Last Thursday (13 February) 62-year-old Rolf and the 13-year-old Holsteiner stallion produced a double clear to top the 45-strong CSIO5* Emirates Jumping Cup presented by Longines, Abu Dhabi, UAE, in what “could be the last show” for the pair.
Only nine combinations made it through the jump-off, and the only other double clear came from Britain’s Tim Gredley and Imperial HBF, who stopped the clock on 54.10sec for second place. The fastest time came from Germany’s Katrin Eckermannn and Iron Dames Dialou Blue PS, who came home in 48.16sec but a pole down meant they had to settle for third, and Rolf and Zuccero won on 48.25sec.
After the class Rolf said Zuccero, bred by Hanno Koehncke, is a “really fantastic horse that’s reached the top”.
“But unfortunately the horse is going to be coming up for sale and that’s a real shame for me,” he said.
“This makes the win even more special, as this could be the last show. I don’t have a back-up horse at the moment, and it takes time to make a new horse again.”
Rolf, who was the oldest rider at the Paris Olympic showjumping last summer, added that “I’m not as fast as the younger generation, but I have two really great horses” in Zuccero, and 10-year-old gelding Caillan who picked up a fifth, a sixth and a 10th in Abu Dhabi.
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“I love to come here and compete. Everything is great, from the organisation to the footing. The course-designer (Santiago Varela) has built a fair course suitable for the various levels of rider. It’s not easy, but it gave the right amount of clears,” he said.
Zuccero HV was produced as a young horse by the Netherlands’ Bart Van Der Maat before Rolf took over the reins in the summer of 2020. Rolf continued to produce him to top level; in 2023 they were part of the team that won gold at the European Championships, and last year the Swedish team finished sixth in Paris.
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Since joining H&H in 2018, Becky has covered a broad range of equestrian news including welfare matters, veterinary studies, FEI Tribunal hearings and road safety campaigns. She has also interviewed top riders including Scott Brash, John Whitaker and Ian Stark, to name just a few. Becky’s reporting has taken her to Canada for Spruce Meadows and France for Pau five-star, as well as the Royal Highland and Blair Castle International Horse Trials closer to home. She was also a key part of the remote reporting team for the Tokyo Olympics and the Europeans.
