Z-horses have strong weekend in Opglabbeek

After two weeks of international action at two-star level, the third and final week of the Easter Tour at Opglabbeek's Sentower Park switched to a CSI3* competition over the past few days. The final chapter again brought many top riders to Limburg and the Z-horses also impressed again. With several victories and a series of places of honour, our blue and yellow colours coloured the podium several times.

One of those victories was scored by Dutch rider Sanne Thijssen and the 11-year-old mare Iron Dames Come Away Flamingo Z, a daughter of Cardento VDL and Dollar du Murier who was bred in France by Alexandra Rantet and who until a year ago was still making good weather under the saddle of Belgian rider Jérôme Guery. Thijssen and Iron Dames Come Away Flamingo Z were the winners of the 1.40m class on Sunday, where a clear^2nd phase in 24.70 seconds gave them a slight edge over rest of the field of competitors.

A second victory came in the name of Belgian rider Michaël Vreys and the 9-year-old mare Heideroosje Van Plockroy Z, a daughter of Heidelberg van het Lindehof and Ogano Sitte who was born and raised by the Vreys family. Vreys and Heideroosje Van Plockroy Z, who already started their competition on Thursday with a ^3rd place in the 1.35m class, triumphed in the 1.35m class on Saturday, where they were twenty-nine hundredths of a second ahead of the competition with a clear^2nd phase in 32.92 seconds.

However, Heideroosje Van Plockroy Z was not the only Z-horse with which Vreys managed to achieve success last weekend, as he also managed to jump into the prizes with the 10-year-old mares Chica Bomb Van Plockroy Z (Comment vh Lindehof x Ogano Sitte - B: Vreys Horses) and Estrella Van Plockroy Z (Excellent Vd Zuuthoeve x Darco - B: Vreys Horses). With Chica Bomb Van Plockroy Z he came^2nd in the 1.35m class on Friday and ^4th in the 1.40m class on Saturday, while with Estrella Van Plockroy Z he managed to finish ^5th in the 1.35m class on Saturday.

On Saturday, the main class of the day in Opglabbeek was the 1.50m Grand Prix Qualifier and in it Vreys' compatriot Andres Vereecke managed to score a podium place with the 9-year-old chestnut mare Baya de Riverland Z, a daughter of Bresil de Riverland and Kashmir Van Schuttershof who was bred in France by Mickael Varliaud. In a jump-off for which eight combinations managed to qualify, Vereecke and Baya de Riverland sped to the finish in 37.66 seconds, which was finally good for ^3rd place in the standings.

Vereecke also had a strong weekend with the 11-year-old mare Coconut Van Paemel Z, a daughter of Cicero Z and Sandro Z who was bred by the Van Eeckhoudt family of Stoeterij Van Paemel. Both during the 1.40m class on Thursday and during the 1.40m class on Saturday morning, Vereecke and Coconut Van Paemel Z could not be caught out on a fault and this earned them a ^3rd place in the standings twice.

Just like Saturday, a 1.50m Grand Prix Qualifier also took place in Opglabbeek on Friday and in it, too, some Z-horses came off strong. These included a ^4th place for Brazilian rider João Victor Castro Aguiar Gomes De Lima and the 11-year-old gelding Kenzo Quality Z, a son of Kannan and Con Air bred by Koen Terryn of Quality Stud. João Victor Castro Aguiar Gomes De Lima and Kenzo Quality Z kept nicely clear in both the basic round and the jump-off, and with a finishing time of 38.78 seconds they were two hundredths of a second short of a place on the podium. Belgian rider Brecht Goossens with the 10-year-old stallion Alaska Z (Asca Z x Utrillo Vd Heffinck - B: Jean Jordens and Nicky Dilliën) and his compatriot Leonie Peeters with the 11-year-old stallion Kameroen Eb Z (Kannan x Quantum - B: LVP Stables) were good for ^6th and ^8th place respectively in this class.

Goossens also managed to gain a ^4th place with both the 12-year-old grey stallion Neverland Z (Numero Uno x Carthago - B: Yves Vansteenwinkel) and the 16-year-old gelding Noukie Z (Nabab de Rêve x Chin Chin - B: Rob Santermans). With Neverland Z this was during the 1.40m class on Friday, while with Noukie Z he achieved his top 5 ranking during the 1.40m class on Sunday.

During the opening day on Thursday, top Brazilian rider Rodrigo Pessoa secured another top ranking with the 11-year-old mare Dhalida Diamond Vd Krekebeke Z, a breeding product of Robrecht and Patricia Segaert who combined the blood of Diamant de Semilly with that of Calvaro Z. In the 1.45m opening class, they crossed the finish line in 63.27 seconds, which was good for^2nd place in the standings.

Also in this opening class, Belgian rider Sacha Beghuin managed to stand out with his 13-year-old stallion Elcup Van Beek II Z, a son of Elvis Ter Putte and Armitage from the breeding farm of Guido Herrijgers. Beghuin and Elcup Van Beek II Z also left all obstacles untouched in this speed class and with a finishing time of 65.58 seconds, they secured ^4th place. Moreover, during the CSI3* Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon, they also jumped to ^9th place. Then, unfortunately, a mistake in the basic round kept them out of the decisive jump-off.

Finally, there were also two other combinations who started their competition on Thursday with a nice^2nd place. For Belgian rider Emilia Housen and the 12-year-old mare Karenina Z (Kannan x Quick Star - B: Hanna Remans) this was during the 1.35m class, while German rider Kendra Claricia Brinkop and the 13-year-old stallion Dawa de Greenbay Z (Diarado x Schilling ET - B: Stephane Chantot) then jumped to silver during the 1.40m class.