Photos: Stefano Grasso / LGCT
Great Britain’s Laura Renwick had an
impressive two more trophies to add to her cabinet today
after a phenomenal double win at the opening day of
competition at the Longines Global Champions Tour of Madrid.
With two of her top horses in action in the stunning Spanish
setting, Laura won both CSI5* classes - the CSI5* 1.45m
Volvo Trophy and the CSI5* 1.50m Massimo Dutti Trophy - in a
beautiful display of horsemanship against a formidable world
class field.
Indeed it was such a high calibre line-up of horses and
riders in action, that the top 13 placed combinations in the
Massimo Dutti Trophy all finished just tenths of a second
apart - highlighting the exhilarating action and world class
show jumping on display this weekend at the LGCT Madrid.
Talking about her second win, an ecstatic Laura said
afterwards: “I’m a bit in shock! To have the person who was
in 13th place on the same second - that’s unheard of
really!”
The opening day of competition at the Club Campo Madrid saw
the world’s top riders in action ahead of sixth round of the
Championship - the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix
of Madrid - which will take place Saturday at 17:00. Watched
on by VIPS including Bruce Springsteen and passionate fans
who cheered the clears through enthusiastically, the picture
perfect grass arena played host to world class competition
this afternoon as the best horses and riders in the world
battled it out for the CSI5* 1.50m Massimo Dutti Trophy; a
two phase test against the clock.
The field of 47 riders had just one round to earn their
final positioning in the €25,000 competition, with an
impressive tally of 26 jumping clear. Laura Renwick (GBR)
set the pace to beat midway through the course, as her big
striding Bintang II ate up the distances, allowing her to
drop a stride at crucial fences throughout the fast paced
course.
Olivier Philippaerts (BEL) and H&M Challenge v. Begijnakker
put in a fantastic performance, but crossed the line in
26.19s - just tenths of a second off the winning time - to
finish in second overall. The times were so tight that the
top 13 riders were all within a second of each other - Kevin
Staut (FRA) Ayade de Septon et HDC finished on 26.27s, Jos
Verlooy (BEL) and Sunshine on 26.43s, LGCT Ranking leader
Christian Ahlmann (GER) and Caribis Z on 26.49s, all the way
to 13th place man Henrik von Eckermann (SWE) and Solitaer 41
who finished in 26.94s.
Two local riders, Eduardo Álvarez Aznar (ESP) with Rico
Revel and Gonzalo Añón Suarez (ESP) with Qlamp d’Ivraie,
both jumped clear, much to the delight of the crowd, but it
was Laura who triumphed overall, taking home the lion’s
share of the €25,000 prize pot.
Earlier in the day Laura and her stunning eight year old
gelding MHS Washington took the CSI5* 1.45m Volvo Trophy.
The pair beat another impressive field of 57 international
riders in the two phase competition, jumping clear in 29.46s
in the second part of the round. Hot on her heels was
America’s Laura Kraut who rode the beautiful Andretti S to
second in 29.95s, just tenths off the British Laura’s time.
With both riders competing for the Global Champions League
team, the Rome Gladiators, anticipation is mounting ahead of
Sunday’s team competition which will kick off at 18:00 local
time.
The two created a significant gap to the remaining clear
riders, with third place rider Andreas Kreuzer (GER) and
Baloukira crossing the line in 33.97s, a full four seconds
behind. The course was a fair test for many of the world’s
top horses and riders, giving the first class combinations
their initial taste of the expansive grass arena ahead of
the LGCT Grand Prix of Madrid. Utilising the full space,
riders galloped between fences, however some carefully
placed verticals and tight cut back turns gave the riders
something to think about.
Other notable performances saw John Whitaker and his famous
stallion Argento finish in 5th, with the pair leading for
most of the way. Bassem Hassan Mohammed (QAT) and Argelith
Squid performed well, as did home rider Eduardo Álvarez
Aznar (ESP) and Rokfeller de Pleville Bois Margot and young
star Jos Verlooy (BEL) with Caracas who looks to be on
strong form this weekend.
Tomorrow will see the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand
Prix of Madrid take place at 17:00 local time, with the full
competition broadcast live on GCT TV. Eurosport will show
the Grand Prix Live from the second round, with coverage
starting at 19:30 local time. For all the broadcast
information and the full list of channels, please click
here.