Zazou Hoffman and Bloom du Plessis (Orient express hdc x Rosire) celebrated a major milestone moment on March 7, at Desert International Horse Park, as the pair earned their first FEI victory as a partnership.
“‘Bloom’ and I have had an amazing partnership, but we’ve never won a class,” said Hoffman, who has had the ride on the 15-year-old Selle Français mare for roughly seven years. “So, it’s super exciting for me to finally get that win!”
On her way to the top of the podium, Hoffman was one of eight riders from the 34-rider start list to qualify for the jump-off. She and Bloom were only the second to return, but they quickly threw down the gauntlet.
“The jump-off was pretty wild!” said Hoffman. “I went with high risk into the double with the inside turn. It basically ended up being a bending one stride. Mathijs [van Asten] went before me, and I actually trained with him previously. He was like, ‘You have to try it! You have to do it!’ We tried, and [Bloom] tried her heart out and made it out. She was amazing.”
Hoffman continued, “There were definitely a couple spots I left the door open – especially given that the double got a little bit hairy – but I definitely put the pressure on that they’d either have to try it or gallop fast.”
In the end, none of the remaining six returners would come within even three seconds of Hoffman’s time of 44.38 seconds. Second place on 47.50 seconds went to Canada’s Tiffany Foster and Steadfast, owned by Artisan Farms LLC and Kent Farrington LLC. Third place – and the only other double clear effort – went to Australia’s Zoe Brown who piloted Con Aperol to a time of 51.23 seconds.
“I bought her as an 8-year-old from Mathijs van Asten actually,” said Hoffman of Bloom, owned by The Bloom Group. “She’s been amazing. I love her endlessly. She tries so hard every time. I couldn’t imagine not having had her these last years. She’s not a classic jumper, but you have full faith in like her try and her quality. She’s unbelievably careful, and she’s always right there with you.”
After finishing in the top eight of all three FEI grand prix classes that the mare contested this winner at DIHP, Bloom will now enjoy some well-deserved time off.
“My plan was always to use her very lightly this circuit and just target a few bigger classes. I feel like we did our plan, and now she gets a nice break!” concluded Hoffman, “I’m just thankful for our whole support team. I wouldn’t be able to do it without the owners, trainers, grooms – all of them.”
