2021 NAYRC Champion Zeaball Diawind Moves to California

Dressage

U.S.A.

Zeaball Diawind, Christian Simonson's triple gold medal winner at the 2021 North American Young Riders Championships, has moved to California. The 12-year old gelding sold to a new owner.

Zeaball Diawind is a Danish warmblood gelding by Furstenball out of Zini Diawind (by Zardin Firfod x Waldstern). He is bred by Peter Schrøder and Bettina Qvist.

Denmark

The dark bay gelding began his competition career as a 4-year old in July 2016 under Frederico Mexia de Almeida.

Two months later Julie Lindgren-Christensen showed the horse for the first time and rode him through 2017. In 2018 it was Karoline Louise Skøt's turn who produced him up to M-level.

Christian Simonson

With Karoline Louise Skøt at the 2018 CDN Ringsted

Zeaball Diawind sold to Christina Morgan, Christian Simonson's mom in 2019.

Based in Ventura, California, Simonson made a winning international show debut at Young Riders level on Zeaball in October 2020 at the CDI Tryon before heading to Florida for his first winter in Wellington. There they placed in the top three in each test.

They were selected for the Young Riders Euro-tour with a base at Begijnhoeve in Belgium. . At the CDIO-Y Hagen, they made a splash by finishing second in the team test beating some of Germany's best riders. Two months later they won triple gold at the 2021 North American Young Riders Championships and gold at the 2021. U.S. Young Riders Championships.

In 2022 the pair competed in the senior small tour at the Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, but their campaign stopped mid-march when he was withdrawn from the Prix St Georges at the CDI Wellington. Initially it was stated that Zeaball was on a break from showing because he was getting prepared for Under 25 level, but the horse made his return to the competition a year later, still at small tour level.

He re-appeared in the national ring for an Inter I test at the start of February 2023 and then went on to successfully show in two more CDI's in Wellington, one in Ocala and they back at Young Riders level at the CDI-Hagen in Germany, where he posted two 70% scores. Their last international as a pair was the small tour at the CDIO Aachen in July 2023. A month later they were 6th in the 2023 U.S. Small Tour Championship, while Christian won gold on Son of a Lady.

They did two more PSG tests at national level in Wellington in March 2024.

Sold to California

As Christian is focusing on a Grand Prix career under the tutelage of Adrienne Lyle, the small tour horse Zeaball was put on the market.

He has now been sold to Kimberly Julesa Jackson from California.

"I couldn’t think of a better home then with Kim only 15 minutes away from my hometown in California," said Christian. "It has been an amazing 5 years being able to ride such a special horse. I am just incredibly grateful for everything he has taught me. He has been a horse that truly has changed my dressage career."

"I met Christian Simonson many years ago and coached him during his journey as a Junior Rider. It’s been a blast following the wonderful career he and Zee have had together," said Kimberly. "Zee will be ridden by a long time client and x FBI agent Tim. Tim has had some hard years with the loss of one of his horses to a brain tumor and the retirement of another at the peak of his career. As we know sometimes these unfortunate things happen with these horses we love so much. I am so thrilled that Tim will be able to continue riding and that Zee will be able to share his wealth of knowledge with kind and intuitive minds that are wanting to learn."