Global Champions Tour: Grand Prix Day Dawns with Major “Technical” Test for World’s Best

Source: News Release

Grand Prix day dawns with major “technical” test for world’s best

Course designer Uliano Vezzani is promising a “major test” for tonight’s Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Cannes, the 5th leg of the Formula One of show jumping.

Ranking leader Luciana Diniz of Portugal will have a tremendous battle to hold on to her narrow one-point lead from America’s Laura Kraut. Riders at the top of the ranking are in intensely close combat underlining the high quality of the sport at events. Germany’s Christian Ahlmann is hot on their heels with the Top 30 riders underlining the extremely close competition at the top of the ranking.

Course designer Uliano Vezzani revealed he has devised a supremely technical challenge due to the extraordinary high quality of the horses and riders in Cannes.

Vezzani, one of the leading course designers of our time, said: “You have horses like Itot and Chaman and others so I will be looking at a very technical course.” As well as Edwina Tops Alexander’s Itot and Ludger Beerbaum’s Chaman there is a scintillating line up of equestrian talent tonight:

Ben Maher on Tripple X III, Christian Ahlmann on Codex One, Michael Whitaker on Viking, Rolf-Göran Bengtsson on Casall Ask, Gerco Schröder on London, Richard Spooner on Cristallo and Alvaro de Miranda on AD Rahmannshof’s Bogeno.

The 1.60m class, with €285,000 in prize money, is the first of the season to take place in a small sand arena with jumping at night, creating a tough challenge for both horses and riders. So far the 2013 series has seen riders competing in the big arenas of Madrid, Hamburg and Wiesbaden.

With the halfway point in the series approaching in Monaco later this month, the stakes are high and the only competition will only get hotter in the race to the Final in November in Qatar.

Photo credits: Stefano Grasso/ Longines Global Champions Tour

Penelope Leprevost

Ranking shake up after dramatic Cannes Grand Prix

Photo credit: Stefano Grasso/ Longines Global Champions Tour

The intense competition for the top of the ranking board will be shaken up after tonight’s Grand Prix after leader Luciana Diniz goes out at the 1st round. Proving there is no room for error at this extraordinarily high level, the No1 spot is set to change with Christian Ahlmann looking in a strong position after a strong 1st round clear on Codex One. Only the best can succeed in the championship series and riders have to fight hard to stay in the top tier. As predicted by course designer Uliano Vezzani, it was a hugely challenging set of obstacles in the Cannes arena. After 17 combinations only William Funnell had jumped clear. Clear rounds by Jane Richard Philips, who even broke her rein at the end trying to keep Pablo de Virton under control, was followed by Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, Athina Onassis de Miranda, Penelope Leprevost, Marcus Ehning and Maikel van der Vleuten.

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