Z-class horses add colour to the Grand Prix podium at Indoor Friesland

Last weekend was a busy one on Dutch soil, with not one but two international show jumping competitions taking place across the country. One of these was Indoor Friesland in Leeuwarden, where three-star show jumping took place from Thursday to Saturday. The undisputed highlight of the weekend was the CSI3* Grand Prix on Saturday evening, in which our blue and yellow colours were well represented and no fewer than two Z-level horses managed to secure a place on the podium.

In front of a sold-out WTC Expo, spectators were treated to a thrilling CSI3* Grand Prix on Saturday evening. A total of forty-two rider-horse pairs took to the arena, of whom nine progressed to the decisive jump-off after the first round. One of those in the jump-off was the Dutch rider Liesje Vrolijk and her 9-year-old stallion Detective Vive Z, a son of Dominator 2000 Z and Numero Uno who was born and bred at the Vrolijk family’s home. The pair also managed to keep their cool in the jump-off and, with a finishing time of 30.52 seconds, secured an impressive^second place.

The bronze medal in this highlight of the weekend was also won by a Z-horse, thanks to the Belgian rider Gudrun Patteet and her 11-year-old mare Sea Coast Chica V.V. Z, a daughter of Comme Il Faut and Chacco Blue, was bred by Evelyne and Colin Van Vreckom. Patteet and Sea Coast Chica V.V. Z, who had already secured^7th place on Thursday in the 1.50m class, once again cleared all the fences in the jump-off, crossing the finish line in 30.77 seconds.

Furthermore, Irish rider Conan Wright also made his mark in this Grand Prix with the 9-year-old stallion Mr. Cornet de Regor, a son of Cornet Obolensky and Kannan who was born to breeder Christiaan van de Plasse as Cornet de Regor DM Z. After a clear-round jump-off, they crossed the finish line in 34.50 seconds, which ultimately secured them^5th place.

On Friday, the main event of the day was a 1.50m against-the-clock class, and it was a blue-and-yellow victory that stood out. It was the Dutch rider Sanne Thijssen who came out on top with her 9-year-old mare Farah Z, a daughter of For Pleasure and Caretano Z. Thijssen guided the horse, bred by Freek Hoogenboom, safely to the finish line in 57.13 seconds, giving them a lead of fourteen hundredths of a second over their closest rival.

Also in this class, Thijssen’s compatriot Maikel van der Vleuten was among the prize-winners with the 10-year-old stallion Kentucky TMS Z (Kannan x Toulon), where the letters TMS refer to the Tal Milstein Stables breeding programme. After a flawless round, they clocked a time of 60.56 seconds, securing^5th place.

Finally, with two top-10 placings, the Colombian rider Ruben Arroyave also made a name for himself with the 8-year-old mare Eldorada Blue Z (Eldorado van de Zeshoek x Chacco Blue), bred by Nadine Resche from Germany. They began their competition on Thursday with a^fourth-place finish in the 1.40m class, whilst a day later they secured^ninth place in another 1.40m class.