Contagio Z offspring shine all over the word!
The offspring of our grey stallion Contagio Z impressed a lot last weekend! From Wellington International to Al Shaqab in Doha, worldwide they managed to give the best of themselves and jump again into the spotlight with their exceptional rideability and their cooperative characters! This combination, supplemented with the necessary quality, resulted in a lot of strong performances.
One of the most famous offspring of Contagio Z is of course the 14-year-old chestnut gelding Contagious (Contagio Z x For Keeps), who has already achieved an impressive palmares in recent years under the saddle of the American top rider McLain Ward. Contagious and Ward competed at Wellington's Winter Equestrian Festival last weekend and claimed a leading role at the CSI5* GP on Saturday evening. After a clear round, they were one of the 7 combinations that managed to get a ticket for the jump-off. The duo kept it clear again in that jump-off and with a finish time of 40.56 seconds they secured the 2nd place exactly 30 hundredths of a second behind winner Laura Kraut (Baloutinue).
McLain Ward: “Contagious is incredible because he’s always very careful, but I never really expected him to do everything he’s done. I think at the end of the day the horse is a little bit of a lion. He rises and he fights with you, and he’s really been a great partner to me.”
But there was also success for the blood for Contagio Z at the Commercial Bank CHI Al Shaqab in Doha last weekend. During the CSI5* GP on Saturday evening, for example, a 4th place was reserved for the German rider Philipp Weishaupt and his 13-year-old gelding Coby 8 (Contagio Z x Escudo I), with whom he has already won 4 CSI5* GPs in the past 15 months. In a jump-off for which 7 combinations were able to qualify, Weishaupt and Coby 8 again managed to set the fastest time, but because a pole rolled out of the cups along their way, they eventually had to settle with a 4th place in the ranking.
Also in Doha, the Brazilian rider Francisco José Mesquita Musa and the 15-year-old mare Catch Me Marathon (Contagio Z x Werther) managed to catch into the spotlights again. José Mesquita Musa and Catch Me Marathon, who won in January a 1.40m class in Lier, started their show in Doha with a 2nd place during the 1.50m main class on Thursday.
Finally, at the Atlantic Tour in Vilamoura, the Swiss rider Yannick Jorand was placed with the also 15-year-old gelding Cipetto 2 (Contagio Z x Contender). During the 1.45m Longines Ranking class on Friday, Jorand and Cipetto 2 managed to keep it clear in both the basic round and the jump-off and this performance also earned them a 4th place in the ranking.