While last year he won the final for 5-year-old horses, this year Michael Pender was victorious in the FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championship for horses of 7-years of age. The Irishman snatched victory in the saddle of HHS Mercedes.
David Simpson opened immediately with a clear ride in the saddle of Mambo No. 5 B (Naples). The time to beat was recorded at 40.54s. Thibeau Spits followed with a clear round ahead of Rozelien Dwerse Hagen but finished with a time of 42.35s behind the Irishman with the Nixon van't Meulenhof daughter. The cream of the crop had clearly qualified for the jump-off as the third rider, Michael Duffy also left the arena without faults. He rode BP Royalty (Comme il Faut) over the finish line in 40.30s and took over the lead.
The fourth combination also left the bars in the spoons. João Victor Castro Aguiar Gomes de Lima brought Heroes Kervec (Contendro) to the finish line in 40.74s. Mathieu Bourdeaud'Hui advanced to the leader's position in front of his own crowd with Remco van den Uilenbos. The duo's chrono stood at 38.66s.
A little too much risk towards the final line resulted in a beam in the sand for Niamh McEvoy and Sevilla van de Berghoeve Z (Stakkato Gold). The pair was just slightly faster than Bourdeaud'Hui, though, with a time of 38.27s.
Michael Pender relegated the Belgian to second place, riding HHS Mercedes (Can Ya Makan) to a win in 38.30s.
“I’m incredibly lucky to ride such a good horse. She is amazing and It’s brilliant to win here. Everybody is always motivated and it’s nice to see that much interest in breeding and horses in general. Results like this are unbelievable.”
“Unfortunately, it can only get worse (after winning last year and this year). We will come back again and try again. It’s a difficult thing to do, I have been trying for a long time. I’m lucky to have two great horses and many more, but two of with whom I was lucky enough to win here.”