Emeric George wins the CSI3* GP!
The Z-Tour 2022 has come to an end! For three weeks, the best national and international riders gave the best of themselves at our beatiful domain in Lanaken and they provided a lot of atmosphere and above all a lot of beautiful sport! This afternoon we were once again looking forward to the CSI3* Grand Prix and the French coursedesigner Grégory Bodo and his team had once again provided a tough course for this Grand Prix, because of the sixty combinations that appeared at the start, only six managed to qualify for the jump-off. One of those six was the French rider Emeric George and his 14-year-old gelding Chopin des Hayettes (Radco d'Houtveld x Nimmerdor), with whom he also finished second in the qualifier for this Grand Prix on Friday. As the first starter in the ring, George rushed to the finish in 40.69 seconds and immediately set a time that would never be improved.
Second place went to the Austrian lady rider Julia Houtzager-Kayser with the 10-year-old mare High Five (Toulon x Burggraaf). She also managed to ensure a clear round in that jump-off and crossed the finish line in 40.98 seconds. The Belgian rider Gilles Dunon followed in third place with his now 17-year-old gelding Fou de Toi Vd Keihoeve (Toulon x Melkior du Montois). He also managed to keep all the poles in the cups and with a time of 41.60 seconds he completed the podium.
Joe Whitaker wins the 1.45m class
Before the start of our CSI3* Grand Prix this afternoon we were able to watch a 1.45m class at the Ratina Z Arena in which it was the British rider Joe Whitaker who became the winner with the 9-year-old mare Icaterina (Durango VDL x Tangelo van de Zuuthoeve), with whom he also finished second in the 1.45m class yesterday. In a class against the clock Whitaker finished in 64.44 seconds and with that he managed to keep the competition behind.
After their third place on Thursday, this time there was a second place for the Brazilian rider Eduardo Pereira De Menezes with the also 9-year-old gelding H5 Nostalgie (Emerald van 't Ruytershof x Understone van de Kapel). He crossed the finish line in 65.67 seconds and with that they were more than a full second short for the victory. The British lady rider Chloe Aston finished third in the ranking here. In the saddle of her 11-year-old mare Flavie van de Helle (Carlow van de Helle x Carvallo), she crossed the finish line in 65.90 seconds, again securing her a top ranking.
Second victory for Andres Vereecke
For the riders of the CSI3* competition, this final day of the Z-Tour 2022 started this morning with a 1.35m class in which Andres Vereecke again secured a victory with his 14-year-old grey mare In The Mood (Winningmood van de Arenberg x Calypso III), with whom he won the 1.40m class yesterday morning. In a class against the clock, Vereecke and In The Mood rushed to a finish time of 58.00 seconds and with that they finished just under a second ahead of the competition.
The Colombian rider Santiago Diaz Ortega followed Vereecke in second place in the ranking, with the 10-year-old mare Muzette (Emerald van 't Ruytershof x Numero Uno). Diaz Ortega, who won the 1.35m class on Friday, crossed the finish line in 58.93 seconds and narrowly missed another victory. Finally, the Brazilian rider João Victor Castro managed to take third place in the ranking. He was sitting in the saddle of the 10-year-old mare Helga (Bernini) with whom he set a time of 60.15 seconds.
