Gerard O’Neill and the Irish Sport Horse Killossery Kaiden. (Dirk Caremans/FEI)

Lanaken (BEL), 18 September 2016 – The 2016 edition of the FEI World Breeding Jumping Championships for Young Horses, staged at the Zangersheide Stud in Belgium, more than lived up to expectations, with massive entries of high-quality horses and edge-of-the-seat excitement in the competitions in all three categories.

The first title of the weekend went to the 5-year-old KWPN stallion Garant, ridden by The Netherlands’ Willem Greve, while the Irish Sport Horse gelding Killossery Kaiden topped the 6-year-old division with Gerard O’Neill on board. Then, rounding up a great weekend of sport, it was the Zangersheide Studbook’s Think Twice lll Z that claimed the 7-year-old honours with Belgium’s Thierry Goffinet in the saddle.

The trademark “Z” of Zangersheide flew high over the four-day fixture which has been a key event in every breeding season for over 20 years. Brainchild of the late Leon Melchior, it once again attracted massive crowds and this year enjoyed ideal weather conditions.

5-Year-Olds

In the first 5-Year-Old qualifier a total of 111 horses jumped clear from a field of 228 starters. As course designer Luc Musette explained, “It is not possible to build the fences any bigger, and the quality of the young horses ensures you have a lot going clear!” It was a bit tougher in the second qualifier with 74 clear from 225 starters, but 20 of the 50 starters made the cut into the Final jump-off, so this was never going to be an easy one to win.

One of the sensations of the weekend was 16-year-old Irish schoolboy Michael Pender who first put the ISH mare Z Seven Canya Dance (Can Ya Makan/Cavalier Royale) into pole position with a foot-perfect run in 39.04 seconds only to overtake his own target time with his second ride Z Seven Caretina (Coltaire Z/Caretino) who broke the beam in 38.86 seconds. He looked to have gold and silver in the bag until last man in, The Netherlands’ Willem Greve, pushed him off the top step of the podium when just 0.4 seconds quicker with the KWPN stallion Garant (Warrant/Verdi TN).

“I bought the horse in May and my home rider competed him in some national shows. I think he is a real Grand Prix horse,” said the Dutch gold medallist. “The course designer did a great job; it was difficult enough, the time was short but you didn’t see any horses crashing. If you wanted to go fast in the jump off in the final that was your own decision. I never went fast before with Garant, but I knew he had the quality to try it. If you come to these Championships you need a little bit of luck to get to the finals but participating is already a super experience for the rider and the horse. I try to come here every year,” Greve said.

Pender was plenty happy with silver and bronze. “These medals are the biggest thing I’ve won until now – I’m still going to school but I definitely want to be a professional rider!” said the young Irishman who was on the Irish team at the Junior European Championships this summer. “I had a win at Dublin Horse Show and I already did some jump-offs with my horses. They are careful and they have scope so I knew I could go for it today!” he added.

6-Year-Olds

The Irish had even more to celebrate when Gerard O’Neill produced the only clear in the jump-off to take the 6-year-old title with the gelding Killossery Kaiden (Lux Z/Cruising).  There were 65 clears from 264 starters in the first qualifier in which the eventual champions finished fourth behind last year’s 5-year-old bronze medallists Willem Greve and Formidable. There were 64 foot-perfect runs in the second qualifier in which a single error pinned the Irish pair into 93rd spot, but having made the cut into the final 40 they were the only ones to keep a clean sheet, O’Neill gambling on a careful round which paid dividends at the end of the day.

From County Kilkenny in Ireland, O’Neill is a regular producer of top-class horses and a successful and respected competitor on the national circuit. As he explained, amongst the horses he has produced are Zigali PS which competed successfully for 2008 Olympic champion Eric Lamaze from Canada and who is now campaigned by Maria Ortega Perez from Spain, and the brilliant mare Castlefield Eclipse who has been the backbone of Swiss teams for many years with Paul Estermann in the saddle. “I’ve been riding this horse for about 18 months now and he did well in the HSI series for young horses at home in Ireland but I wasn’t so fast so I didn’t really expect to win!” O’Neill explained. “It’s my third time to ride here and now I have the gold medal so I’m pretty happy! This is a great show with super courses and fantastic organisation,” he added.

The silver medal went to the KWPN gelding Fernando (Zapatero VDL/Larino) ridden by The Netherlands’ Julian de Boer, whose time of 35.53 was more than 10 seconds faster than the winner’s, but who left a fence on the floor in the last round. The rider who lives in the north of Holland was riding his grandfather’s horse, and as fate would have it his success was a bit random. “Normally I would have left yesterday but I stayed for the party, and this morning I put the horses on the truck, but I delayed leaving because a rider withdrew and I was the first reserve. I got a call to ask if I wanted to ride in the final, so I took the horse off the truck again and now I have the silver medal!” he said with a smile.

Bronze medallist Thierry Goffinet from Belgium was understandably disappointed because his costly single error with the BWP gelding Kannabis van de Bucxtale was unexpected. “My horse was second at the Belgian Championships and has been jumping super at international shows. The fence I had down in the jump-off today is the first fence he has knocked down this year in competition!” he explained.

7-Year-Olds

In the 7-Year-Old division there were 63 clear rounds from 189 starters in the first qualifier but just 42 in the second competition in which five horses were eliminated and 10 were retired. In the finale, just five made it through to the jump-off and the three medallists all went double-clear – Belgium’s Thierry Goffinet claiming the gold with the mare Think Twice lll Z, which is by the stallion Toulon out of the mother of Portuguese rider Luciana Diniz’s wonderful horse Winningmood.

“Think Twice is a super horse; we won the Belgian Championships in Lummen this year and finished in the Criterium for 7-Year-Olds so this is a very consistent jumping horse. She can be fast; we knew that, but I didn’t go crazy in the jump-off. I only pushed to the last fence and that was enough to take the win!” Goffinet explained.

Silver went to another mare, the BWP grey Jeleena de Muze (Tornedo FCS/Chin Chin) ridden by Stephex Stables’ star rider Lorenzo de Luca. “I’m only riding this horse since the Knokke show in July and we were first to go. We have not competed in many shows together so I didn’t know the horse so well,” said the Italian rider who was still well-pleased with his result.

Bronze went to the bay KWPN gelding Everest (Carambole/Indoctro) with Dutchman Luc Steeghs in the saddle. “The horse is owned by a Lebanese family and I am training him for the children to ride. He was bought as a 4-year-old at the Hendrix auction,” the rider explained. Talking about the courses taken on by horses and riders all week, Steeghs continued, “Medals could have been won by a lot of different horses here – little mistakes, one day going clear and the next day having one down, could make all the difference, but the standard has to be high because this, after all, is a World Championship for young horses so it has to be testing!”

Five-Year-Old Final: GOLD – Garant (William Greve) NED 0/0 38.46; SILVER – Z Seven Caretina (Michael Pender) IRL 0/0 38.86; BRONZE – Z Seven Canya Dance (Michael Pender) IRL 0/0 39.04.

Six-Year-Old Final: GOLD – Killossery Kaiden (Gerard O’Neill) IRL 0/0 47.85; SILVER – Fernando V (Julian de Boer) NED 0/4 35.53; BRONZE – Kannabis van de Bucxtale (Thierry Goffinet) BEL 0/4 40.02.

Seven-Year-Old Final: GOLD – Think Twice lll Z (Thierry Goffinet) BEL 0/0 40.06; SILVER – Jeleena de Muze (Lorenzo de Luca) ITA 0/0 40.73; BRONZE – Everest (Luc Steeghs) NED 0/0 42.12.

Full results here.

By Louise Parkes

Media Contacts:

At Lanaken:

Edith de Reys
Press Officer
edr.press.service@gmail.com
+32 475 6592 81

At FEI:

Shannon Gibbons
Manager Press Relations
shannon.gibbons@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 46

Belgium’s Gregory Wathelet steered Mjt Nevados S to victory in the 7-Year-Old category at the FEI World Breeding Jumping Championships for Young Horses 2015 at Lanaken in Belgium today. (FEI/Dirk Caremans)

Lanaken (BEL), 20 September 2015 – The KWPN gelding, Earley, made another piece of Jumping history today when becoming only the third-ever horse to record back-to-back wins when taking the 6-Year-Old title at the FEI World Breeding Jumping Championships for Young Horses 2015 at Lanaken in Belgium.

This hugely popular annual gathering draws vast numbers of breeders, producers and enthusiasts from all around the globe who come to the world-famous Zangersheide Stud to compare the latest crop of 5, 6 and 7-year-olds representing many different studbooks. And it was the Belgian-bred Kerswin van ‘T Roosakker who won the 5-Year-Old category while the Polish stallion, Mjt Nevados S, claimed the 7-Year-Old title.

Once again the entry was enormous, with 224 starters in the 5-Year-Old Championship, 273 in the 6-Year-Olds, and 208 in the 7-Year-Old category. For any horse to take a medal from such a colossal field of starters is quite an achievement, and for any horse to do it two years in a row is exceptional. The 6-Year-old Earley has earned his place alongside just two other back-to-back champions – last year’s 7-Year-Old winner, Barnike who represented the Dutch Ridinghorse and Pony Studbook with Ireland’s Bertram Allen on board, and the KWPN No Time, who topped the rankings in 2000 and 2001 ridden by Dutchman Peter Geerink.

Five-Year-Olds

Only horses that jumped clear in the first and second qualifiers were eligible for today’s 5-Year-Old Final, and from the 49 starters in this competition just nine went through to the second-round jump-off. This was a smaller number than usual to make it through to the final phase, as the time proved influential in the first round.

And Kerswin van ‘T Roosakker (Echo van ‘T Spieveld/Diamant de Semilly) broke the beam in today’s jump-off in a speedy 37.33 seconds to take the gold with Doron Kuipers in the saddle. The 24-year-old Dutchman has stables near Rotterdam (NED) from where he competes his own string of horses along with six belonging to Kerswin’s owners, Stal Everse BV. Micha Everse rode the gelding earlier in the year, and Kuipers took up the reins just eight weeks ago. It was a success-story from the very start.

“I have never jumped a jump-off with him before, but I felt from the beginning that he really worked with me. He is careful and has scope and he goes for it. That’s all you need to win! This is the first time I’ve made it into the Final (at the FEI World Breeding Jumping Championships) and I’m pretty happy because immediately I’ve taken the best colour medal!” Kuipers said.

Silver medal spot went to another from the BWP Studbook, the approved stallion Keops v. Begijnakker (Indoctro/Lux Z) ridden by Belgium’s Yves Vanderhasselt who mixes his works in the family transport company with a very successful Jumping career. The 36-year-old rider has a reputation for remaining super-cool under pressure, and he finished third with Keops at the Belgian Championships in Geves this summer. The horse was bought by the Vanderhasselt family as a four-year-old.

Bronze in the 5-Year-Olds went to the mare, Formidable (Carambole/Calvados), and it was a particularly special moment for her Dutch rider Willem Greve as he competes internationally with the mare’s sire, Carambole.

Greve spotted Formidable competing at an international show just a few months ago and bought her right away. “There were several people who wanted her because she jumped very spectacularly, and I immediately had a good feeling with her because she is careful and has a lot of scope,” Greve explained.

Six-Year-Olds

Horses in the 6 and 7-Year-Old category were ranked in each of the two qualifying competitions, and the top-40 earned a place in today’s Finals in which the KWPN, Earley (Harley VDL/Indorado), wrote his name into the Young Horse history books when clinching 6-Year-Old gold.

With 17 into the jump-off it was always going to take a quick horse to win it, but Earley is a massive 1.77cms tall with a ground-eating stride to match, and just as he did when taking the 2014 5-Year-Old title, the big bay galloped through the timers quicker than all the rest. His rider, Maikel van Mierlo, knows the horse well. Maikel’s father bought the horse as a 3-year-old, and sold him on to owners H.M. van Raaij-Evertse who sent him off to be broken before returning him to Van Mierlo to ride.

Since winning his gold medal as a 5-Year-Old, Earley has been lightly competed, lining out at a few international shows and at the Dutch Championships where he finished seventh this year. “I don’t jump him a lot at home,” Van Mierlo explained after taking his second successive title with the horse today. “He only jumped a 1.20m class as preparation for this show and to be honest the pressure coming to this year’s Championships was not special,” he said. The 24-year-old Dutchman’s philosophy is an uncomplicated one. “You have to stay motivated and to just try your best every day,” he said.

Talking about his winning round, he continued, “The course was not too difficult and the time was long enough, but with 17 in the jump off you know you have to go full speed! When I came out I knew that I was fast but I didn’t know it was fast enough to win. I think I won it on the last line. He’s not spooky and he has a very good character – he is top careful, and has a lot of scope,” said the rider who operates from the south of Holland, between Eindhoven and Venlo.

Seven-Year-Olds

And from a Belgian perspective the day came to a perfect end with newly-crowned FEI European individual silver medallist, Gregory Wathelet, taking top spot in the 7-Year-Old Championship partnering the handsome grey PZHK stallion Mjt Nevados S (Calvados Z/Romualdo).

There were 12 into the jump-off here, and Wathelet was chasing the target-time set by Britain’s Laura Renwick who was seventh to go with the ISH mare MHS Washington (OBOS Quality/Cavalier Royale) who broke the beam in 35.13 seconds. Renwick always looked competitive after filling third spot in the first qualifier in which Wathelet and Mjt Nevados S finished fifth, but the British rider regretted the extra pull she took before the last fence today. She finished just 0.16 seconds behind the Belgian rider who scorched home in 34.97 to take the gold.

Talking about Mjt Nevados S, Wathelet said, “He started the season on the Sunshine Tour where he jumped well, and in the Belgian Championships at Lummen I had one down in the jump off because he was not used to going fast. Before I came here I trained him to go quickly, and that training was successful. I knew he was very careful, but in the beginning I didn’t know if he had enough scope – now he is going better every week! This week he jumped easily, even in the Final in which the course was quite big but it all felt easy. This horse is definitely not for sale!” said the rider who plans to take Mjt Nevados S on the international circuit now.

Silver medallist, Renwick, bought MHS Washington in partnership with Irish rider Denis Lynch three years ago, but now owns the horse herself.

“Denis bought the mare from the breeder when she was four – she’s special and a bit nervous, but in the ring she lights up and makes everything very easy – just like a real sport-horse! She’s very light to ride and is careful and scopey,” Renwick explained. The pair won the Young Horse Final at CSI Knokke (BEL) this summer, and a few weeks ago also topped the British Championships. Renwick was sporting an Irish cap, presented to her by the Irish Federation because she was competing an ISH, and she said she was proud to wear it. “I think I can go far with this horse,” she said happily this evening.

And the Irish had plenty of reason to celebrate themselves when Eoin McMahon steered another ISH, Talks Cheap (Tinaranas Inspector/Colin Diamond), into bronze medal position when last to go against the clock.

Talks Cheap was sold at the 2014 Go for Gold Sale in Goresbridge in Ireland. “My boss, Carl Hanley, bought her last year just before the World Young Horse Championships, but it was too soon to take her here,” McMahon explained. “We started the season in Vilamoura (POR) where she jumped very well, and then we gave her a break. Before coming here we placed in a 1.45m class, so she has all the scope and she is fast and careful,” said the young rider who will celebrate his 20th birthday next weekend.

Five-Year-Old Final: GOLD – Kerswin van ‘T Roosakker (Doron Kuipers) NED 0/0 37.33; SILVER – Keops v. Begijnakker (Yves (Vanderhasselt) BEL 0/0 38.65; BRONZE – Formidable (Willem Greve) NED 0/0 39.36.

Six-Year-Old Final: GOLD – Earley (Maikel van Mierlo) NED 0/0 36.62; SILVER – Ellavar (Marlon Modolo Zanotelli) BRA 0/0 37.10; BRONZE – Take a Chance on Me Z (Christian Ahlmann) GER 0/0 37.49.

Seven-Year-Old Final: GOLD – Mjt Nevados S (Gregory Wathelet) BE. 0/0 34.97; SILVER – MHS Washington (Laura Renwick) GBR 0/0 35.13; BRONZE – Talks Cheap (Eoin McMahon) IRL 36.99.

Full results at www.hippodata.de.

By Louise Parkes

Media Contacts:

At Lanaken:

Edith de Reys
Press Officer
edr.press.service@gmail.com
+32 475 6592 81

At FEI:

Grania Willis
Director Media Relations
Grania.willis@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 42

Ruth Grundy
Manager Press Relations
ruth.grundy@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 45

The NRPS stallion Barnike claimed the Six-Year-Old title at the FEI World Breeding Jumping Championships for Young Horses in Lanaken, Belgium today with Ireland’s Bertram Allen on board. Photo: FEI/Dirk Caremans.

Lanaken (BEL), 22 September 2012 – The annual clash of Young Horse champions produced more sensational winners today as the FEI World Breeding Jumping Championships for Young Horses 2013 drew to a thrilling close at Lanaken in Belgium.  The host country’s Royal Belgian Sports Horse Society, better known as the SBS, claimed gold in the 7-Year-Old category while the Dutch Riding Horse and Pony Studbook (NRPS) reigned supreme in the 6-Year-Old division.  And there were big cheers in the Irish camp when the Irish Sport Horse Studbook (ISH) clinched the coveted 5-Year-Old title.

Despite some poor weather earlier in the week, the event attracted another enormous crowd of enthusiastic breeders, producers, riders, trainers, owners and experts from around the globe who thoroughly enjoyed their annual reunion on Belgian soil. These Championships have long been recognised as the perfect place to share ideas, and compare the merit, development, innovation and success of the studbooks, old and new, which produce the latest stars of our modern sport of Jumping.

Five-Year-Olds

There was an unusually large number through to today’s Five-Year-Old Final competition.  A total of 63 started in the class and 25 jumped clear to go into a second-round jump-off against the clock.

The gold-medal-winning partnership of Greg Broderick and the ISH Arraghbeg Clover were eighteenth to go, and they set an unmerciful target when breaking the beam in 39.72 seconds after a scorching round in which the Tipperary rider took every risk.  This mare, by Captain Clover who is a son of the legendary Irish stallion Clover Hill, has a mix of breeding that combines the toughness of the Irish horse with the quality of the thoroughbred, Bonnie Prince, on his dam’s side and with the Dutch influence of Animo.

Broderick said, “The first qualifier for the Five-Year-Olds was very, very tough.  It was technical and the time was short and my mare had a big week, but she just kept fighting on.”  The rider, who celebrated his 28th birthday yesterday, is a prolific producer of good Irish horses and Arraghbeg Clover has earned €19,000 in prize money in the last few months having won the Irish Sport Horse Studbook 5-Year-Old League and the Breeders Classic, while also finishing third in her age category at Dublin Horse Show in August. Arraghbeg Clover – Captain Clover x Bonnie Prince – is jointly-owned by her rider and Declan Orpen.

It was fellow-Irishman, the prodigiously talented 18-year-old Bertram Allen, who clinched silver medal spot with the KWPN gelding Castlefield Denver – Quasimodo Z x Ulft – owned by Ballywalter Farms. They broke the beam in 40.86 seconds while French rider, Guillaume Batillat took the bronze with the BWP mare Invisible Star – Winningmood van de Arenberg x Skippy ll – which competed for Les Ecuries d’Ecaussinnes and was less than two seconds slower in the timed round.

Six-Year-Olds

Allen went one better when steering Ballywalter Farm’s bay stallion, Barnike – Baldwin B x Animo – to victory for the NRPS Studbook in the Six-Year-Old division.  Just 12 of the 40 starters qualified for the second round of this Final, and just six went double-clear.

The winning horse was purchased from Enda Carroll at Ashford Farm in Belgium a few months ago and had only competed at three shows with his new rider.  “We never jumped higher than 1.10m or 1.15m before.  The two qualifying classes were not too difficult, but the Final was really big so I didn’t know what to expect today.  As it turned out, he just has so much scope!”  Allen pointed out after his big win.

KWPN horses, ridden by Dutch riders, took silver and bronze.  The bay mare Calimera – Van Gogh x Perion – owned by M. Willems and Stal Ger Poels, clinched the silver with Marcel Willems on board.  “It seems I’m always second with this horse!” Willems said.  “We were second in the Dutch Young Horse Championship this year as well!”

The bronze medal went to the bay stallion Cidane – Heartbreaker x G. Ramiro Z – ridden by Kristian Houwen for owners J. C. Boekee and Houwen Sporthorses BV.  “I did everything I could, but I couldn’t have gone any faster,” said Houwen of his ride against the clock.  “Bertram went for it from the beginning to the very end, and he never took a pull with his horse,” he added.

Seven-Year-Olds

Two different Dutch studbooks took gold and silver in the Seven-Year-Old division while the Zangersheide Studbook claimed the bronze.  And Belgian riders Gudrun Patteet and Jos Lansink stood on the top two steps of the podium when producing the only double-clear performances.

Riding the SBS gelding, Sea Coast Atlantic – Schilling x Aramis de la Cense – Patteet was undisputed in the race against the clock when breaking the beam in 40.76 and leaving the full course intact.  The 28-year-old rider talked about the chestnut horse which is owned by Sea Coast Horses – “We bought him a year ago and a lot of people didn’t believe in him.  He’s not beautiful but he has a lot of quality and he even helped me on the course today when I had a wrong distance in the jump-off – he just went for it!” Patteet explained.

Lansink was delighted with the silver medal won by VDL Stud’s stallion Bacardi VDL – Corland x Kannan – representing the KWPN Studbook.  “I saw this horse as a five-year-old and wanted to buy him, but eventually VDL sent him to my stable instead.  This is a horse that will do very big classes later in his career, but I didn’t go for it in the jump-off today.  He still spends too much time in the air and he wasn’t ready for it, so I went for a nice clear round instead,” pointed out the 2006 World Champion.  The chestnut Bacardi VDL is an approved stallion but has not yet been used for breeding.  Lansink said he expects he will begin breeding next year following his great result today.

Brazil’s Rodrigo Pessoa steered Gustavo Mirabal’s chestnut mare, GC Atlanta Z – Andiamo Z x Heartbreaker – into bronze for the Zangersheide Studbook. This pair produced the quickest time in the jump-off when clearing the line in 37.66 seconds, but they left one fence on the floor. The FEI World Breeding Championships for Young Horses are the brainchild of Leon Melchior of Zangersheide Stud where the event takes place, so it is particularly satisfying when horses carrying the stud’s world-famous banner take a spot on the medal podium as they have done many times before.

GC Atlanta Z was bought at an auction in Lummen, Belgium and produced many good results in Wellington, Florida, USA early this year.  “She’s very fast and she’s really careful, not a 1.60m horse but she’ll be a real winner at 1.40m and 1.50m,” Pessoa said.  “She has the character of a chestnut mare, sometimes you have to do what she wants, although I tell her she also has to listen to me a little – she has great quality, and she’s a fighter,” the rider added.  The mare will now return to the USA and will take a break before being prepared for the Florida circuit once again this winter.

Five-Year-Old Final: GOLD – Arraghbeg Clover (Studbook ISH) Greg Broderick IRL 0/0 39.72; SILVER – Castlefield Denver (Studbook KWPN) Bertram Allen IRL 0/0 40.88; BRONZE – Invisible Star (Studbook BWP) Guillaume Batillat FRA 0/0 42.40.

Six-Year-Old Final: GOLD – Barnike (Studbook NRPS) Bertram Allen IRL 0/0 37.71; SILVER – Calimera (Studbook KWPN) Marcel Willems NED 0/0 39.22; BRONZE – Cidane (Studbook KWPN) Kristian Houwen NED 0/0 39.28.

Seven-Year-Old Final: GOLD – Sea Coast Atlantic (Studbook SBS) Gudrun Patteet BEL 0/0 40.76; SILVER – Bacardi VDL (Studbook KWPN) Jos Lansink BEL; BRONZE – GC Atlanta Z (Studbook ZANG) Rodrigo Pessoa BRA 0/4 37.66.

Full results at http://www.scgvisual.com/.

By Louise Parkes