10 August '26
Untouched LB Z continues its winning streak
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Studbook
© Longines Global Champions Tour
With two five-star shows on the programme, there was plenty of action at the very highest level once again last weekend. One of these top-tier events was the Longines Global Champions Tour in London, where Christian Ahlmann once again delivered a strong performance with our stallion Untouched LB Z.
The Longines Global Champions Tour in London marked the tenth leg of the season and was held, as is traditional, on the historic grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea. The LGCT Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon provided the highlight of the weekend, with forty rider-horse pairs taking to the course once again. One of the fourteen pairs to successfully complete the basic round designed by course designer Uliano Vezzani and his team were Christian Ahlmann and our 10-year-old stallion Untouched LB Z, the son of European Champion United Touch S and Cornet Obolensky. Ahlmann and Untouched LB Z, who had already demonstrated their excellent form on several occasions in recent weeks, also managed to keep their cool in the jump-off and, with a finishing time of 43.81 seconds, secured another top placing in6th position.
In addition to this fine performance in the LGCT Grand Prix, Christian Ahlmann also made his mark once again with the 11-year-old gelding Vivario JL Z, a son of Vigo d’Arsouilles and Heartbreaker, bred by Luc and Jules Leemans. Ahlmann and Vivario JL Z, who had put in a strong performance in Rome just a few weeks ago, jumped their way back into the spotlight on Saturday when they secured third place in the 1.45m class.
Victory in this 1.45m class went to the Dutch rider Sanne Thijssen and the 9-year-old mare Farah Z, a daughter of For Pleasure and Caretano Z, bred by Freek Hoogenboom. Thijssen and Farah Z rode cleanly through both thefirst andsecond phases, and with a finishing time of 22.58 seconds, they were about a quarter of a second ahead of their nearest rivals.
On Sunday, the final day, a 1.45m class was also on the programme, and once again it was Thijssen and Farah Z who blew the competition away. In a time trial, they raced to the finish in a convincing 58.57 seconds, making them the only pair to keep their time under 60 seconds.
The bronze medal in Sunday’s 1.45m class was won by the Belgian rider Gudrun Patteet and the 11-year-old mare Sea Coast Chica V.V. Z (Comme Il Faut x Chacco Blue), bred by Evelyne and Colin Van Vreckom. Patteet and Sea Coast Chica V.V. Z also delivered a flawless performance, but took 60.54 seconds to complete their round.
Also in this class, Patteet’s compatriot Niels Bruynseens topped the rankings with the 12-year-old mare Credibillis van het Lindenhof Z (Crown Z x Landetto – breeder: Luc van de Vijver-Rooms). They finished in 60.99 seconds after a clear round, which in turn secured them5th place.
On the opening day on Thursday, it was the Swedish rider Angelica Augustsson Zanotelli who secured success for the blue and yellow colours with the 12-year-old stallion Iron Dames Calvino II De Nyze Z, the son of Calvaro Z and Heartbreaker, bred by Danny Nijs. They made their debut in the 1.60m qualifier for the LGCT Grand Prix, where they secured a finesecond place.
Finally, Irish rider Mark McAuley also secured a top-five finish with the 9-year-old stallion Clooney van Spalbeek Z (Comilfo Plus Z x Diamant de Semilly – breeder: Frans Liefsoens). In the second round of the Global Champions League, over a height of 1.55m, they finished in5th place after a clear round.