The sale is a great compliment to the professionalism that has been practised by the stud farm owned by the Van der Leegte family for many years. The proceeds from the transaction will be used to further strengthen the stud farm.

‘An incredible horse’

Later this month in Paris, Cian O’Connor will be competing in his fourth Olympic Games. “I’m delighted to have Iron Z join my Karlswood team”, says Cian O'Connor. “He’s an incredible horse that I’ve followed for some time. Leopold and the team have done a superb job developing the horse and I’m really looking forward to starting slowly and building our partnership together over the coming months.”

VDL Groep Iron Z (VDL Groep Charisma Z x VDL Groep Dindy-Blue x Mr. Blue) was trained by equestrian Natalia Majchrowicz, who also competed on the show jumper up to class Z / 1.30m. Iron then moved to the stables of Leopold van Asten, who very successfully rode him at international competitions at 1.60m level. This combination has participated in a number of nations cup events in recent years. Recently, the combination has been successful at CSIO Sopot, CHIO Rotterdam and the prestigious CHIO Aachen.

‘Ready for any course in the world’

Leopold van Asten, show jumping equestrian and jumping stable manager at Stoeterij Duyselshof: “We have been very careful in building Iron up to the highest level. He's a lovely horse to work with and has extremely good quality. My feeling tells me he's now ready for any course in the world. We're happy Iron is going with Cian, so he can perform on the stages where he belongs. We have had a fantastic time with him and I wish Cian all the best with Iron. I know for sure he will enjoy Iron as much as we have. I am very motivated, together with the team at Duyselshof, to train our next top-class horse like VDL Groep Iron Z, and get him ready for the highest competitive level.”