Z-horses provide silver and bronze at European Young Riders Championships

A week before the European Senior Championships in La Coruña, Spain, the beautiful grass arena of Riesenbeck International was the setting for the European Junior Championships last week. Spread over six days, Europe's best Children, Juniors and Young Riders competed against each other and provided a championship full of excitement, emotion and top level. With two Z-horses on the podium during the individual final for the Young Riders, it was another more than successful championship for our blue and yellow colours of Zangersheide on the home ground of Ludger Beerbaum and his team.

Silver went to French rider Eden Leprévost Blinlebreton, daughter of none other than Pénélope Leprévost. She counted on the 11-year-old chestnut mare Barbie de la Roque Z, a daughter of For Hero de Hus out of a Heartbreaker dam, who was born Fantasy de la Roque Z at her breeder Alexandrine Hécart of Haras de la Roque Z, for this European Championships. Leprévost Blinlebreton and Barbie de la Roque Z opened their championships on Wednesday with a ^7th place in the table C class and then climbed up the rankings. So they started their final day on Sunday already in^2nd place with a score of just 0.93 penalty points. Leprévost Blinlebreton and Barbie de la Roque Z kept their cool as two flawless rounds during the denouement kept the counter at those 0.93 penalties, securing themselves a silver European medal.

But the Young Riders' bronze was also coloured blue and yellow thanks to Belgian Champion Mathieu Guery and the 10-year-old gelding Time-Breaker S Z, a son of Toulon and Calvados bred in the Netherlands by P. Sleutels. After finishing ^9th on the opening day on Wednesday, they too managed to steadily move up the rankings. So Guery and Time-Breaker S Z started the final on Sunday in ^3rd place with a total of 1.09 penalty points. In the all-decisive rounds, Guery and Time-Breaker S Z kept the overview and also produced two rock-solid rounds. Guery thus concluded his European campaign with a well-deserved bronze medal, another highlight in an already extremely successful season.