CSI5* Villach Treffen: Ex aequo victory for Martin Fuchs and Steve Guerdat in the GLOCK’s 5* Grand Prix

Eight Olympic Champions, eight World Champions, 18 European Champions, four World Cup winners and 37 riders from among the current top 100 in the world were honoured to compete today in the GLOCK’s 5* Grand Prix. This jumping competition, with prize money totalling 345,000 euros, stood as the highlight of four exciting days of International Show Jumping at the GLOCK HORSE PERFORMANCE CENTER Austria. At stake as well as the generous prize purse were important World Ranking list points and the opportunity to fulfil the qualification criteria for the 2017 European Championships in Gothenburg and the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon. As to how this test would pan out; with such high quality starters, no one could have seen this coming: victory went not to one but was shared by two riders!

In the extremely exciting basic round over 1.60 m, eight participating duos completed penalty-free rounds and qualified for the jump-off. It was here that London 2012 Olympic winner Steve Guerdat (SUI), riding Corbinian, delivered the first “double clear”. With 49.43 seconds he set a benchmark that no one was to better, yet incredibly it was matched. Achieving this, none other than his compatriot, best friend, training partner and neighbour, Martin Fuchs, in the saddle on his top horse Clooney 51.

Even more incredibly, the commonalities don’t end here. Because Corbinian and Clooney are not only both sons of Cornet Obolensky and both eleven years old, but also still have the same owner. It’s a story that even the two winners themselves could scarcely take in: “It’s wonderful to be heading home as the winner of a five-star Grand Prix. But this victory is indeed very special. Martin and I have been friends for such a long time, we train together and live just a few minutes apart. The value of this can’t be weighed against prize money.”, said the London 2012 Olympic winner, Steve Guerdat, with a beaming smile. Martin Fuchs agreed: “The podium was my goal, but the fact that it was enough for victory is fantastic of course. I just can’t believe that Steve and I were able to win ex aequo. As I rode across the finishing line, I saw the “1” light up against both of us on the display. That was incredible. What’s more, for me this was the first 5* Grand Prix win with Clooney, and he couldn’t have been better.”

Cian O’Connor (IRL), who already collected two five-star victories with two different horses this weekend at the GHPC Austria, today lined up behind the Swiss double-pack in the GLOCK’s 5* Grand Prix. With ten-year-old Skyhorse, son of Quidam de Revel, he delivered the third penalty-free ride in the jump-off and came third with a time of 50.36 seconds.

Another qualifying for the jump-off was Austria’s Max Kühner (T) with his home-bred gelding, Cornet Kalua. But in the deciding round, the duo did not have luck on their side and had to retire early from the course; nevertheless, a respectable eighth place.

06 CSI5* GLOCK’s 5* GRAND PRIX
Int. jumping competition with jump-off, 1.60 m
Competition counts for the LONGINES Ranking list
1. Corbinian - Guerdat, Steve (SUI) 0/49.43 in j-o
1. Clooney 51 - Fuchs, Martin (SUI) 0/49.43 in j-o
3. Skyhorse - O’Connor, Cian (IRL) 0/50.36 in j-o
4. Espoir - Devos, Pieter (BEL) 4/48.94 in j-o
5. Coree - Wathelet, Gregory (BEL) 4/49.71 in j-o
6. All Star 5 - Lynch, Denis (IRL) 4/50.12 in j-o
7. Silver Deux de Virton HDC - Staut, Kevin (FRA) 4/51.70 in j-o
8. Cornet Kalua - Kühner, Max (AUT/T) eliminated in j-o
9. Goja Meyer-Zimmermann, Janne F. (GER) 1/85.78
10.Daisy - Michaels-Beerbaum, Meredith (GER) 1/85.88
11.Chesall Zimequest - Delestre, Simon (FRA) 4/79.19
12.Charmeur - Alvarez Moya, Sergio (ESP) 4/80.92

source: ghpc.at