Bassem Mohammed Steals the Show in CSI4* 1.50m Speed Class at Summer Showcase
July 26, 2025|
The second day of the Longines Tops International Arena Summer Showcase delivered a thrilling CSI4* 1.50m speed class, where speed and precision were paramount - and Qatar’s Bassem Mohammed rose to the challenge with an outstanding clear round aboard F One USA, stopping the clock at 73.86 seconds to clinch the win.
Bassem Mohammed (QAT) – F One USA – 0 faults – 73.86 sec Kevin Jochems (NED) – Casquetto van de Helle – 0 faults – 73.98 sec Khaled Almobty (KSA) – Davenport VDL – 0 faults – 75.21 sec
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Stay tuned for more action from Valkenswaard as the Summer Showcase continues at Longines Tops International Arena.
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CSI2*
Belgian rider Koen Vereecke was the convincing winner of the 2* 1.35m competition (Small Tour) that concluded the day in the sand arena. Twenty-four combinations competed in this class, and ten of them were allowed to ride their jump-off immediately after their clear first round. Dutch rider Mathijs van Asten was the first to stay clear with Cote de Zelande Delta Mossel Z, but he was not fast enough in his jump-off round. Van Asten quickly lost his lead to Germany's Christoph Könemann with Dreamliner (SWB, I'm Special de Muze x Quidam's Rubin). They flew through the course and stopped the clock at 38.06 seconds. In the end, this time was good enough for third place. A little later, Belgian rider Koen Vereecke entered the arena with a clear plan. In a super-fast ride, he crossed the finish line in 36.63 seconds with his BWP gelding Riverflow van't Ruytershof (Tomedo FCS x For Pleasure). The time turned out to be the winning one. Dutch rider Anne van Vulpen also flew through the course and achieved a time of 37.9 seconds with Hades Des Peupliers (SF, Topinambour x Zandor Z). The duo finished in a respectable second place.
26-year-old American Natalie Dean rode a super-fast round in the 2* Big Tour class, an against the clock competition. Dean, who studied marketing at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, USA, flew over the jumps with the SF mare Dotcom d'Authuit (Diamant de Semilly x Quidam de Revel) and stopped the clock at 64.08 seconds. This improved on the time set by 17-year-old Dutch rider Yves Willems, who crossed the finish line in 66.08 seconds with Highway (KWPN, Otangelo x Numero Uno). As one of the last starters, Frenchman Antoine Ermann made a very good attempt to beat Dean's time, but was just not fast enough. His time of 65.32 seconds with Delirium Zoetendaele Z (Zang, Diamant de Semilly x Der Senaat 111) was good for second place.
In the first class in the beautiful grass arena of Longines Tops International Arena this morning, 49 combinations took to the start. In this competition, 2* Medium Tour (1.40m), the riders who remained clear in the first round went straight to the jump-off. Twenty-one combinations managed to remain clear in the course set by French course designer Eddy Castellon. Of the 21, 10 also remained clear in the jump-off, but it was Dutch rider Leopold van Asten who delivered the fastest round. The rider from Stoeterij Duyselshof rode their own breeding product VDL Groep Mistral (KWPN, Diamant de Semilly x Numero Uno) across the finish line in 38.62 seconds. The Dutch rider Thalessa de Jong is in good form and she also impressed this morning. With the 10-year-old stallion Karan-K van't Kattenheye Z (Kannan x Nissan Caretano Z), she finished in second place with a time of 39.27 seconds. Olympic bronze medallist Maikel van der Vleuten completed the podium. He finished third with the Holsteiner gelding Branttastisch HDH (Brantzau VDL x Carlos DZ). As the last starter, he achieved a time of 39.42 seconds.
CSI1*
The qualification for the 1* Grand Prix (against the clock, 1.35m) was won by Frenchman Baptiste Couperie. The descendant of a well-known horse family (son of international rider Eduard Couperie) who run the Ecuries du Grand Veneur in Barbizon, rode a beautiful and super-fast round with the SF mare Honeymoon HDN (Emerald van't Ruytershof x Easy Boy). They stopped the clock at 61.48 seconds. Belgian Karen Oris and Dutch Journey van Eerd both made a serious attempt to beat Couperie's time, but both fell short in terms of speed. Oris eventually finished second with Mail d'Or (BWP, Emerald van't Ruytershof x Marome Nw) with a time of 62.39 seconds. Van Eerd came third with Icelos Eickenrode (KWPN, Dakar VDL x VDL Indoctro). The rider from Veldhoven in Brabant stopped the clock at 63.77 seconds.
The 1* 1.15m class was won by Italy's Gioia Cremonese with FBW Casaraki (Bad-Wü, Dirkhof's Ciacomo x Dobel's Cento). Yesterday she was just not fast enough, but today everything went smoothly and she recorded the fastest time: 61.23 seconds. Yesterday's winner, Rosanne Janssen, had to settle for second place this time. The Brabant native was just a little slower than Cremonese and stopped the clock at 61.62 seconds with Caprice K Z (Zang, by Scuderia 1918 Casago). Third place went to Germany's Ramona Hilliges, who crossed the finish line in 64.51 seconds with Quorado 3 (Hann, Quality x Ramiro's Son II).
Derin Demirsoy, a Turkish rider residing in Maastricht, was the fastest in the 1* 1.25m competition, the first class in the sand arena. In this competition, too, the faultless combinations from the first round went straight to the jump-off. The 31-year-old rider has represented his country many times at World and European Championships. Today he was riding Hunter, a 13-year-old KWPN stallion by Bernini. In a super-fast jump-off round, he stopped the clock at 28.74 seconds. This was almost 2 seconds faster than the Dutchman Rob Heijligers, who had been in the lead until then. Heijligers had achieved a time of 30.51 seconds with Cascaverdi (Holst, Casall Ask x Verdi TN). Thalessa de Jong, who had just finished second in the 2* Medium Tour, came third in this class with her 13-year-old KWPN mare Habrina (Eldorado vd Zeshoek TN x Phin-Phin), with whom she had already won two classes at the Summer Classic two weeks ago.
CSIYH
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Brazilian top rider Yuri Mansur was the best in the against the clock class for young horses. Forty-five six- and seven-year-olds appeared at the start, and 25 of them remained faultless. Mansur took the lead as the 38th starter with the talented Zangersheide gelding Blitz van de Molenbrug Z (Bisquet Balou C x Darco) with a time of 61.15 seconds. As a result, Germany's Claricia Kendra Brinkop, who finished third yesterday, now took second place with Sniper Des Lilas Blancs (BWP, Hamilton Du Chapitre x Calvaro Z). The rider, who is based in Wolvertem, Belgium, crossed the finish line in 61.38 seconds. The Dutch rider Leopold van Asten, one of the last starters, made an almost successful attempt. He stopped the clock at 62.57 seconds with the seven-year-old VDL Groep Notre Dame (KWPN, Aganix du Seigneur x Verdi TN) to take third place. He finished fourth with VDL Groep Noucha, with whom he finished second yesterday. The best six-year-old was once again the Zangersheide stallion ELdoranos C-G Z (Eldorado vd Zeshoek x Lordanos) with Tom Schellekens, finishing in the same position as yesterday, fifth.
