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It’ll be a very merry Christmas indeed for British-based Frenchman Gaspard Maksud and owners/breeders Jane Young and Martin Thurlow, whose nine-year-old mare Zaragoza (Cevin Z x Saracen’s Pride, by Saracen Hill) has just been named the EquiRatings Horse of the Year for 2022.
Over 50,000 votes came in from a rather impressive 50 countries — and many of those, we’d hazard a guess, came in from France, who take their first-ever win in this bracket-style competition. The power of the popular vote allowed the nine-year-old to edge out a seriously formidable final-round competitor in Classic Moet, who retired this winter at the age of nineteen.
Gaspard Maksud punches the air after delivering a clear round with the nine-year-old Zaragoza at Pratoni. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
“She is the top-rated nine-year-old horse in the world right now based on the EquiRatings Elo (Elo: 684),” says the team at EquiRatings. “She placed 4th at one of the toughest CCI4* shows of the year in Haras du Pin. She finished on her dressage score at the World Championships to place 6th, the highest-placed 9 year-old in the Pratoni 2022 field. At every successive international outing this year, Zaragoza’s dressage scores got lower and lower, ending the season on a 27.1 PB in Pratoni. We are delighted she has gotten so much recognition and will be a fun journey for us all to follow over the next 18 months. Onwards to Paris!”
We’ve thoroughly enjoyed following ‘Zoe’s’ rapid ascent to the top this year, which has included fourth place at Burnham Market CCI4*-S and Saumur CCI4*-L — her debut at the level — and a top-ten dressage performance at CHIO Aachen on her own and Gaspard’s French team debut this summer. Now, as she heads into her 10-year-old season, she does so with 13 FEI starts under her belt and an exceptional nine top-ten finishes among them. Go forth and conquer, Gaspard and Zoe!
