Release date: 21/08/2021

The young horses started early on Saturday morning in the 1.30/1.35m class against the clock sponsored by Klein Kromhof. German Christian Kukuk was the first starter to set a good time with the Westphalian stallion Christobal (Colestus x Carell) and stayed in the lead for a long time until Friday’s winner came into the ring, the Dutch Kim Emmen. She finished the course almost 6 seconds faster with her AES gelding Astrid's Lad (Luidam Elite x Ascendant xx). Tobias Meyer and his talented Celebrity-H came close to Emmen's time, but were just not fast enough and finished second for Germany. Last starter Henrik von Eckermann made a good attempt but also could not come close to the winning time and finished in third place with Justinov VI (KWPN, Ustinov x Labor's VDL Indorado).
 
CSI2*
When the name of Frenchman Julien Epaillard is on the starting list you know in advance that you have to ride really fast to win. However, just like yesterday, nobody was able to beat the time of Epaillard and his BWP mare Jalanta P (Catalano x Fortinbras). He and his super fast grey were the only ones who managed to stay under 60 seconds: 59.50. His compatriot Pénélope Leprevost came second in this 1.45m class with the SWB gelding Texas (Tornesh x Robin Z) in a time of 63.72. Andrzej Oplatek and Odile du Soufflet (Ogano Sitte x Landjuweel St Hubert) finished third for Poland.
 
Ireland's top rider Denis Lynch was victorious in the Medium Tour (1.40m). Of the 39 participants, 10 managed to stay clear, quite a few other combinations had time faults. Lynch had saddled the nine-year-old Hanoverian stallion Cornets Iberio (Cornet Obolensky x Charlottenhof's Iberio) for this class and needed 64.89 seconds to deliver a clear round. The Spaniard Eduardo Alvarez Aznar finished in second place with the KWPN gelding Ike (Darco x Dutch Capital). Third place was for the Brit Samuel Hutton and his eight-year-old mare Hesthee EQM (SBS, Toulon x Carpaccio).
 
The last competition of the day was the 1.35m where the faultless combinations went directly into the jump-off. In this class the time allowed was the biggest challenge for the riders. Enough clear rounds, but many faults for time overrun. The Brazilian Marlon Modolo Zanotelli was the first to have a clear round and could immediately start his jump-off ride. He rode a clear round in a time of 38.79 with the energetic Chili (Westf, Consolidator x Berlin). Maikel van der Vleuten was also clear but needed a bit more time for his jump-off. The Olympic bronze medal winner finished third with the 9-year-old mare Svea Douch Z (Zang, Spartacus TN x Nelson Z). Then it was the turn of his compatriot Sanne Thijssen who had saddled her eight-year-old mare Ibiza Z (Zang, I'm Special de Muze x Calvaro F.C.) for this class. She rode a fast clear first round and in her jump-off she went one step further and clocked a time of 36.49, over 2 seconds faster than Zanotelli. No other combination after Thijssen could match this time, so Sanne Thijssen was at the front of the prizegiving ceremony.
 
CSI1*
The victory in the 1.35m class stayed in the Netherlands. Henk van de Pol, who lives a stone's throw away from the beautiful Top International Arena, was the fastest of the 38 competitors. He galloped over the finishing line in 57.84 seconds with the eight-year-old mare Chanteric Peu DM Z (Zang, Canabis Z x Eros Platière). Alice Borglund from Sweden, who led for a long time, came second with Clair II (Holst, Clearway x Lavall II). Third place also went to a Dutch combination: Patrick van der Schans and Habrina (KWPN, Eldorado vd Zeshoek x Phin-Phin).
 
The differences between the first three places in the 1.25m class were small. Dutch rider Joy Lammers took an early lead with her six-year-old KWPN mare Kerusa (Connect x Oklund) in 59.56 seconds. French Louise Sadran took over from Lammers a little later. She finished in 59.26 seconds with the SF mare AD Reflet d'Azif (Quaprice Boi Margot x Attila III). Dutchman Emile Tacken made a very good attempt at the end but needed 0.22 seconds more than Sadran with Clint Easter (KWPN, Clinton x Indoctro) and that earned him second place. 
 
Britain's Isabella Beecroft-Luckett and her KWPN mare Dahar (Quasimodo van de Molendreef x Voltaire) flew to victory in the 1.15m sponsored by GCTV. With an incredible pace and a super sprint to the last fence, they stayed clear and crossed the finish line in 57.76 seconds. Isabella also won this class yesterday but then with Zandara Z, with whom she now finished 5th. Second place was for Faris Saad A H Al Qahtani and Panamera (Zweib, Eklat) for Qatar. Dutch rider Manon Hees came third with SF gelding Fan d'Or.