01 September '25
Z stallions impress at Brussels Stephex Masters
© Sportfot
The Brussels Stephex Masters in Wolvertem have long been considered one of the world's leading five-star competitions and this year's event once again guaranteed top-class sport in an exceptional setting. For five days, the world's best riders and horses competed on the iconic grass arena of the Stephex Stables, where sport, atmosphere and experience merged seamlessly. Christian Ahlmann also drew present with some of our Z stallions and each of them managed to impress with fantastic rounds and performances.
The CSIO5* Rolex Grand Prix, presented by Audi, was the absolute apotheosis of this Rolex Series Event on Sunday afternoon. This prestigious 1.60m Grand Prix featured two tough rounds, with the best 12 combinations from the first round allowed to return for the all-decisive final round. Christian Ahlmann was also among those twelve names and this with our 10-year-old stallion Dourkhan Hero Z, the son of Sea Coast Don't Touch Tiji Hero and Zandor Z from the breeding farm of Luc Henry. The winners of the CSI5* Hamburg Grand Prix earlier this year started their decisive round whirlwind and also managed to put a sharp finish time on the scoreboard in 42.95 seconds. A hind leg fault on obstacle 17 unfortunately prevented a top ranking, but with a great 8th place Ahlmann and Dourkhan Hero Z again underlined their constant presence in the absolute world top
On Friday, Brussels was all about the Henders & Hazel Nations Cup and one of our stallions managed to impress there too. Christian Ahlmann appeared at the start with our 16-year-old grey stallion Clintrexo Z, the son of Clintissimo Z and Rex Z who was born and raised with us at Zangersheide Stud. In the first round, the experienced duo kept zero on the scoreboard and once again proved their worth at the highest level.
Silver in this Henders & Hazel Nations Cup went to the Belgian team and there Thibeau Spits was part of the équipe with his black pearl Impress-K van 't Kattenheye Z, the 10-year-old son of Indoktro-K van 't Kattenheye and Vagabond de la Pomme bred by Tony and Mieke Raman. Spits and Impress-K van 't Kattenheye Z earned one penalty point for exceeding the time allowed during the first round, but with a total of that one penalty point over the two rounds, they had an important share in Belgium's2nd place.
On Friday evening, the sporting programme concluded with a spirited 1.50m class, in which Belgian Champion Gilles Thomas came out strong with the also 10-year-old grey gelding Chuck Marienshof Z (Colestus x Emerald van 't Ruytershof - Breeder: Stal Marienshof). In a jump-off for which 11 of the 50 combinations managed to qualify, Thomas and Chuck Marienshof Z came back into the ring as the very last combination and pulled out all the stops to win. In 36.02 seconds they managed to set the very fastest time, but a jumping fault on the exit of the Rolex combination made them settle for 7th place.
Then on the opening day on Thursday, Christian Ahlmann provided another top ranking with our 11-year-old stallion D'Aganix 2000 Z, a son of Dominator 2000 Z and Aganix du Seigneur Z, bred by Tony Foriers. Ahlmann and D'Aganix 2000 Z, who also jumped in prizes in both Kronenberg and Münster in recent weeks, kept a neat clear round during the 1.50m Grand Prix Qualifier, resulting in a handsome 4th place.
Youngster Tour
Most of the attention in Brussels over the past few days was undoubtedly focused on the CSIO5* competition, but there was also a Youngster Tour, among other things, where our Z stallions also showed their class. In the 6-year-old horses, Christian Ahlmann brought our grey stallion Toèmme de Regor Z (Chacco Blue x Cento - Breeder: Johan Veldeman) to the start and together they managed to jump three times in the prizes. The opening day on Wednesday started perfectly for the duo, where they crowned themselves winners of the opening class. In both the first and second stages, they kept it neatly clear and with a finishing time of 31.85 seconds, they were twenty hundredths of a second ahead of the competition. In the following days, Ahlmann and Toèmme de Regor Z confirmed their strong form with a 7th place during the class on Thursday and a handsome 2nd place in the final class on Sunday.
Finally, in the class for the 7- and 8-year-old horses, Christian Ahlmann competed with our 8-year-old stallion Applebridge Tag Z (Aganix du Seigneur Z x Corland VDL - breeders: Evert Van Gorp & Ilse Burgmans) and they too managed to place twice. On Thursday they started their competition with an 8th place and a day later followed up with a nice 4th place.