Top form for Urville Z in Leeuwarden

While we could and did enjoy two international competitions in our own country last weekend, there was another international-level competition in the Netherlands. In the north of the country, in Leeuwarden, a new edition of Indoor Friesland was on the programme. Once again, several Z-horses made their appearance in the ring and gave a series of good performances.

The most striking name at Indoor Friesland was undoubtedly that of the 12-yr-old mare Urville Z, a daughter of Ukato and Crown Z bred in the Netherlands by J.G.M. Meijer. Urville Z has been a combination with Egyptian rider Ahmed Naser Elnaggar since the beginning of this year and together they proved to be a particularly successful duo in Leeuwarden. Their first highlight came on Friday during the 1.50m Big Tour, in which they managed to qualify for the jump-off as one of sixteen combinations. In this they again stayed clear and with a finishing time of 39.83 seconds they took^2nd place. Elnaggar and Urville Z also claimed a leading role in the CSI3* Grand Prix on Saturday evening: with another strong performance they secured a great ^4th place in the standings.

Besides his good performance with Urville Z, Naser Elnaggar also managed to jump into the limelight in Leeuwarden with the 12-year-old stallion Zwiebertje Ncs Z, a son of Zilverstar T and Andiamo Z from the breeding farm of M. Dekker. During the 1.45m Medium Tour on Friday, they produced a flawless performance, finishing in ^4th place.

Furthermore, it was also a successful competition in Leeuwarden for Belgian rider Maurice van Roosbroeck and his 11-year-old gelding Emir du Coeur des Collines Z (Elvis Ter Putte x Calypso III), a breeding product of Eric Vandewiele. On Thursday, van Roosbroeck and Emir du Coeur des Collines Z immediately started their competition strongly with a ^3rd place in the 1.45m Medium Tour and they continued this good form on Saturday. In the 1.45m Medium Tour Final they kept nicely clear in both the first round and the second decisive round, good for a creditable ^4th place in the standings.

During that 1.45m Medium Tour on Thursday, however, we also saw a second Z-horse on the podium.^Second place was reserved for Swedish rider Wilma Hellström and the 10-year-old chestnut stallion Bacheler van het Hulgenrode Z, a breeding product of Marcel De Ridder who combined the blood of Bamako de Muze with that of Taran de la Pomme. With a clear round in 61.75 seconds, they fell just short of claiming the top prize.

Earlier on Thursday, a 1.40m class was also on the programme for the riders of the three-star competition and there was a blue/yellow success in it too. The young Belgian rider Bart Jay Junior Vandecasteele took care of that with the 10-year-old chestnut stallion Kadéé Van De Renthoeve Z (Kannan x Baloubet du Rouet), a breeding product of Bart Sips. A clear^2nd phase in 32.25 seconds also earned^2nd place in the ranking.

Finally, there was also a Z-horse that managed a^2nd place on Saturday. During the 1.40m high speed class it was Dutchman Jur Vrieling who managed to claim the silver with the 7-year-old grey mare Coco de Knocke Z (Cicero Z x Action-Breaker - Breeder: Arnold Lootens).