Photos: Stefano Grasso / LGCT
Daniel Deusser (GER) stole the show in
today’s prestigious American Invitational CSI5* feature
class with his beautiful bay gelding, the 13 year old
Clintop 2. The exhilarating jump-off saw the top three
riders cross the line all within sixth tenths of a second of
each other, and all three clearing the field a full two
seconds ahead of everyone else. As the sun began to set
behind the iconic Miami Beach skyline, 47 of the world’s
best horse and rider combinations took to the sand arena
lined by enthusiastic spectators and fans. The picture
perfect setting made for breath-taking images as the
1.50/1.55m class was streamed live around the world.
Earlier today, Longines Global Champions Tour was featured
on CBS, with entertainment reporter Lisa Petrillo reporting
from the scenic grounds of the spectacular event set-up. The
high profile TV Network featured an interview with US rider
Georgina Bloomberg and a full clip of the feature can be
found here.
Talking about the competition and the intensity of the
jump-off which saw only five riders jump double clear,
winner Daniel Deusser said: "when we walked the first round
we thought it was a really nice, difficult class. In the end
the horses jumped it really nice. The conditions are really
good so we had 14 clear rounds - in the jump-off there were
more faults than expected so when I went into the jump-off I
really tried to have a fast round. I had in the back of my
head the idea to try go clear because a lot of people before
me had one down."
Romain Duguet (SUI) rode his fiery chestnut mare Quorida de
Treho beautifully throughout the competition and into the
fast paced jump-off, however missed out on the top spot by
just two tenths of a second from Daniel’s time. Rising star
Nicola Philippaerts (BEL) put in a stellar performance with
his stunning grey stallion Zilverstar T, however had to
settle for third after the electrifying round which had the
crowd gasping at every turn.
Following this afternoon’s first CSI5* class, Uliano Vezzani
composed a course that was set to test the best in the
business. The challenging first round caught out many of the
word’s top combinations, with last year’s winner and hot
contender for the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix
of Miami Beach Scott Brash (GBR) having an unusual refusal
with Hello Forever, and Irish star Bertram Allen and Quiet
Easy also caught out by the tests that came thick and fast.
A total of 14 riders went through to the jump-off, and as
the light began to soften speculation mounted as to who
would claim the precedented top spot.
Kent Farrington (USA) rode a brilliantly fast time with
Creedance but agonisingly had the last fence down, much to
the audible groan of the crowd. The last hope for the
American audience was Richard Spooner (USA) and his
experienced 18 year old bay gelding Cristallo, and despite
putting in a blistering round, they had a fence down
collecting four faults.
Christian Ahlmann (GER) and Harrie Smolders (NED) both
jumped double clear and in good time, however it was
Daniel’s brilliantly calculated turn to the penultimate
fence which was excpetional, winning him the top prize.
Earlier in the day Germany’s David Will and his stunning
chestnut 16 year old mare Mic Mac du Tillard took first
place in the opening CSI5* class set against the clock.
Emanuele Gaudiano (ITA) continued his flying form following
yesterday’s speed class win, riding Guess 6 to third place,
and Switzerland’s Pius Schwizer and the impressive Balou
Rubin R took the second spot.
The snug arena, crowded on all sides by an enthusiastic
crowd, creates an intense atmosphere so it will take a top
horse and rider team to win the main event tomorrow
afternoon, the opening Longines Global Champions Tour Grand
Prix of the season.
Tune in to the CSI5* live feed via
GCT TV, with the first
round of the LGCT Grand Prix of Miami Beach kicking off at
15:15 local time. For a full TV broadcast schedule, please
click
here.