World Cup success for Ping Pong van de Lentamel

After last week's CHI Classics in Basel, last weekend there was once again jumping for World Cup points within the Western European League. For this now ninth leg of the season, the caravan headed to Germany this time, where the Partner Pferd Leipzig competition was on the programme. There, auction-reference Ping Pong of the Lentamel once again confirmed his exceptional class and elegance with a star performance at the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup.

It was German course designer Frank Rothenberger who was the architect of this ninth leg of the season and together with his team he had mapped out a course that demanded both power and control from the forty competitors. The course therefore had many challenges and, in particular, the double jump at obstacle 3 proved to be the sharper of the day for many. Nevertheless, the level was once again sky-high at this World Cup, as eleven of the forty contenders eventually managed to secure a ticket for the decisive jump-off. Among them was home rider Gerrit Nieberg and his 11-year-old coloured gelding Ping Pong van de Lentamel (Emerald van 't Ruytershof x Toulon), one of the showpieces of our Zangersheide Auctions. Nieberg and Ping Pong van de Lentamel broke through at the highest level last year and proved once again in Leipzig that they are always to be reckoned with. After their clear first round, the duo also managed to run their jump-off flawlessly and with a finishing time of 44.54 seconds they finally secured a great 3^rd place!

Gerrit Nieberg: "I am very happy with my horse today. It was a very fast jump-off, so I'm more than happy with 3^rd place."

However, Ping Pong van de Lentamel was not the only auction reference who managed to shine in Leipzig last weekend. For example, Nieberg's compatriot Michael Jung also jumped into the limelight with the 9-year-old chestnut mare Eclaire Z, a daughter of our chestnut stallion Epleaser van 't Heike Z and Stakkato who was bred in the Netherlands by W. Vestjens and sold in 2024 during our first edition of the Zangersheide Quality Jumpers - powered by MBA. Indeed, on Friday, Jung and Eclaire Z made an excellent start to their competition, becoming the overall winners of the 1.45m class. In a class against the clock, they sped to the finishing line in a convincing 57.35 seconds, putting them over half a second ahead of the competition. A day later, they also confirmed this performance by claiming another 6^th place in the 1.45m Speed & Handiness class.

Furthermore, Jung also had a strong weekend in Leipzig with the also 9-year-old gelding Fischerheros Z, a son of Hotspot and Odermus R who was born to his breeder Peter Hofman as Heros vd Windelsteen Z. Jung and Fischerheros Z made their first appearance on Friday with a 2^nd place during the 1.55m-high Range Rover Cup and they also managed to qualify for the jump-off during the Longines FEI Jumping Word Cup. In it, they managed to do it in 42.24 seconds even faster than Nieberg and Ping Pong van de Lentamel, but a jumping fault on the penultimate obstacle kept them from silver in the end and made them settle for 6^th place.

Another notable combination was Luxembourg speedster Victor Bettendorf and the 15-year-old black mare Cancun Torel Z, a daughter of Cosinhus and Grannus from the breeding farm of François Xavier Guyard in France. Bettendorf and Cancun Torel Z, who have already jumped a good record together, also secured a 2^nd place in the 1.45m class on Friday, while they finished 5^th in the Speed & Handiness class on Saturday.

Finally, Dutch rider Jur Vrieling also managed a top 5 ranking with the 10-year-old gelding Iron Wish RW, a son of Iron Man de Padenborre and Lux Z, who was born as Iron Wish DH Z to Patrik Spits and Kristel Ceulemans of Spits BV. In the 1.55m Championat der Stadt Leipzig on Saturday, Vrieling and Iron Wish RW neatly finished clear in both the basic round and the jump-off, which earned them 5^th place in the standings.