Great Britain’s John Whitaker (GBR) and his 11 year old grey gelding Echo of Light took centre stage this afternoon in the first of the CSI5* classes at the Longines Global Champions Tour of Vienna. The 50 strong international field were able to flex their muscles for the first time this weekend, with many of the world’s top Grand Prix combinations in action for the 1.45m two phase competition. As one of the final riders to go, John was able to push against the best time to beat, with his tall grey gelding effortlessly eating up the ground in the second phase of the class to stop the clock almost a full second ahead of the rest of the field in 36.56s. Young star Gonzalo Añón Suarez (ESP) took a strong second place with AD Amigo B, after leading for much of the competition, to cross the line in 37.38s, and home rider Gerfried Puck (AUT) rode Bo to a popular third, finishing just tenths of a second behind Gonzalo in 37.76s. It was a good day for Great Britain as Jessica Mendoza (GBR) took fourth with Wan Architect, and Austria’s Max Kühner with Cornet Kalua rounded out the top five.
