“I knew that jumps one through four were the most important part of the course,” described 18-year-old Debney. “They appeared to be the easiest so that is where you were going to make up the time. I didn’t catch everything the way I wanted to, but I still thought I did a good job of finding the jumps out of the turn to make it smooth.

“One of our biggest goals was this series this year, and this mare is definitely one of my top horses so that is why we chose her,” continued Debney. “She is always looking to do the right thing, and sometimes I think she wants to win more than I do!”

Carlos Hank Guerriero (MEX) had one of his best rides to date aboard the H5 Sport Horses LLC’s 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding H5 Chacco San (Chacco-Blue x Sandro Boy). The 21-year-old left all of the rails untouched and sliced over the fences to overthrow Debney by mere milliseconds with a time of 37.76 seconds.

“Even now that I am participating in some of the four and five-star events, this series is still a highlight for me,” said Guerriero, who is 21 years old. “I have been competing in this series for probably six years, and it really feels like the show puts forth an effort for us young riders to step up and gain more experience at a higher level than junior or amateur classes. I didn’t have as many horses this year so I was lucky to qualify and then I decided to bring my most competitive horse today. He is careful but always wants to fight for you. I’m very happy with how it played out.”

However, the class’s winning ride would come from Germany’s Richard Vogel. Having seen where he needed to make moves for the win, Vogel piloted the Horse Management GMBH’s eight-year-old Hanoverian mare Looping Luna (Lord Fauntleroy x Calido I) over a clear round in 36.16 seconds and knocked over a second off of Guerreiro’s time.

“I think the key for the jump-off today was to just be as smooth as possible,” explained Vogel, who has a business with German team rider David Will in Frankfurt, Germany. “There wasn’t really anywhere you could get a good gallop because there were a lot of turns and angles. I saw Grace go, and I knew I had better give it my all because she was going to be hard to beat.”

While Vogel won the final grand prix, he also took home top honors for the entire series, which encompassed events over five different weeks of the WEF circuit. The victory felt extra sweet for Vogel who, at the age of 24 years old, is in his final year of eligibility for the Under 25 series.

“I think this series is amazing for us younger riders to be able to compete between ourselves,” stated Vogel. “From the beginning of the season I was very focused on this tour. I had three horses for this series, and my plan was to use the horse that was most suited to the venue we were competing in.”

Final Results: $50,000 Hermès Under 25 Grand Prix Final 

1. LOOPING LUNA: 2014 Hannoverian mare by Lord Fauntleroy x Calido I)
RICHARD VOGEL (GER), Horse Management GMBH: 0/0/36.16

2. H5 CHACCO SAN: 2011 Hannoverian gelding by Chacco-Blue x Sandro Boy)
CARLOS HANK GUERREIRO (MEX), H5 Sport Horses LLC: 0/0/37.76

3. BOHEME DE LA ROQUE: 2011 Selle Francais mare by Kannan x Quick Star
GRACE DEBNEY (GBR), Temple Equestrian LLC: 0/0/37.81

4. ELCO VAN HOF TER NAILLEN: 2010 SBS gelding by Elvis Ter Putte x Toulon
SARA TINDALE (CAN), Tindale Farms: 0/0/40.13

5. LUKAKU VD BISSCHOP: 2011 BWP gelding by Plot Blue x Celsa vd Dreef
LEXI RAY (CAN), Lexi Ray: 0/0/43.99

6. ICARUS: 2008 BWP stallion by Douglas x Sioux de Baugy
FRANCISCO GOYOAGA MOLLET (ESP), Straburg Morin Inc: 0/4/35.69

7. MY GIRL 52: 2012 Hannoverian mare by Montender 2 x Ritual
MAYA ARYAL (USA), Maya Aryal: 0/4/37.65

8. QUINTINI: 2009 OS gelding by Quintender 2 x Cassini II
MAX WACHMAN (IRL), Coolmore Show Jumping: 0/4/38.55

9. HOLSTEINS MATINA: 2009 DWB mare by Party Dance x Charmeur
SOPHIA STUDD (DEN), Studds Show Stables: 0/4/40.29

10. STELLA LEVISTA: 2008 Hannoverian mare by Satisfaction FRH x Levisto
CAROLINE MAWHINNEY (USA), Caroline Mawhinney: 8/38.68

11. AMAZING: 2012 Swedish Warmblood mare by Baltimore 1178 x Talexis Van’t Voorhof
DOMINIC GIBBS (USA), Mountain King Ranch LLC: 0/8/36.76

12. LE CORDIAL: 2012 Holsteiner gelding by Lyjanero x Singulord Joter
ANDRZEJ OPLATEK (POL), Gospodarstwo Rolne and Andrzej Oplatek: 1/73.35