Touardo Blue Z jumps to glorious bronze in the CSI4* Grand Prix Liege

Busy days last weekend on Belgian soil, where not one but two international competitions were on the programme. One of those competitions was the four-star Jumping International de la Province de Liège, which returned to the Belgian show jumping calendar after a five-year absence. The CSI4* Grand Prix there formed the absolute highlight of the weekend on Sunday afternoon, and in it there was a podium place for a Z horse.

Course designer on duty during this new edition of Jumping International de la Province de Liège was the Spaniard Santiago Varela and he and his team had mapped out a particularly tough course for this Grand Prix. So much so that, of the forty-eight combinations that took their chances, only five managed to complete the 1.55m base run. One of those five combinations that managed to advance to the jump-off was Belgian rider Nathan Budd and his 11-year-old stallion Touardo Blue Z, the son of Toulon and Arko III who was bred by Hugues Delattre and with whom Budd has been a strong combination for several years now. Budd and Touardo Blue Z already started their competition on Thursday with a handsome ^5th place in the 1.45m Longines Ranking class and made an excellent effort in the jump-off with a view to victory. In their hunt for the top prize, they did have one jumping fault, but thanks to a fast time, this performance finally earned them a handsome ^3rd place and thus a deserved podium place.

In addition to his good performance with Touardo Blue Z, Nathan Budd also had a strong weekend in Liege with the 8-year-old stallion Ely des Rosiers Z, a son of Emerald van 't Ruytershof and Thunder van de Zuuthoeve, bred by Herik Duran and also approved by Studbook Zangersheide. Budd and Ely des Rosiers Z got off to an immediate flying start on Thursday, becoming the overall winners of the 1.40m Small Tour. In a class against the clock, they managed to stop the clock in 54.55 seconds, giving them a small lead of thirteen hundredths of a second over the competition. Moreover, on Saturday evening during the 1.50m main class, Budd and Ely des Rosiers Z were again on the appointment, this time finishing ^7th.

Victory in that 1.50m main class on Saturday evening was in turn for Budd's compatriot Niels Bruynseels and the 9-year-old mare Devidanga Sw Z, a breeding product of the Zijlstra family from the Netherlands who combined the blood of our black pearl Dominator 2000 Z with that of Numero Uno. Bruynseels and Devidanga Sw Z, who also secured a ^4th place in the 1.45m Longines Ranking Test on Thursday, sped to a finishing time of 37.64 seconds in this 9-strong jump-off, putting them just under a full second ahead of the rest of the field of competitors.

Another notable combination within the four-star competition was former Belgian Champion Gilles Thomas and the 10-year-old grey stallion Chuck Marienshof Z, a son of Colestus and Emerald van't Ruytershof from the breeding farm of Johny De Coninck and Sandra Ecker of Marienshof Stables. Thomas and Chuck Marienshof Z also made their presence felt during the 1.45m Longines Ranking class on Thursday with ^7th place, but had them highlight of the weekend during the 1.50m main class on Friday evening. In both the first and second rounds there, they ensured a flawless performance and with a finishing time of 43.02 seconds they secured a nice^2nd place.

Just off the podium during this main class on Friday we saw Italian rider Piergiorgio Bucci and the 13-year-old gelding Cortez van 't Klein Asdonk Z (Cornet Obolensky x Andiamo Z). Bucci and Eddy Thomas' breeding product managed to put the fastest time on the scoreboard in 41.07 seconds in the second and decisive round, but a mistake on the way kept them from victory and made them have to make peace with ^4th place.

In doing so, they did just one place better than Belgian rider Thibeau Spits and his top 10-year-old stallion Impress-K van 't Kattenheye Z (Indoktro-K van 't Kattenheye x Vagabond de la Pomme - Breeder: Tony Raman & Mieke Strobbe). They too saw a fault in that decisive round. On Sunday during the final day, Spits also managed to jump into the prizes with the 9-year-old stallion Conrad Quality Z (Connor x Corrado I - Breeder: Quality Stud). A clear round in the 1.40m class earned them ^6th place in the standings.

On Friday afternoon a 1.40m class also took place for the riders of the four-star competition and in this class, too, some Z-horses came out strong. There was a podium place for Belgian rider Grégory Wathelet and the 9-year-old gelding Shergan des Vergers Z (Sherman Sitte x Lasino), bred by Cindy Van Der Straten-Ponthoz. In both the^1st and^2nd phases, Wathelet and Shergan des Vergers Z neatly kept zero on the scoreboard and with a finishing time of 31.01 seconds they secured a handsome^2nd place.

^Fourth place in this 1.40m class on Friday then went to Christophe Vanderhasselt and the 8-year-old mare Axxess Pur Z (Aktion Pur Z x Sam R - Breeder Elke Luyten). They too did not make any mistakes, but needed 31.81 seconds to finish their^2nd phase successfully. Last but not least, German rider Daniel Deusser also managed a ^4th place with 9-year-old mare Kaduna Jl Z (Kannan x Querlybet Hero - Breeder: Luc and Jules Leemans). They achieved this top ranking during the 1.40m class on Thursday, also delivering a flawless performance.