After the crowd could already enjoy the first selection of the free jumping for the candidate stallions earlier in the day and the national classes for the young stallions this afternoon, this 3rd day of 'The Zangersheide International' ended in style tonight with a blistering Open Sires of the World.
It was again an exciting class with a dream winner for the blue and yellow colors of Zangersheide. It was Christian Ahlmann who jumped to victory with the 10-year-old stallion D'Aganix 2000 Z , the breeding product of Tony Foriers who crossed the blood of Zangersheide icons Dominator 2000 Z and Aganix du Seigneur Z. Ahlmann and D'Aganix 2000 Z were one of 10 combinations to go clear in the basic round of the British coursedesigner Rafael Suarez and his team and so qualifying for the jump-off. As the first combination to start, Ahlmann and D'Aganix 2000 Z managed to repeat that flawless performance from the basic round and with a finishing time of 35.71 seconds they crowned themselves the winners of this fantastic final round!
The silver in this class was for lady rider Marine Schauflaire with her 11-year-old SBS stallion Hortus d'Hoogpoort, a son of Diamant de Semilly and Acorado who was bred by Patrick Dalle. Scauflaire and Hortus d'Hoogpoort also managed to stay clear in the jump-off, but with a time of 36.46 seconds they were still more than half a second short for victory.
Next to his victory with D'Aganix 2000 Z, Christian Ahlmann also managed to take 3rd place and this with the 9-year-old stallion Dourkhan Hero Z, a son of Don't Touch Tiji Hero and Zandor Z out of the breeding of High Jumper Sprl. As the penultimate combination to start, Ahlmann and Dourkhan Hero Z rushed to the finish line in 37.47 seconds and this performance thus also earned them a podium place.
Furthermore, the Dutch lady rider Manon Hees with the 9-year-old BWP stallion Picco (Quint vh Maarlo x Hopalong Cassidy XX - B: Jan Cox) and the Belgian rider Thibeau Spits with the 10-year-old stallion Calvino II de Nyze Z (Calvaro F.C. x Heartbreaker - B: Danny Nijs) also managed to make it into the top 5 of the rankings.
F. © Sportfot
