Day three at Jumping Mechelen is well underway, and the first five-star class of the day has just been decided: a 1.40m speed competition against the clock. The podium was dominated by German and Swiss combinations.
Victory went to Germany’s Philipp Schulze Topphoff with Corny M (Connor), who produced a clear round and stopped the clock in 58.02 seconds.
He held off Switzerland’s Barbara Schnieper and Toronto Raptor (Totilas), who were also faultless and finished in 58.67 seconds, just 0.65 seconds off the winning time.
Third place stayed in Swiss hands as well thanks to Edouard Schmitz and the Zangersheide gelding Dillen 111 Z (De Flor 111 Z), again clear, in 59.66 seconds.
Just outside the top three, Patrick Stühlmeyer guided Conterno-Blue PS (Veyron) into fourth place. Their clear time of 61.35 seconds kept them in the leading group, although the gap to the podium grew to 1.69 seconds compared with third. Belgium completed the top five through Jeroen Appelen and Gently Z (Gentleman), who also finished on a zero score in 63.09 seconds.
As a result, the entire top five remained fault-free, with only 5.07 seconds separating the winner from fifth place.
