Yesterday Belgium's Olivier Philippaerts and his horse H&M Legend of Love were close to their first world cup victory ever. The pair produced a clear first round and rode a spectacular jump-off as well. Unfortunately the last rail went down and the combinations finished fifth. For now the show jumper climbs to the 13th place on the World Cup ranking from which only the best 18 qualify for the finals in Gotheborg. "For my horse H&M legend of love, it was the first world cup experience. And looking back she did a splendid job," explains Olivier. "We concluded the first round faultless and she felt great. Also our jump-off went (super) well, untill the last fence," continues Olivier. "I don't know what went wrong, but we touched the rail and it fell on the ground." Asking him about the feeling with this fault, Olivier is clear. "It's a shame, because I was close to my first world cup victory ever. I need those extra points to qualify for the finals in Gothenborg. With Zürich and Bordeaux I still have two chances to give my best and catch the necessary points. It's however up to our teamchef, Dirk Demeersman, to decide wether I'll get to go or not ... "
