Release date: 10/08/2018

After a turbulent night the sun was shining brightly on Friday, the arenas were in perfect condition and the public enjoyed great sport. A perfect start of the Longines Global Champions Tour and Global Champions League in Valkenswaard.

Young Horses
The Young Horses were first to enter the competition ring at Tops International Arena. This class against the clock with fences up to 1.35m, counted 64 competitors and was convincinly won by Egypt’s Abdel Saïd and his seven-year-old gelding Axel 111 Z (Zang, Action Breaker x Chatman). They were over four seconds faster (63.12) than runners-up Jane Richard Philips and the seven-year-old stallion Fouego de la Closiere (67.16). Saïd, who runs his own stables near Antwerp, Belgium, was enthusiastic about the course built by Uliano Vezzani. “A nice and fair course with fluent lines, perfect for a first day. Many horses are impressed by the big arena, but my horse is already used to it. We competed in Aachen last July.” Abdel is riding Axel for five months and thinks the horse has much potential. “I believe in this horse. He has much potential and he like to play the game. He has all the qualities to become a good Grand Prix horse.”
Third place went to Belgium’s Ignace Philips who steered the six-year-old Cortez van ’t Klein Asdonk Z (Zang, Cornet Obolensky x Andiamo Z) in 69.60 seconds to the finish.

CSI2*: BWP performs well
Eighteen-year-old Lars Kersten won the CSI2* Small Tour with the BWP mare Dora de Ness (Nabab de Reve x Wolfgang). When your father is called Pieter Kersten, than it is inevitable that you will start riding. Lars started as a four-year-old and he competed in his first event as a seven-year-old. “What I like most in equestrian sport is that you built up and achieve something together with an animal.” Dora de Ness is a nine-year-old mare who came to the Kersten stables as a five-year-old. “She was more or less green. We gently trained her and gave her the time she needed. She has a very careful horse and will do anything for a clear round. She has a super character and is a real fighter.”
Belgium’s Alexander Housen finished runner-up with Esprit van Wellington, a 14-year-old BWP mare by Orlando. Third place was for Switzerland’s Jane Richard Philips with the nine-year-old BWP mare Jalanta P (Catalano x Fortinbras).
Later that day Alexander Housen won the Big Tour (1.45m) with Galoubet Fravanca (BWP, Caretino x Darco. Second and third place were also Belgian riders: Celine Schoonbroodt-de Azevedo (Cheppetta) and Ignace Philips (Hanna van Hd).
The Medium Tour (1.40m) was won by Italian Adriano Di Canto with C'Est Moi de l'Obstination (Westf., Call Me Number One x Capitol I).
 
CSI1*: Special Invitational by Magic Moments
Magic Moments, an Australian auction house for racehorses, supports all CSI1* classes. The Small Tour (1.10m) was won by Columbia’s Jorge Gomez and the nine-year-old SBS gelding Dallas de la Bonnette (Toulon x Grand Veneur). The 57-year-old has been riding his whole life. His grandfather had horses and his uncle took him to a riding school. When he was nine-years-old he rode in his first competition. He is working as a surgeon at the Palm Beach Veterinary Clinic in Wellington, Florida. “I am an amateur, 1.10 meter fences are high enough for me,” he smiles.
Victory in the Medium Tour (1.20m) went to the youngest competitor in Valkenswaard, the USA’s Ansgar Holtgers Jr. Ansgar is only 13-years-old and rode the nine-year-old KWPN mare Emember (Tangelo van de Zuuthoeve x Burggraaf). The Large Tour was won by Georgina Harvey, daughter of  Magic Moments’s owners Gerry Harvey en Katie Page-Harvey, with Que Sera, a 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding by Quinar x Landgraf I.