Release date: 26/08/2022

Young Horses
Britain's Alicia Smallman was the first winner on the first day of the prestigious Longines Global Champions Tour in Valkenswaard. The 28-year-old from Reading was the fastest in the Young Horses class with the six-year-old bay mare Lady Shergar (by Tangelo van de Zuuthoeve). In 2021 and 2022 she already won several Young Horses classes with this talented horse. The combination started in 11th place and none of the next 33 combinations managed to improve their time. Irish rider Diarmuid Howley made a good attempt but was 1.23 seconds slower with the six-year-old Diamant de Operette VA (Holst, Diamant de Semilly x Contender). Third place went to the Dutch Sanne Thijssen with her six-year-old mare La Pleasure (KWPN, For Pleasure x Alicante HBC). The successful rider from Sevenum, who recently won team silver at the World Championships in Herning, Denmark, also achieved good results with this mare during the Summer Events at Tops International Arena.

CSI1*/1.20m
The 13-year-old Yoni van Santvoort won the 1* two-phase 1.20m class with Kinky Girl (KWPN, Alano x Zilverstar VDL). The rider from Nuenen in Brabant had a clear round in both phases and stopped the clock at 34.88 seconds. During Summer Event III, Yoni, who is part of the A-team Children, also won a class with Kinky Girl. Canadian rider Cassidy Rein came second with Cartoon Tame (SF, Conrad x Quidam de Revel) in 35.41 seconds. At Summer Event II this talent already won two classes with her other horse Escorial K. Third place was for the Belgian Yasmine Vinck and D'Artagnan TS Z ( Zang, Dominator 2000 Z x Palestro vd Begijnakker).

CSI2* Big Tour
Turkish rider Derin Demirsoy feels at home in Valkenswaard. During the Summer Events he was already successful and today he showed again that he has to be reckoned with. In the two-phase class (1.45m) he managed to improve on the time of British top rider Ben Maher and stopped the clock at 24.21 seconds with the SF stallion Caprice d'Elle (Arko III x Papillon Rouge). The 28-year-old, who lives in Maastricht and studied International Business there, has been riding the bay stallion at competitions for over two years now. Maher had to settle for second place with the Zangersheide mare Enjoy CK Z (Echo Van 't Spieveld x Coronado). They crossed the finish line in 24.24 seconds. The successful Belgian Alexander Housen made a good attempt to improve on Demirsoy's time, but fell just short. He finished third with the AES stallion Warriors Glory (Warrior xx Caretino Glory) in a time of 24.30 seconds.

CSI1*/1.10m
British rider Kathryn Fanshawe is having a very successful season. This year she managed to win classes at several events, including Cannes and St Tropez. Today she added another victory to her list, by convincingly winning the 1.10m class. The 25-year-old rode the bay gelding Bow House Red (AES, Carmargue x Heartbreaker) over the finish line in 33.57 seconds. Second place was for France's Marie Couperie-Eiffel and Diva Giguellerie Z (Zang, Diarado x Feinschnitt I VD Richter). Kathryn's compatriot Imogen Beecroft finished in third place with Chablis E.T. (SBS, Lord Z x Kingston).

CSI2*/Medium Tour
Turkish rider Ömer Karaevli edged out brand-new World Champion Henrik von Eckermann to second place in the two phases Medium Tour class (1.40m) today. The 44-year-old, who lives in Nettetal, Germany, rode an incredibly fast round with the KWPN gelding Istinov (Ustinov x Vegas). They stopped the clock at 26.98 seconds. Karaevli can boast of a long career. As a 20-year-old he already represented his country at the European Championships for Young Riders and he became the first rider in 56 years to represent Turkey in jumping at the Olympic Games when he competed at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. World Champion Von Eckermann had to settle for second with Luna vd Mespel (BWP, Hos d'O x Escudo I) in a time of 27.70 seconds. American Isabella Russekoff finished in third place with Balou's Fly High (Oldenb, Balou du Rouet x Grandeur) with a time of 27.99 seconds.

CSI2* Small Tour
The two phases of the Small Tour had no less than 73 combinations and it was Brazilian top rider Marlon Modolo Zanotelli who took the win. The 34-year-old rider is based in Eksel together with his wife Angelica Augustsson just over the border in Belgium and is present in Valkenswaard every year. In this competition, he rode the nine-year-old mare Sin Cindy (SWB, Casilius x Cardento) super fast over the course and set a time of 26.50 seconds as 16th starter. A time that ultimately proved unbeatable. Canadian rider Cassidy Rein came second with Escorial K (Oldenb, Chacco's Son x Epsom Gesmeray) the horse she won two classes with at Summer Event II. They crossed the finish line in 27.26 seconds. Siebe Leemans kept the Dutch honour high and finished third on Plopsa Blue Z (Zang, Plot Blue x Calvados Z).

CSI1*/1.35m
The first class in the beautiful grass arena at Tops International Arena was the 1* two phases special with obstacles up to 1.35m. The 19-year-old Dutch Skye Morssinkhof won this competition with the BWP mare Nina VH Scheefkasteel (Numero Uno x Diamant de Semilly). The talented rider from Hierden stayed clear in both phases in a time of 31.02 seconds. Skye was this year included in the KNHS Talent Team and represented the Netherlands at the European Championships for Young Riders in Oliva, Spain. Belgian Sahri De Laet came second with the Holsteiner mare Cataleya (Cachas x Cassini II), previously ridden by Thibault Philippaerts. Mexican Lorena Nieto Rullan finished in third place with Cataline de la Bastide (SCSL, Conway II x Baloubet du Rouet).