VDL Groep Verdi TN keeps proving that he still is one of the best horses in the world. Not only his impressive list of championships (11 in a row), his team medals, and the numerous double clears in Nation Cups, but also his individual results at five star Grand Prix' are of unprecedented class. At the Global Champions tour in Madrid, Maikel van der Vleuten and VDL Groep Verdi TN went brilliantly in the Grand Prix and got third.

In the jump-off of the Madrid Grand Prix, five extremely strong horse-rider combinations battled for the win. Among them, the number one of the World rankings, Kent Farrington and the GCT-ranking leader, Lorenzo de Luca.  At the moment Maikel van der Vleuten and VDL Groep Verdi TN (Quidam de Revel out of Clarissa by Landgraf I, breeder Veehandel Musterd BV from  Hooge Zwaluwe) – winner of the GCT in Madrid in 2014 – started his jump-off, the winner of the 2016 GCT Madrid, Marcus Ehning and Pret A Tout (s.Hiram Chambertin) were in the lead. Only 0,18 seconds was the time difference between Van der Vleuten and Verdi and the top combination from Germany who kept the lead.

Incredible sequence

Kent Farrington and the Kashmir van Schuttershof-daughter Gazelle are always extremely fast, and also this time they managed to beat Ehning’s time and took the win in 45,18 seconds – 0,50 seconds quicker than the German rider. Lorenzo de Luca – winner of the GCT of Shanghai – took fourth and keeps the lead in the overall classifications. Maikel van der Vleuten, who got second in Shanghai is in second place at the moment. With his other horse VDL Groep Arera C (s.Indoctro) he managed to win third in the GCT Grand Prix of Mexico City. Van der Vleuten is going extremely well at the moment. Last week he was third in the CSIO5* Grand Prix of La Baule with Arera C and last Wednesday, he got a second in the two-star Grand Prix of Valkenswaard with KWPN horse Dana Blue (s.Mr. Blue).

PW/YBF for KWPN