Z-horses win three medals at Belgian Young Horse Championships

The Belgian Championship for young horses in Gesves last weekend was again a huge success for our blue and yellow colours of Zangersheide! Among the 4-year-old horses, eleven Z-horses already crowned themselves Belgian Champions on Sunday morning, and later in the day that line continued to grow. In the finals of the 5- and 6-year-old horses, no fewer than three Z-horses managed to win a place on the podium and thus take home a coveted medal.

The final of the 6-year-old horses on Sunday afternoon was the denouement of an exciting Belgian Championship for young horses and brought a total of forty-five combinations to the start that had managed to qualify earlier in the week. Of those forty-five combinations, twelve eventually managed to clear the basic round of course designer Eugene Mathy and his team and thus qualify for the ultimate jump-off.

In a jump-off where the competition was close to the finish line, Belgian rider Sacha Beghuin won the Belgian championship with the mare La Fee Sauveniere Z, a daughter of Luigi d'Eclipse and President, who was born to breeder Fabienne Daigneux. Beghuin and La Fee Sauveniere Z raced to a lightning-fast finishing time of 36.37 seconds in that final round, putting them almost two full seconds ahead of the rest of the field of competitors.

However, La Fee Sauveniere Z was not the only Z-horse to win a medal at this final for 6-year-old horses, as silver also turned blue and yellow there. That honour fell to Belgian rider Stef Bossaert and the mare Claudia Optima Z, a daughter of Cicero Z Van Paemel and Balou du Rouet from the stud farm of Dries Sebrechts of Optimus Agro NV. Bossaert and Claudia Optima Z also made a nice attempt at the gold, but with a finishing time of 38.09 seconds they had to clearly acknowledge their superiority to Beghuin and La Fee Sauveniere Z.

But the bronze in the 6-year-old horses was also taken by a descendant of Cicero Z Van Paemel thanks to Belgian rider Maverick van Lent and the stallion Tcicero Van Scherpendonder (Cicero Z Van Paemel x Calvaro Z - Breeder: Goris - Van Hove). They crossed the finish line in 38.25 seconds in the jump-off.

Furthermore, during this final there was also success for a descendant of our stallion Jenson van 't Meulenhof Z. On the 5th place we saw the Irish rider Grand Graham with the mare Nikka du Seigneur, a daughter of Jenson van 't Meulenhof and Curby du Seigneur who was bred by Julie Deneckere. Graham and Nikka du Seigneur reached the finishing line in the jump-off in 40.53 seconds.