Tobago Z offspring helps Belgian team win Nations Cup in Lier

On Belgian soil last weekend, all eyes were on the Azelhof in Lier, which hosted the second Nations Cup of the Longines EEF Series 2026. The Nations Cup was therefore one of the highlights of the weekend, and in it there was an important role for an offspring of our stallion Tobago Z.

No fewer than thirteen teams appeared at the start of this Nations Cup on Friday afternoon, which was traditionally run over two rounds. After an exciting run, in the end it was hosts Belgium who came out on top and won this Nations Cup with a flawless score. For Belgium, Frédéric Vernaet was part of the team with the 12-year-old black stallion Orak D'Hamwyck T&L, a son of our chestnut stallion Tobago Z combined with the blood of Toulon. In both the first and second rounds, Vernaet and Orak D'Hamwyck T&L Z showed their class and with two clear rounds they therefore had an important share in the Belgian victory.

Besides this fine performance by Orak D'Hamwyck T&L, many Z-horses also jumped into the limelight at the Hazebroek family. For example, in the 1.40m class on Sunday morning, Vernaet's compatriot Tim Prouvé and the 12-year-old chestnut mare Ackila DV Z, a daughter of Aktion Pur Z and Gotspe Z bred by Devos Stables, won. Prouvé and Ackila DV Z, who also took ^7th place in the 1.40m class on Friday, sped to the finish line in 58.10 seconds in this speed class, putting them almost one and a half seconds ahead of the competition.

With this victory, Prouvé and Ackila DV Z headed an integral blue/yellow podium with Dutch rider Jur Vrieling and the 8-year-old mare Coco de Knocke Z (Cicero Z van Paemel x Action Breaker - breeder: Arnold Lootens) in^2nd place. Vrieling and Coco de Knocke Z also provided a flawless round, but needed 59.56 seconds to complete their course. Finnish rider Aura Vasama and the 12-year-old gelding Deejay KDW Z (Diamant de Semilly x Vigo d'Arsouilles - breeder: Emile De Waele) were the third combination in this class to secure a podium finish. They managed to put a time of 60.50 seconds on the scoreboard.

During the opening day on Thursday, we also enjoyed a blue/yellow victory thanks to British rider Holly Smith and the 8-year-old gelding Sing Z, a son of Copycat Z and PKZ Contact van de Heffinck bred by Marcel Schrijvers. Smith and Sing Z became the final laureates of the 1.45m main class, in which they were more than three-quarters of a second ahead of the rest of the field of competitors with a clear round in 65.47 seconds.

On Saturday, the main class of the day was a 1.50m class with jump-off and in it too, some Z-horses came on strong. These included a top ranking for Dutchman Maikel van der Vleuten and the 10-year-old stallion Kentucky TMS Z, a son of Kannan and Toulon from the breeding of Tal Milstein. Van der Vleuten and Kentucky TMS Z, who already jumped to ^7th place in the 1.40m class on Thursday, stayed clear in the basic round and were thus among no fewer than 20 combinations who managed to advance to the decisive jump-off. In it, they rushed to the finish in 38.95 seconds, finishing just off the podium in ^4th place.

On ^5th place in this class we saw British rider Joseph Trukfield and the 9-year-old gelding Corvette vh Reukenis Z (Cicero Z van Paemel Z x Corland), who was bred by Reukenis Stables BVBA. They too had it flawless in both the basic round and the jump-off, but needed 39.44 seconds to complete their decisive round. Moreover, during the CSIO3* Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon, they confirmed this performance by taking another ^10th place.

Another striking combination was Belgian rider Thibeau Spits and the also 9-year-old stallion Gin Flip de Muze Z (Gino H x Elvis Ter Putte - breeder: Lies De Backer and Jef Desmedt). They already started their competition on Thursday with a ^4th place during the 1.40m class, but also during the 1.50m class on Saturday they managed to reach the top ten of the standings. In 37.57 seconds, they even managed to put the second time on the scoreboard, but a mistake on the way eventually relegated them to ^9th place.

Finally, French rider Alexis Gourdin and the 9-year-old stallion Chamano Van 't Hulgenrode Z (Chamani de la Pomme x Canto - breeder: Stal De Ridder BVBA) also managed to secure a podium place in Lier. In the 1.40m class of the two-star competition on Friday, they nicely kept all obstacles in the scoops in both^{the 1st} and^2nd phases, securing^2nd place.