Photos: Stefano Grasso / GCL
It was a battle of gladiatorial standards
as the twelve teams took to the stunning grass arena for the
Global Champions League of Madrid, as the points ranking
tightened dramatically during the sixth leg of the 2016
Championship fight. With adrenaline running high in the
picture perfect setting, it was another showcase of top
sport and entertainment right until the final fence, with
the magnificent Rome Gladiators - consisting of Laura Kraut
and Laura Renwick - who reigned supreme.
An ecstatic Laura Renwick, who jumped double clear with
Bintang II spoke of the pressure in the final round, "After
Laura did such a great job I just tried to go as fast as I
could and leave the jumps up, and it worked today!” And
teamwork it was, as both 'Lauras' took the Gold Medal for
the Rome Gladiators, their first win of the season so far
and rocketing them up the rankings to fourth place overall
with a tally of 130 points.
Talking about the strong camaraderie in the team, Laura
Kraut spoke of the Rome Gladiators U25 rider Emma Heise, who
was also at event this weekend: “We have Emma as one of our
teammates - she’s our U25 rider. She walks every course, she
follows every rider [in the competition], she keeps track of
everything - she’s been great.”
The overall ranking points have closed up once more, with
Valkenswaard United still at the top of the table on a full
145 points overall. The Championship rankings have tightened
dramatically, with the top three teams all within just four
points of one another, with Monaco Aces in 142 points
overall and the Antwerp Diamonds hot on their heels with 141
points. With 30 points up for grabs for a win, it’s set to
be an action packed season as the League heads to the next
destinations in the European phase of the Championship -
Chantilly, Cannes, Monaco and Paris.
Fans packed the arena to witness the League take place for
the first time in the Spanish city of Madrid, cheering
passionately as the riders took centre stage, and dancing to
the bespoke team music which resonated around the Club de
Villa de Madrid. VIPs including Bruce Springsteen who spent
time at the show with his wife Patti watching their daughter
Jessica Springsteen compete in the Shanghai Swans with team
mate Edwina Tops-Alexander. "The Boss" joined guests to
watch the high calibre competition following his performance
last night in front of tens of thousands of fans in the City
as part of his "The River" tour.
A tough first round saw many of the world’s top riders and
horses caught by the challenging 1.55m course. GCL Ranking
leaders Valkenswaard United failed to qualify for round two
after a fence and time fault for John Whitaker and his horse
Lord of Arabia, plus a rub of a pole from Bertram Allen and
Quiet Easy dropped them out of the running. Doha Fursan
Qatar’s Hamad Ali Mohamed A Al Attiyah had an unlucky fall
from Appagino 2, meaning the team would be eliminated from
the competition, and Vienna Eagles just missed out of
qualifying for round two after picking up 8 faults from
Danielle Goldstein, with team mate and GCL debuting U25
rider Paris Sellon jumping a strong clear.
The Monaco Aces of Daniel Bluman and Schuyler Riley looked
to be on phenomenal form throughout the competition, leading
the way into round two on a score of zero with both riders
clear. They were joined by the Shanghai Swans who put in a
stunning opening round with riders Edwina Tops-Alexander and
Jessica Springsteen, Rome Gladiators and the Cannes Stars -
all on a score of zero and under pressure to jump round two
fast and clear with combined time crucial to the finishing
positions.
As the bell rang, team Miami Glory took centre stage as the
first team to test out the new course layout. The team
carried through four faults into round two, with Georgina
Bloomberg jumping a sensational clear with her 10 year old
bay mare Calista. The pressure was on team mate and World
Number 3 Scott Brash, who looked to be on fantastic form
until an unlucky couple of fences caught the pair out,
taking the team total to twelve.
Cannes Stars top German rider, Marco Kutscher, provided a
careful clear round with his 10 year old bay gelding Clenur,
picking up just one time fault. Team mate Roger-Yves Bost
pushed his horse Sunshine du Phare to be within the time
allowed, however was caught out by a rail costing the team
four faults in total, placing them on a final score of 5.
Edwina Tops-Alexander provided the anchor double clear for
the Shanghai Swans, with team mate Jessica Springsteen the
second to last rider to go as the pressure mounted. After a
stunning first round, Jessica rode the 14 year old bay
gelding Vindicat W beautifully, but the galloping course
with demanding 1.55m verticals and wide oxers tested the
best and cost the team 12 faults.
As the Rome Gladiators watched on in anticipation, it was
all down to the last and final rider to go; Daniel Bluman of
the Monaco Aces. With a score of zero faults so far, the
Columbian rider knew he had to jump clear and careful to win
the League, however a pole down could drop them far down the
order if his time was too slow. Midway through the course,
the pair caught a pole, and Daniel moved his 10 year old bay
gelding Believe up a gear to make up the time difference and
be in with a chance of winning. But the galloping pace took
its toll, and as they came to the last the pair caught the
top rail, crossing the line in a combined time of 142.48s
but putting them on eight faults and fourth overall.
The Global Champions League now looks to the chic
destination of Chantilly, another historic venue on the 15
event Championship as teams battle it out in the intense
points ranking.
Jan Tops, Co-Founder Global Champions League: “To be
here in this magnificent place - it’s amazing to ride at,
the crowd is unique. Alvaro and Oxer organised Mexico and we
can see the Latin flavour, the warmth all the time from the
spectators is great until the end, and that’s nice to see
for the riders - they try very hard here. We have also been
blessed with these two shows with the weather and
circumstances which were of course fantastic. You see more
and more that the riders take this competition very
seriously - everything is very close, they’re putting their
best horses in and I think today was a great win for both
‘Lauras'. They stayed cool until the end, especially with
the last two teams having to jump clear. The riders want to
do their best - they don’t want to let their sponsors and
team riders down. The pressure is unique for this
competition but the riders are the top [in show jumping], so
it’s great for the sport. [In GCL competitions] you can
count everything - all the points count until the end and
there is no drop score; so everything stays open. It’s easy
to follow. Now the team who are number one can in three
shows be number five or the other way around. I think this
is much better for all of us, for the fans, who can follow
the competition to the end. There are only three points
between first and second, and with nine more GCL legs coming
everything is still open with many teams still with a chance
to win.”
Alvaro Arrieta Konyay, CEO Oxer Sport: “First of all
congratulations to the six riders who are at this table - it
was a really exciting competition today. Thanks to my friend
Jan for his confidence and trust in our committee; it was
the first time for the League in Madrid. As you know we
organised six weeks ago the show in Mexico City, so it is
not a new competition for us as such, but you always have
butterflies in your stomach. The riders and horses did
really well - it was a beautiful competition and we are
really happy and we hope the League keeps coming to Madrid.
It’s a very nice competition and we hope Jan keeps improving
and building this sport, and all of us should support the
new competition.”
Laura Kraut, Rome Gladiators, GCL Madrid Gold Medallist:
“I was so happy with [Confu]. He’s a relatively new horse
for me and I thought he rode both rounds really well. I said
to Laura that I didn’t even know I had the fence down until
I heard the crowd groan, and then I looked at the scoreboard
and saw four, so I thought I better take the brakes off and
get going! I’m really happy with him - he’s good for this
competition, it’s great experience for an up and coming
horse."
Laura Renwick, Rome Gladiators, GCL Madrid Gold
Medallist: “I thought [Bintang] got better even in the
second round than the first - the size of that ring really
helps him, he’s got a huge stride and I could just use that
to my advantage in the second round. After Laura did such a
great job I just tried to go as fast as I could and leave
the jumps up, and it worked today!"
Marco Kutscher, Cannes Stars, GCL Madrid Silver
Medallist: “First of all well done to the two ladies!
I’m very happy with my horse I have to say. We both chose
perhaps the slowest horses of the competition so we were not
trying to be fast. I had the time fault which I counted on
in order to try and be clear. Normally, and with a little
bit more luck we would have won the class. But we’re very
happy. I expected us to be fourth [after the pole down] but
as Jan said, every result counts, so it was very exciting
the last two riders - there’s always something happening!"
Roger-Yves Bost, Cannes Stars, GCL Madrid Silver
Medallist: “Marco rode better than me today - I had one
down, the course was a little difficult today with not many
clear so I’m very happy with the result."
Harrie Smolders, Antwerp Diamonds, GCL Madrid Bronze
Medallist: “I chose Aiyetoro to ride as he was in good
shape these past few weeks. That’s why we brought him here.
We changed our tactics a little bit to put myself as first
and Audrey with Alex as second because I think with her
horse we have a few more options to see how the course is
going, and she can make up more time. It almost bought us
victory today.”
Audrey Coulter, Antwerp Diamonds, GCL Madrid Bronze
Medallist: “I think [GCL] is a lot of fun. Alex is the
perfect horse for this type of class as he is fast and very
careful so he’s been able to succeed every time he’s
competed in this class, so it’s been fun.”