A California podium moment for Scoop de Septon Z

On American soil, not only was there international show jumping at Wellington International last weekend, but there was also a lot of international action on the other side of the country, in California. Indeed, Arcadia's Santa Anita Park hosted a three-star Split Rock Jumping Tour competition, where several Z-horses once again managed to jump into the limelight with some great performances.

The most outstanding name of the weekend was the 11-year-old chestnut gelding Scoop de Septon Z, a son of Scendro and Echo van 't Spieveld bred by Elevage de Septon. Scoop de Septon Z is the absolute top horse of Portuguese rider Luis Sabino Gonçalves and together they proved once again to be a rock-solid combination last weekend. After Gonçalves and Scoop de Septon Z already started their competition week on Thursday with a great 5^th place in the 1.45m class, they also appeared at the start of the CSI3* Grand Prix on Sunday, immediately the absolute highlight of the weekend. There, they were one of seven combinations who managed to stay clear in the 1.50m basic round and thus advance to the all-decisive jump-off. In that jump-off they managed to repeat that flawless performance from the basic round and with a sharp finishing time of 38.77 seconds they secured a great 2^nd place.

Furthermore, Canadian rider Ali Ramsay was also among the group of barragists at this CSI3* Grand Prix with her 12-year-old gelding Conrado 12, a son of Cardento VDL and Diarado who was born as Conrado Z at his breeder Duka Invest D.O.O. However, Ramsay and Conrado 12 saw a fault in the jump-off, which meant they had to settle for 6^th place in the final round.

However, there was also a blue/yellow victory in Arcadia thanks to Irish rider James Chawke and the 11-year-old mare Daido van 't Ruytershof Z, a daughter of our stallion Dieu Merci Van T&L Z and Bamako de Muze born to breeder Bert van den Branden of Stal 't Ruytershof. Chawke and Daido van 't Ruytershof Z were the winners of the 1.45m speed class on Thursday, where they were over 2.5 seconds ahead of the rest of the field of competitors with a fantastic round in 60.16 seconds.

Besides his victory with Daido van 't Ruytershof, Chawke also managed to jump into the prizes at Arcadia with the 12-year-old stallion Nacara van Berkenbroeck Z, a breeding product of Michel Spaas who combined the blood of Nonstop with that of Indoctro. In the 1.45m main class on Friday, they were one of eight combinations to qualify for the jump-off. In it they managed to provide the second fastest finishing time in 36.77 seconds, but a mistake on the way kept and from silver in the end and made them have to make peace with 5^th place.

Silver in this class thus went to Dutch rider Mathijs van Asten and the 10-year-old chestnut stallion Vedet DK Z, a son of Vagabond de la Pomme and Carthago Z who was born in the Netherlands by Stal de Krochten. Van Asten and Vedet DK Z did manage to keep the clear on the scoreboard in the jump-off in a finishing time of 37.82 seconds.