Jumping: Rain could not stop Delaveau!

26 June - The 1.45m Grand Prix competition of the test events has come to a close. Under the cloudy skies of Normandy, La Marseillaise once again rang out in D’Ornano Stadium, hailing a French victory.

Eighteen pairs went clear over Frédéric Cottier’s Grand Prix course, earning a place in the jump-off. The water jump did not cause any major upsets for the competitors: only three pairs had a foot in the water, including a disappointed Philippe Rozier on Phirst du Chai, who had performed a great round otherwise but was thus denied a place in the jump-off. The triple (oxer-upright-upright) didn’t seem to pose a problem, with more pairs coming unstuck at the double.

Second into the arena, British rider Jessie Drea on Touchable was the first to earn her place in the jump-off, after a smooth clear round. Soon afterwards, France’s Éric Février on Miss d’Helby joined her in the second round. Unsurprisingly, Ireland’s Bertram Allen, who has been on outstanding form this week, sailed into the jump-off on Dutch Warmblood Wrangler II, notching up a fourth clear round at these test events.

Morocco’s Abdelkebir Ouaddar once again rode the spirited Quickly de Kreisker straight into the second round, while unlucky Jae-Hong Park, from Korea, had the last fence down. With a relatively high number of clear rounds, the jump-off would prove decisive for all involved...

Testing weather

“The surface’s resistance in the event of a storm is an important factor to take into account. It’s a good thing that there were showers during these test events,” commented the USA’s Lauren Hough (8 faults with Every Way). “After the rain, the arena surface was a bit sticky, it’s true. It’s lucky it happened today: it means the Organising Committee can improve on this.”

Second round

Astonishing! Right from the start, Bertram Allen stepped up the pace, smashing the time set by Éric Février (43’88) by over 4 seconds (39’29). The third rider in the jump-off, he once again set the bar very high. Crowd favourite Abdelkebir Ouaddar on Quickly de Kreisker tried everything he could to take the lead, but just lost out with a time of 39’75. Finally, out came Normandy native Patrice Delaveau and Ornella Mail*HDC, who put on an impressive show both in the opening round and in the jump-off, taking a very risky option under yet another rain shower and earning the fastest time of 37’79 for their efforts!

RESULTS

Patrice Delaveau & Ornella Mail*HDC – 37’79

Bertram Allen & Wrangler II – 39’29

Abdelkebir Ouaddar & Quickly de Kreisker – 39’75

FULL RESULTS