The 11-year-old gelding VDL Groep Iron Z (VDL Groep Charisma Z x Mr Blue, bred by Stoeterij Duyselshof) has been sold to Ireland’s Cian O’Connor, Stoeterij Duyselshof announced in a press release today. 

Natalia Majchrowicz (POL) competed VDL Groep Iron Z before Leopold van Asten (NED) took over the reins in 2021, bringing the gelding up to from one-star to five-star level. In their last international appearance together, Van Asten and Iron Z were part of the Dutch team in the CSIO5* Mercedez-Benz Nations Cup at CHIO Aachen where they jumped a clear in the first round and the two also competed in the CSIO5* 1.60m Rolex Grand Prix of Aachen. Recently, the pair was also part of the winning Dutch team in the CSIO4* 1.55m Lotto Nations Cup of Poland in Sopot – and were long-listed for the Olympic Games in Paris. 

“I’m delighted to have Iron Z join my Karlswood team”, O'Connor said in a press release from Stoeterij Duyselshof. “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.”

“We have been very careful in building Iron up to the highest level,” Van Asten explained in a press release from Stoeterij Duyselshof. “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.”