The first edition of the « International LONGINES Horse Show of Lausanne 2016 » took place from the 8th to the 11th of September at the « place Bellerive » at Lausanne, there where the Knie circus has put up its big tent for decades, and where its equestrian numbers will give great joy to the public of Vaud from the end of this month.

The organisiers of the horseshow were faced with a very difficult challenge : that of doing as well as Jan Tops « Monsieur International Showjumping » who has confirmed himself through the years as a great visionary of equestrian sports, in any case in his conception of a spectacle which guarantees the top level thanks to the enthusiasm of the best world riders for the tournaments that he organises across the whole planet. So it was not surprising that the best riders chose the italian stage of the LONGINES GLOBAL CHAMPIONS TOUR of Jan Tops which took place this same weekend in Rome to the detriment of the new CSI5* showjumping competition of Lausanne. This same olympic town of Lausanne which is also the seat of the FEI (Fédération Equestre Internationale), which is besides a neighbour of our own site at www.horsesoftheworld.com .

So, also, didn’t they do as well as M. Jan Tops, but the organisers will know how to improve things for next year, if they analyse and understand what the « Dutch Master » has achieved before them in Lausanne.

Crushing victory of British showjumpers in the Longines Ville de Lausanne Grand Prix

As concentrated as usual, Robert Whitaker and his faithful Catwalk IV led their team towards an indisputable victory, obtaining, just like Emma O’Dwyera a round without hitch on the bars, although penalised lightly for the time during the first round. William Funnel and the old Hungarian Billy Congo completed this « perfect trio » from across the channel.

To give the most international aspect possible to this first competition of a series which we hope will be long, the organisers of the CSI of Lausanne had notably counted on the participation of stars of the big world circuit such as Abdelkebir Ouaddar and his royal partner, the « Selle Français » Quickly de Keisker. Being a very seasoned athlete, the Maroccan rider soon realised that to try to win this event it was necessary to mount very forward, to encourage his horse by taking big risks. Therefore Abdelkebir Ouaddar did not jump for fun but played the game to the great delight of the public and managed to get to within 1 tenth of a second of the best time of the first round achieved by the French rider Patrice Delaveau. The Maroccan hit three bars in this very sporting attempt while the Frenchman, after getting a clear round in the first round paid for his ardant by trying his horse. He also hit three bars in the second round.