Edited press release from Zangersheide

The FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championship for Young Horses 2023 at Domein Zangersheide in Lanaken, Belgium, started on Thursday with the first qualifiers. The 7-year-old horses made their appearance at the central located Ratina Z Arena and the Belgian coursedesigner Bernard Mathy and his team had built a two-phase class for them over a height of 1.40m.

More than 200 combinations came to start in this first qualifier and it was ultimately the Greek rider Angelos Touloupis who managed to jump to victory with the Holsteiner stallion Kannandillo, a son of Kannan and Candillo Z who was bred in Germany by Nicole Hanneken. Touloupis and Kannandillo only started in the last part of the class and with a flawless 2nd phase in 27.13 seconds they had more than a full second lead over the competition.

The second place went to Dutch rider Sanne Thijssen with the Westphalian mare Chiara VDH, a daughter of Chacco Blue and Mr. Blue who was bred by Stal Wezenberg. Thijssen and Chiara VDH seemed to be on their way to victory for a long time after a flawless 2nd phase in 28.35 seconds, but after Touloupis and Kannandillo's round they had to settle for second. 

Italian rider Emilio Bicocchi secured third place during Thursday's first qualifier with the Italian-bred stallion Excaliburg (Kannan x Euro Star, bred by Giuseppe Marcello Casini). After a double clear round they managed to stop the clock in 29.10 seconds.

German rider Kendra Claricia Brinkop with the BWP gelding Quercus van den Oude Eik (Jenson van 't Meulenhof x Darco, bred by Gert Dierickx) and the Emirati Abdullah Mohd Al Marri with the KWPN stallion Lucardo O (Eldorado van de Zeshoek x Heartbreaker, bred by P. Oosterbosch) were the other combinations that managed to reach the top five of the rankings.

Simultaneously with the 7-year-old horses, the start signal for the first qualifier for the 6-year-old horses was also given on Thursday morning. At the Ramiro Z Arena, no less than 256 combinations appeared at the start in a two-phase class over a height of 1.35m.

It was the German top lady rider Katrin Eckermann who managed to win this first qualifier with the Westphalian gelding Cascajall, a son of Casallco and Comme Il Faut who was bred in Germany by Alfons Baumann and who comes from the same damline as the stallion Polydox. Eckermann and Cascajall already appeared as the 26th combination at the start and managed to outclass the competition with a flawless 2nd phase in 28.96 seconds.

The Romanian rider Damian Cojocariu followed Eckermann in second place with the Oldenburg stallion Con Clarimo, a son of Cinsey in combination with Clarimo. Con Clarimo was bred in Germany by Paul Schockemöhle and comes from the same damline as the Grand Prix horses Chandro Blue, Dublin and H5 Chacco-San, all offspring of the stallion Chacco-Blue. Cojocariu and Con Clarimo started as one of the last combinations and managed to cross the finish line in 29.28 seconds.

The third 'podium place' during this first qualifier went to Irish rider Michael Pender with the Irish-bred mare GCS Rosie, a daughter of Luidam and l'Arc de Triomphe who was bred by Olivia Brenna. Pender and GCS Rosie started as the 13th combination and after a double clear round they crossed the finish line in 29.64 seconds.

Furthermore, German rider Patrick Stühlmeyer with the stallion Chaloubino PS Old (Chacoon Blue x Centadel, bred by Gestüt Lewitz) and Italian rider Roberto Previtali with the stallion Diacentio PS (Diaron x Baloubet du Rouet, bred by Gestüt Lewitz) also managed to reach the top five of the rankings.

Next to the 6- and 7-year-old horses, the 5-year-old horses came also in action on Thursday for their first qualifier. The 5-year-old horses jumped their first qualifier at the Almé Z Arena over a height of 1.25m and of the 235 combinations that appeared at the start, 110 managed to complete the course clear, with Ireland's Jason Foley and Castlefield Dancer (Presley Boy x Cento, bred by CDM GmbH) taking the top honors.