make the podium in this class with the 11-year-old gelding Cilanto XC Z (Chellsini Z x Quintus), where the letters XC refer to breeder Xavier Coninkx. Conter and Cilanto XC Z also provided a flawless round, but took just a little longer than Fletcher and Hello William in 21.51 seconds.
Furthermore, it was also a successful weekend for American rider Mimi Gochman and the 10-year-old gelding Iron Maiden (ex Cadans van de Ijzervallei Z - Clarimo ASK x Kashmir Van Schuttershof), a breeding product of Titus Vereecke. Gochman and Iron Maiden immediately started their competition well on Friday with an individual 8th place during the first round of the Global Champions League and concluded on Saturday with a nice 4th place during the 1.50m main class.
On Sunday, New York was all about the LGCT Grand Prix, in which two Z horses managed to make the top 10 of the standings. These included a 7th place for French rider Ines Joly with the 10-year-old stallion Crack d'Aiguilly Z (Comme Il Faut x Nabab de Rêve - Breeder: Oliver Perreau) and an 8th place for American rider Nathalie Dean with the 13-year-old gelding Crescendo MB Z (Clinton I x Jodokus - Breeder: M. Bokdam). Both were among the 11 combinations that qualified for the jump-off, but a fault rolled out of the scoops on the way for both of them as well.