Zuccini MN – “always under the radar …”

Sometimes fate plays a role in careers, not infrequently with special horses. This is also the case with the Holstein gelding Zuccini MN. The gray, a Zuccero son, was supposed to be sold at the Holsteiner Horse Breeding Association’s auction – but no one was really interested in the young gray. So breeder Marko Neeth took his Zuccini home with him for the time being. And at some point, Neeth’s neighbor, Hendrik von Paepcke, got to see him. The Olympic gold medal winner at the 1996 Atlanta Games was immediately impressed by the way the gray horse performed the cross-country jumps on the course at Hof Bredeneek. He quickly decided to discuss with national coach Peter Thomsen whether he would like to try out the gelding for a week. No sooner said than done.

Tested and approved

The gray horse came to the farm of the national trainer on the Danish border and convinced him. The von Paepcke family then acquired the gray horse together with the Schmidt Staade family. Hendrik von Paepcke says that he still likes to watch the video that was taken that day at his yard. “Much of what is there now could already be seen back then.” Above all, it was the attitude that inspired him right from the start and because he already had a good relationship with Ben and Pia Leuwer through another horse, he decided that the gray horse should go to Ben Leuwer for training. Leuwer had taken over the Hanoverian C’est la vie from von Paepcke after Hendrik von Paepcke himself had ridden him at the 2014 Bundeschampionat.

by Paepecke/C’est la vie/Leuwer/Zuccini MN

After successes at three-star level, von Paepcke sold the gelding to the USA at the time, where he was a great sporting success. Among other things, C’est la vie won the American junior championship with Woods Baughman. Later, the Hanoverian, a maternal half-brother to Christoph Wahler’s D’Accord FRH, also competed in the CCI5*-L in Burghley and Lexington.

Ben Leuwer still remembers the phone call from Hendrik von Paepcke. “We have a horse here that you should see. But I don’t think you’ll like the type. Ben Leuwer, high and mighty, drove north and saw Zuccini for the first time. He could only agree with von Paepcke’s assessment, but the spark didn’t ignite. “He stood there, tall and lanky in the stable lane…” But when it came to jumping, Leuwer’s opinion changed. “He did a good job in the small arena,” recalls Ben Leuwer. “And,” he adds with a grin, “there was no argument against him.”

Why Zuccini dispenses with the “h”

“Sometimes horses come to you,” says Ben Leuwer. In the case of Zuccini – the missing h is intentional – that was the case. “I said at the time that if we bought him, we would correct the spelling mistake.” But the owners, the von Paepckes and the Staade family, whose daughter Milla trains with Ben and was German champion and runner-up in the European pony championships, did not want to change the name. “That brings bad luck.”

This is how the gray stallion with the incorrect vegetable name came to Ben Leuwer’s stable. As a five-year-old, the Holsteiner, who incidentally is out of the line of Christian Ahlmann’s Dominator Z and the stallions Duplexx and Lord Liberty, did another “super job” – at the Bundeschampionat Final.

Six-year-old colic surgery

The following year, Zuccini caused a scary moment: Ben and Pia Leuwe were at the show when a groom called because she thought the gray horse looked strange. When the pain in his belly didn’t subside, she didn’t hesitate and loaded the gray horse. At the clinic, it quickly became clear that Zuccini needed an operation. Dr. Carsten Rohde made the urgency clear: “We can’t wait too long.” The intestine was twisted. The operation and aftercare went perfectly. Today you can’t even see the scar.

After the Holsteiner was trained again, he quickly regained his form. What sets him apart? “His amazing mindset,” says his rider. “Zuccini is funny, wants to be challenged and is keen to work”. All virtues that are good for consistent success. They came quickly, also because the gelding has never made a mistake in the cross-country except once. The pair are now successful up to CCI4*-S and were part of the Nations Cup team in Marbach in May 2026. There, they had a runner past in the cross-country.

Nevertheless, the motto for Zuccini applies, which Ben Leuwer summarizes as follows:

He always runs under the radar, nobody notices him and he is always in the right place.

It is not yet clear when the pair will compete in their first long test at four-star level. Zuccini will be nine years old in 2026. His time will come. And he will be given time, also thanks to the support of the Road2LA initiative.