Top weekend for Vida Loca Z at Cabourg Classic

It was busy days on French soil last weekend, with four-star competitions scheduled at no less than two venues. One of those was the Cabourg Classic competition, part of the prestigious Grand Prix Events. There, French rider Kevin Staut and his talented mare Vida Loca Z experienced a truly top weekend, in which they became the absolute stars of the weekend with two wins and another^2nd place!

The competition in Cabourg Classic could not have started better for Kevin Staut and his 9-year-old mare Vida Loca Z, a daughter of Vigo d'Arsouilles and Cornet Obolensky bred in Italy by Soc. Agricola A R.l. Edeldame. During the opening day on Thursday, they immediately made themselves heard by appropriately winning the 1.50m Grand Prix Qualifier. In a class against the clock, the duo rushed to the finish in 65.66 seconds, taking just under a full second ahead of the rest of the field of competitors.

A day later, Staut and Vida Loca Z also appeared in the ring for the second 1.50m Grand Prix Qualifier and again they managed to secure a top ranking. In a jump-off for which sixteen combinations managed to qualify, they again kept all the rails in the clear, but with a finishing time of 37.06 seconds they just missed out on victory this time and had to settle for first place of honour.

However, that second victory of the weekend did come for Kevin Staut and Vida Loca Z, who convincingly won the final laurels in the concluding CSI4* Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon. Staut and Vida Loca Z were one of the nine combinations who managed to qualify for the decisive jump-off and in it too they could not be caught out on a fault. With a finishing time of 38.05 seconds, they were also more than three full seconds faster than the competition, which made their victory all the more impressive.

In the 1.50m Grand Prix Qualifier on Friday,^2nd place may have gone to Kevin Staut and Vida Loca Z, but victory in this main class of the day also coloured blue and yellow. For that, Belgian rider Gudrun Patteet and her 10-year-old mare Sea Coast Chica V.V. Z, a daughter of Comme Il Faut and Chacco Blue from the breeding farm of Evelyne and Colin Van Vreckom. Patteet and Sea Coast Chica V.V. Z finished after a clear round in 36.73 seconds, beating the competition. For Canadian rider Kyle Timm and the 11-year-old mare Atomica Des Sequoias Z (Arezzo VDL Z x Saccor - B: Elevage Des Séquoias) there was another ^5th place in this section. They managed to put a time of 38.59 seconds on the scoreboard in that jump-off.

Another notable combination in Cabourg was Norwegian rider Jenny Krogsaeter and the 8-year-old grey gelding Cigaristo JVH Z, a breeding product of Jan Vermeiren who combined the blood of Cigaret JVH Z with that of Levisto Z. Krogsaeter and Cigaristo JVH Z jumped into the limelight for the first time on Friday with a ^9th place in the 1.40m class, but had their highlight of the weekend during the 1.40m class on Saturday. Then they secured a handsome ^3rd place, neatly keeping clear in both the basic round and the jump-off.

Finally, Frenchwoman Alice Vancrayelynghe also managed to place twice with the 18-year-old grey stallion Dior Ter Klomp Z, a son of Diamant de Semilly and Corofino from the breeding farm of Monique Hendrickx. Vancrayelynghe and Dior Ter Klomp Z started their competition on Thursday with a ^10th place during the 1.40m class, followed a day later by a creditable ^7th place during another 1.40m class.