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Immobilien zum Verkauf in der Schweiz,
in Frankreich und Spanien
Contact:
Jamil Boukarabila - Jaquemet
tel: +41 26 660 31 27 -
mobile: +41 79 332 06 80 -
fax: +41 21 544 13 24
On-line formular |
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Fahad Saad Al
Qahtani, Group Executive Director
Administration of Qatar Foundation
and AL SHAQAB Executive Director:
"Let me take this opportunity to
thank His Highness the Father Emir,
Her Highness Sheikha Moza, Sheikh
Joaan and Hamad Al Attiya, the
President of the Federation for the
support they have given this
magnificent event. There is no
doubt, for the people even who are
not related to the equestrian
industry, they had an amazing time,
so we all achieved what we wanted.
It was exciting moment, an amazing
evening and it cannot be better than
what we have seen tonight. It is an
amazing formula we have achieved
tonight, amazing infrastructure. The
riders handled the pressure
amazingly. The support we had from
everybody was outstanding and we
came off with a beautiful picture of
the sport."
Walter Von
Känel, President of Longines: "I
am so pleased that my colleague said
what he did. It is a pleasure to
thank the Global Champions Tour, to
thank the locals, to thank all the
riders and the horses, thank you to
all the volunteers, and together we
made a big push for the promotion of
this equestrian land for jumping and
this is fantastic. The spirit, the
competition, no accident - this, for
me, a farmer’s son, is probably the
greatest pleasure I have. I would
like to say to Luciana that you and
your horse are really a great love
story - Fit For Fun is Fit For
‘Love' with your horse -
congratulations. It's nice to be
here and thank you to all the locals
and everybody for the promotion of
equestrian in this beautiful
country."
Jan Tops,
Longines Global Champions Tour
Founder and President: " As
trainer of the Qatari squad, they
have had a fantastic season,
especially this year - 5th in the
overall, today double clear - to
beat all these people is very
difficult, but at least they are in
the game, they are getting good
experience, they are riding with
more confidence and I am very proud
with the way they have developed the
last few years. The aim was to
qualify for the Olympics, achieve
good results in the Longines Global
Champions Tour - that's what they
have achieved.
"10 years ago we
started with 6 events, this year
we’ve done 15 events, with 2 new
events in Miami and Rome. We have
very much established our events
this year. The quality is much
higher, we have a great team of
people, our followers on television,
the live-streaming is tremendous -
it has been growing these past years
and if you see what we have achieved
in the last 10 years I think it is
amazing. We are not tennis, golf or
Formula 1 just yet, but the gap is
not what it used to be. We have
constant development for this year
and our sport has a big future.
"These 3 riders
have been really dominating the
sport throughout the whole year.
Luciana's horse was on great form to
win today and overall, Rolf has been
every time so consistent, everybody
wanted him to win, he has been
second twice. Also Scott, he has won
two times but today he wanted to be
friendly to Luciana to allow her to
win today! I think they have all
between them been by far the best of
all the riders."
Uliano
Vezzani, Course Designer: "For
me today was not easy but with the
great riders who were here, it was
amazing. I’m very happy, for me, for
the Longines Global Champions Tour.
We had great sport. The arena was
fantastic, we had also fantastic
fences."
Rolf-Göran
Bengtsson, 2015 Longines Global
Champions Tour Bronze Medallist:
"First of all, I want to say that I
really enjoyed doing the Longines
Global Champions Tour and it is a
fantastic thing. We go to very nice
locations, where we make the sport
famous everywhere. I didn’t go
directly in the beginning, I started
a little but later but I have been
many times so consistent. To reach
third place in the end, I’m still
happy with that, of course I wanted
to win but that’s life."
Scott Brash,
2015 Longines Global Champions Tour
Silver Medallist: "I had a silly
fence in the first round, coming out
of the double. Ok, this is
showjumping so we know it can
happen. So I started the second
round thinking that I had to be the
fastest of the four faulters to have
any chance so I went as fast as I
could and it’s the reason I had a
fence down. But Sanctos has been
wonderful all year.
"I must say I
think Luciana really deserves it,
she’s been so consistent the whole
year, as has Rolf. I think Fit For
Fun jumped unbelievable today, it
was actually an absolute joy to
watch. They jumped fantastic, as did
Rolf, so they really deserved it. In
the last three legs of the Longines
Global Champions Tour they just ran
away it, so it’s all credit to both
of them.”
Luciana Diniz,
2015 Longines Global Champions Tour
Gold Medallist: “I was in a
winning mood spirit today and riding
Fit For ‘Love’ makes my life easier.
It’s true, if you ride with love and
you believe in what you do it makes
your life easier. So this success to
be here, I am not alone in that - I
have to thank all of you as well,
the Longines Global Champions Tour,
all the supporters, Doha, AL SHAQAB.
And now my team, my fantastic
horses, Fit for ‘Love’, Winningmood
who has been in great shape this
year. I love this name by the way! I
think we have arrived with a
different story in our sport, with a
new image as well for the sport -
I’m not saying it’s going to be like
tennis one day but I think we’re
respectable now, people are looking
for us with a different spirit now
and I’m very happy to be here today.
These two boys were gentlemen today
and let the lady be first so I’m
very happy with that.
“[Scott and Rolf]
are so good, if I would think about
focusing on them and what they are
going to do I would be lost. So I
just said I’d focus on myself and
what my horse can do and I’m just
going to be with her there, together
we are one and that was my strategy
today - just focus on the both of
us. Fit For Love was in love with
me."
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(Photo: Stefano
Grasso/LGCT)
Luciana Diniz and
Fit For Fun took the 2015
Championship tonight after winning
the final Longines Global Champions
Tour Grand Prix of the season in
sensational style. The incredible
sporting action went right down to
the wire in Doha, Qatar, and the top
three contenders had fans on the
edge of their seats until the final
moment of the final round.
It was a
magnificent finale at AL SHAQAB with
all eyes on the three riders who had
battled through the series to be in
with a chance of the championship
crown - Scott Brash, Luciana Diniz
and Rolf-Göran Bengtsson. On the
night it was Luciana and her
chestnut mare who emerged as the
supreme combination of the high
octane season.
The Royal Family
of Qatar attended the Longines
Global Champions Tour event for the
second day running and witnessed
three strong performances from
Qatari national riders, including
Sheikh Ali Bin Khalid Al Thani who
rode an impressive double clear in
the Grand Prix. His Highness The
Father Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa
Al Thani, Her Highness Sheikha Moza
Bint Nasser Al Missned and Sheikh
Joaan Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani
enthusiastically applauded Sheikh
Ali and watched the championship
prize giving ceremony along with
guests in a special cultural VIP
tent next to the arena.
It was a epic
night of top-level sport at full
throttle rounding off a spectacular
season. From the opening moments,
when the world of show jumping was
stunned by the new venue on Miami
Beach, the 15-event circuit powered
on to stops including Shanghai,
Monaco, Paris, Rome and the final in
Doha. Fans across the world grew in
numbers during the season watching
the increasing international TV
coverage and live streaming on GCT
TV.
All eyes were on
Doha and the three who could take
the 2015 season title - Scott Brash
(GBR), Luciana Diniz (POR) and
Rolf-Göran Bengtsson (SWE). The
first round course on the sweeping
520m track in the AL SHAQAB arena
was a formidable test; it demanded
ultra precision and concentration
from both horse and rider. In
particular the last line of the
course and the triple combination
with two oxers was a strong test for
the best riders in the world as they
competed to earn their place in
round two. The bright colours of the
fences, often depicting traditional
Arabic designs, were also a test for
the horses, and the stunning
floodlit arena set the backdrop for
a dramatic 2015 season finale.
Course designer
Uliano Vezzani produced a fittingly
formidable first round course for
the final showdown of the year. It
was described by show jumping legend
Ludger Beerbaum: “I definitely
believe it is big enough, demanding
enough. It may not be super
technical but the size is serious."
The time allowed
in the first round was tight, with
78 seconds given in total for this
challenging course. Doda de Miranda
(BRA) was the first to go clear with
AD Living the Dream, but picked up
an unlucky time fault. He was soon
joined by Rene Tebbel (UKR) and
Hamad Ali Mohamed Al Attiyah (QAT)
who rode clear with Appagino, to the
delight of his home crowd, however
all were just caught out by the time
allowed.
Meredith
Michaels-Beerbaum (GER) was the
first to go clear with Fibonacci,
and she was delighted with her 10
year old grey gelding. Soon to
follow was Qatar’s own Bassem Hassan
Mohammed with California, and the
crowd erupted as their home rider
flew over the last.
First to go of
the title contenders was Ranking
leader Scott Brash (GBR). He and
Hello Sanctos flew around but
clipped a fence, picking up four
faults to the groan of the audience
and his fans around the world. The
temperature rose as Rolf-Göran
Bengtsson (SWE) and Casall ASK were
the next title contender to enter
the ring, knowing that he would need
to win the Grand Prix to be in with
a chance of the Champion of
Champions Crown.
With the
consistency they’ve shown throughout
the season, Rolf and Casall ASK rode
a stunning clear - fastest to do so
at that point in the competition and
pushing Scott down to 15th. As the
final riders took their turn, Edwina
Tops-Alexander (AUS) clipped a fence
meaning that Scott would go through
to the second round, finishing in
18th place and keeping his title
hopes alive.
Luciana Diniz
(POR) and Fit For Fun 13 were second
last to go, and rode a brilliant
clear round, the quickest of the
riders so far and meaning that the
three title contenders would go
through to the second round as the
intensity rose. The heat was on,
with Rolf-Göran Bengtsson needing a
double clear in order to go through
to the jump-off with a chance of
taking the title.
The top eighteen
went through to the second round,
with Ranking leader Scott Brash and
Hello Sanctos first in and with
everything to do to keep his title
hopes alive. The second layout was a
big but fairly straightforward
course, with three big fences to
start and a generous time of 77
seconds. A rather awkward line to
the treble combination would require
plenty of care and scope and a 1,60m
vertical penultimate fence caught
out a few of the top riders.
Scott rode a
beautiful round all the way up until
the penultimate fence, just clipping
the pole and finishing on 8 faults
in total with a time of 62.69s.
However as the class progressed, the
riders to follow also had fences
down, leaving Scott at the top of
the eight faulters.
The experienced
Ludger Beerbaum (GER) and Chiara
were first to go clear, and carried
through their four faults after a
careful round but Bertram Allen
(IRL) soon pipped his time with the
talented Molly Malone V. Rene Tebbel
(UKR) and Forlap also went clear
however with their one time fault
carried over were soon pushed down
the order as Sheikh Ali Bin Khalid
Al Thani (QAT) and First Devision
rode a stunning double clear round,
watch on by members of the Qatar
Royal Family. The first to ride
double clear, he was followed by
Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (GER) and
Fibonacci, and, despite a
heart-stopping moment at the double,
meant there would be a jump-off.
Rolf-Göran
Bengtsson (SWE) and Casall ASK were
next to go, and rode an unbelievable
course, earning his place in the
final round. His title hopes still
open, he was followed by Luciana
Diniz (POR) who raised the
temperature yet higher still by
following him into the jump-off.
Scott was pushed down the order to
8th, meaning he was no longer in
contention for the 2015 Title and it
was a two horse race to the finish.
The final jump
off of the season was kicked off by
Sheikh Ali Bin Khalid Al Thani
however he had two down despite a
valiant effort to reach the podium.
Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (GER)
rode some stunning angles, galloping
to the last and flying home with a
formidable time of 36.55s and
setting the bar for the final two to
follow.
The incredible
pair of Rolf-Göran Bengtsson and
Casall ASK galloped around the
course, cutting out strides and
pushing to beat Meredith’s
impressive time. But it wasn’t to
be, and the formidable duo crossed
the line in 37.01 seconds just
tenths off the lead. Last to go
Luciana Diniz knew that the title
was hers, but set out to win the
Longines Global Champions Tour Grand
Prix of Doha, and did so in emphatic
style, with the brave Fit For Fun 13
jumping her heart out for the final,
crossing the line in 36.10s.
It was a dramatic
final showdown to what’s been an
incredible season, with all the
emphasis on the top level of sport
and the high calibre profile of the
Longines Global Champions Tour.
Last night it was
announced that AL SHAQAB will be the
stage for the 2016 championship
final of the Longines Global
Champions Tour, which will include
the new Global Champions League Team
Competition launching next year.
Speaking about hosting the final
again next year, Fahad Saad Al
Qahtani, Group Executive Director
Administration of Qatar Foundation
and AL SHAQAB Executive Director
said: “It is an honour for us, we
are very proud of what you
achieved.”
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(Photo: Stefano
Grasso/LGCT)
Ranking leader
and World Number 1 Scott Brash (GBR)
stole the show with Hello Forever
today in Qatar in a sensational
prelude to tomorrow’s Longines
Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of
Doha. The stunning night lights of
AL SHAQAB illuminated a dramatic
duel between Scott and Rolf-Göran
Bengtsson (SWE) in a taste of what
lies ahed in a spellbinding climax
to the season tomorrow. In the end
Rolf came agonisingly close to
victory with a stunning round on his
grey stallion Clarimo ASK, finishing
just seven tenths of a second behind
Scott.
On the
penultimate day of the Longines
Global Champions Tour 2015 season,
the temperature rose as riders
fought to win a share of the
€153,000 prize fund in the CSI5*
1.50/1.55m jump-off class.
Earlier, The
Father Emir, His Highness Sheikh
Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani and Her
Highness Sheikha Moza bin Nasser All
Missned watched Qatari national
riders competing at AL SHAQAB and
saw Longines Global Champions Tour
President Jan Tops and his wife
Edwina Tops-Alexander present
rosettes to young riders in the
special academy at the equestrian
complex.
Then all eyes
were on the big competition of the
night as 46 contenders took to the
vast 120m x 80m sand arena for a
feast of high calibre show jumping
featuring the world’s leading
riders.
Italy’s Uliano
Vezzani designed a flowing course,
centred around two long lines of
fences across the middle of the huge
sand arena and posed a fair test
ahead of tomorrow’s main Grand Prix.
Germany’s Marco Kutscher got the
class off to an excellent start,
jumping clear with the 11 year old
chestnut stallion Balermo, with
third to go, Meredith
Michaels-Beerbaum, guaranteeing a
jump-off early on after a brilliant
clear on the athletic Fibonacci 17.
With 10 of the
first 24 combinations clear, it
looked like there would be a large
jump off, however with the next 12
riders failing to post a clear
round, it was clear that the course
was not as straight forward as
initially perceived. Causing
particular trouble was a line of two
contrasting doubles across the
diagonal on a committed related
distance, which caught out many of
these top-class combinations. The
vertical to an oxer, six strides to
another big oxer into the second
double and a short distance to a
tall vertical coming out threw in a
few challenges, with Title contender
Luciana Diniz (POR) and Germany’s
Ludger Beerbaum two of the biggest
names to get caught out in dramatic
style.
Of the second
half of the competitors to jump,
only Scott Brash (GBR) riding Hello
Forever and Ramzy Hamad Al Duhami
(KSA) managed to complete faultless
rounds. A total of 12 riders went
through to the jump off, with all
eyes on Scott and championship rival
Rolf-Göran Bengtsson (SWE) to get an
insight into the riders’ form ahead
of the exhilarating Grand Prix.
The jump off
round was a stern test for those who
had made it through. Marco Kutscher
(GER) and Balermo were first to go
clear in a well balanced 46.85
seconds, setting the bar for the
riders yet to come. Lauren Hough
(USA) set off at a strong pace with
Royalty Des Isles however was
eliminated after an unlucky fall at
the double.
Rolf-Göran
Bengtsson (SWE) and Clarimo ASK set
off at a gallop and soon took the
lead with a strong 45.42s over the
line, taking out strides all along
the course without throwing caution
to the wind and raising the bar
higher still to the riders yet to
follow.
Gregory Wathelet
(BEL) and Egano van het Slogenhof
just caught the vertical going into
the double, but was the quickest of
the four faulters in 43.38. He was
quickly followed by Columbia’s
Carlos Lopez, who was lightning fast
with Prince de la Mare however they
also took out the vertical, just
pipping Gregory to the fast time
with 43.24s.
Scott Brash was
the penultimate rider to enter the
arena and set off at a blinding
pace, picking Hello Forever up
through the fences all around the
course. Scott carried the young 9
year old horse brilliantly into the
double that had caused so much
trouble earlier, with a deep stride
to carry him over and push on
through to the final fences,
finishing with a time of 44.78s.
Talking about
Hello Forever, Scott said: “I’m
really chuffed with him. His jump is
very good so hopefully next year
he’ll be an ever better horse - I'm
delighted with him. He loves a jump
off, he’s a winner.”
Looking ahead to
the Grand Prix, Scott commented:
"Sanctos feels good, he had a day
off today and we’ll be trying our
best tomorrow. You have to go in, do
your job, focus on your horse, focus
on beating the course and that’s all
I can try and do.”
It’s set to be an
incredible Longines Global Champions
Tour Grand Prix of Doha tomorrow,
with the first round kicking off at
17:15. The full Grand Prix will be
broadcast live via the GCT TV online
streaming platform, and broadcast by
Eurosport, beIN Sport, Equidia Life,
Globosat and Rai Sport. For a full
broadcast list, please click
here.
The stunning AL SHAQAB arena
(Photo: Stefano
Grasso/LGCT)
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(Photo: Stefano
Grasso/LGCT)
The 2015 final of
the Longines Global Champions Tour
is set to be one of the most
exciting climaxes to any season in
the history of the series. The
critical points battle that will
unfold at the top of the ranking
leader board will deliver a
thrilling finale with three leading
riders in contention for the overall
crown. Here is a special insight
into the fierce jostling for points
that will take place when the
curtain goes up on the Longines
Global Champions Tour Grand Prix
this Saturday.
World number 1
and current leader Scott Brash (GBR)
currently sits at the top of the
leaderboard, and will make history
if he is able to take his third
consecutive title - a feat that’s
never been achieved before on the
Longines Global Champions Tour.
Luciana Diniz (POR) is the next
highest rank leader, sitting just
two points away from Scott, and will
be fighting to take her first
Longines Global Champions Tour
title. Two-time Silver Olympic
Medallist Rolf-Göran Bengtsson (SWE)
is the final rider who has the
potential to take the title, having
come runner up twice before.
Up and down the
Ranking board there is the potential
for high drama and world class
action as the top showjumpers in the
world compete at the magnificent AL
SHAQAB stadium. Only the riders’ top
eight scores throughout the season
will be counted, meaning that the
greatest number of points possible
will be high on the agenda for the
Grand Prix. With a bonus of €1
million on offer for the top 18
ranked riders, as well as the
€450,000 Grand Prix of Doha prize
fund, there’s everything to play for
in this final round of exhilarating
competition.
Calculation
for Scott Brash
To win the 2015 LGCT title: As long
as Rolf is not 1st, Scott has to be
finish in a minimum of 6th position
and better placed then Luciana.
Calculation
for Luciana Diniz
To win the 2015 LGCT title: As long
as Rolf is not 1st, Luciana has to
finish in a minimum of 5th position
and better placed then Scott.
Calculation
for Rolf-Göran Bengtsson
To win the 2015 LGCT title: Rolf has
to win the Grand Prix of Doha, with
Scott and Luciana in 4th or lower.
In brief
therefore, if Scott or Luciana are
placed 5th or higher, the best rank
will decide the 2015 Longines Global
Champions Tour title. If Rolf wins
the Longines Global Champions Tour
Grand Prix of Doha, Scott and
Luciana must be 4th or higher to
take the Champion of Champions
Crown, or he can claim the title.
Further down the
ranking board there is opportunity
for more drama and potential for
change. Simon Delestre (FRA) and
Christian Ahlmann (GER) are
currently in 4th and 5th place,
however will be unable to improve on
their ranking position. However the
next five riders, Sheikh Ali Bin
Khalid Al Thani (QAT), John Whitaker
(GBR), Pénélope Leprevost (FRA),
Pius Schwizer (SUI) and Lauren Hough
(USA) are separated by just a few
points and have the chance to move
up and down the leaderboard.
For a full chart
of the current points standings, the
potential number of points a rider
can achieve this weekend, and the
possible movement, please see below:
Chart of points standings and
potential
For a full ranking list, please
click
here.
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