The last weekend of June is one that Nations Cup rider and auction organiser Holger Hetzel (Goch) won’t forget in a hurry for several reasons. Beauville Z, a horse purchased at his International Sport Horse Sales in 2016, won the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix du Prince de Monaco with Dutch rider Maikel van der Vleuten in the saddle. Their win is all the more impressive because it was the nine year old horse’s first ever outing at five-star level.

Maikel and Beauville Z are in amazing shape this season. After a very successful 2018 competing in international 1.30m classes, van der Vleuten and the nine year old gelding by Bustique Z won the Grand Prix of Peelbergen (Netherlands) this April. Beauville Z was a very promising prospect at the 2016 auction because of his excellent attitude. He was bought by amateur rider Gabriela Rogar Ibars (Spain), who is trained by Maikel van der Vleuten. He soon recognised Beauville Z’s exceptional talent and brought him on to international level with the support of his sponsor, Martha Ortega.

Hakuna Matata, another of Holger Hetzel’s former auction horses, also hit the equestrian headlines last weekend. The much-admired youngster in the November 2018 auction collection qualified for the German National Championships for Young Horses this September in Warendorf in two different classes with high-eight scores, and he also won a 1.30m class. Pandoletto, another horse that changed hands at the 2018 auction, won a 1.30m class for young horses with a straight 9.0 score.  Holger Hetzel‘s former and future International Sport Horse Sales horses notched up a total of four 9.0 scores and higher on the last weekend of June.

These outstanding results are a tribute to Holger Hetzel’s proven young horse selection and training philosophy. The next International Sport Horse Sales event takes place on 27 November 2019 at Holger Hetzel’s equestrian centre in Goch, Germany.