9 Mar 2015
Female Swiss rider Janika Sprunger wins the Grand Prix Tío Pepe with Aris CMS, the only rider to complete the route with zero points. She adds this feat to her triumph in last Sunday’s Grand Prix with Bonne Chance. With these two important victories, she has positioned herself as one of the most promising riders of the season, which the best riders from Europe and the rest of the world start in Europe.
Sprunger was delighted with her victory: “The horse is a ten year old stallion that has been with me since he was five, so we have a great understanding and lots of trust in each other. He is a much more experienced horse than last week, but it has also been a great surprise for me, and, of course, I’m very proud to have won such an important class. The fantastic results at the Sunshine Tour give me lots of confidence for the coming season,” said the female rider who now travels to Italy to fulfil other professional commitments.
The victor described the route designed by course designer Louis Konickx, which only five riders completed cleanly, as “very interesting.” She added, “I had an opportunity to analyse the route a little before the class and I noticed that it was quite large as well as technical and demanding, meaning the horses would tire towards the end, where the majority of falls would take place. For that reason, I decided to conserve my horse’s energy during all the jumps, to tackle the last ones more safely. A strategy which proved correct in the end.”
Two other females accompanied the Swiss on the podium of honour of this Grand Prix Tío Pepe. Britons Yazmin Pinchen with Van de Vivaldi and Holly Gillott with Dougie Douglas were second and third. And so the Sunshine Tour celebrated a triple female victory on International Women’s day.
In 1.45 metres, Briton Guy Williams with Casper de Muze was the winner, finishing in front of Dutchman Frank Schuttert and Briton Abbe Burchmore-Eames, who finished second and third respectively riding Arc de Triomphe and Wilandri E.
The 1.40 metre class had a Spanish flavour with the victory of Manuel Fernández Saro, who, riding Balou Lover, took first spot two tenths of a second ahead of Irishman Shane Breen with Calido Boy. Briton Ellen Whitaker with Limbutina completed the positions of honour.
George Whitaker con Willetton was fastest in the 1.35 metre, followed by Thomas Graham Gillespie with Casino Royal and Tim Page with Steady the Helm, a class with a clear British accent.
In the final professional class, with 1.30 metre jumps, Englishman Douglas Duffin with Zorro V scored another victory, repeating the position he achieved yesterday. Belgian Virginie Thonon with Kosovo and Briton Tim Page with Ferndale Special K completed the podium.
In the amateur Grand Prix, Dutchman Eric Van Der Vleuten with Gantico was the victor among the seven riders competing with a time of 33.84 seconds. Japanese Atushi Sakata with Lennin 6 and Briton Georgia Tame with Bolien completed the positions of honour.
French Iphigenie Deray with O’Nena de la Nutria, Shiekh Samir Mirdad with Mirdads Hubbb Alrah and Swiss Alexandra Amar with Pacha du Lie were the best in the rest of the amateur classes in 1.30, 1.20 and 1.10 metres respectively.
And so concludes the third three star International Jumping Competition of the Sunshine Tour, in which more than 150,000 Euros of prize money has been distributed. The competition recommences next Tuesday with a new week of competition for the young horses.
Source: Sunshine Tour
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