Double clear rounds turned the Grand Prix de la Ville de Dinard CSI5* into a horserace on Sunday, July 31, 2016 at Jumping International Dinard, and while Christian Ahlmann is nowhere near jockey-sized, he can race with the best of them and so he did to win this prestigious title aboard Cornado II.
Of the 37 starters, 15 managed to qualify for the jump off, and of those, seven jumped clear over the shortened track.
The very competitive jumpoff took place in front of fully packed grandstands. Since the design of the course did not allow the riders to easily cut out strides between fences, the only solution to bring the time down was to turn immediately after landing from the fences.
Second to go, the Belgian rider Jérôme Guéry chose to ask everything of his grey horse Papillon Z, and set the time to beat at 42.73 seconds. It looked to be a lock for Guery, as no one could imagine that his time could be beaten, but the Longines FEI ranked World No. 2 Ahlmann of Germany found a way, bringing the time down to 42.72, by one hundred of a second, making his first year competing at Dinard one to remember.
“First of all, I have to admit that I am really impressed by the quality of this show and by the arena,” Ahlmann said. “To jump here, you need a very good and experienced horse, but the course was fun to ride. The fact that the public is so big makes a real difference, although it puts more pressure on our shoulders.”
This victory was a very good sendoff for Ahlmann, who now prepares to compete with Taloubet Z at the Rio Olympics on August 14th. While Cornado II has been a second horse this season, picking up strong placings at the best venues in the world, this win counted as his first, CSI5* grand prix title.
And so Guery ended his day in 2nd place, be he was proud of his horse. “I missed this victory by a fraction of a second, but I am very pleased with this placing,” Guery, who will represent Belgium at the upcoming Rio Olympics, commented. “I am very happy to be part of this competition with so many talented riders.”
The Irish rider Darragh Kenny, in great spirits since the beginning of the Jumping of Dinard, placed 3rd, after clearing the course with Go Easy de Muze in a time of 43.25 seconds. “This show is fantastic, it is my second time here, my horse jumped incredible. I only had him for eight weeks, he already places 3rd twice in CSI5*,” Kenny said.
The top placing French rider Timothée Anciaume, decided not to go for the time, instead riding for a clear round. With that strategy, he placed 6th aboard Kiamon, behind Pieter Devos and Dream of India Greenfield for Belgium in 4th, and the Swedish rider Douglas Lindelow and Zacramento in 5th.
