Exciting top-level sport and radiant sunshine – that’s what the audience at the Falsterbo Horse Show got to enjoy this afternoon. As the last to start, Karl Cook ultimately jumped to victory in the Rolex Grand Prix with Caracole de la Roque. The duo repeated their success after the Rome Piazza di Siena in May.
Out of the 50 combinations at the start, 14 managed to complete Frank Rothenberger’s course without faults. In this Rolex Grand Prix, the thirteen best pairs from the first round made it to the second round.
Just past the halfway point of the jump-off, Sanne Thijssen did what she does best with her Con Quidam RB (Quinar). Thijssen nearly clinched the Grand Prix win with a time of 43.74 seconds. The final rider to start, Karl Cook and Caracole de la Roque (Zandor Z), seemed to be taking it easy, but ultimately jumped to Grand Prix victory in 43.28 seconds!
Sanne Thijssen thus took silver, ahead of Steve Guerdat and his trusted Dynamix de Belheme (Snake de Blondel). In front of her home crowd, Malin Baryard Johnsson and H&M Indiana (Kashmir van Schuttershof) just missed out on the Grand Prix podium. The top five was completed by Andreas Schou and Darc de Lux (Darco).
Excitement until the final rider!
The first clear round in this second round came from Max Kühner and his EIC Daloubet (Diamant de Semilly). After finishing in 49.40 seconds, his performance set the bar. Pedro Junqueira Muylaert and Quax 76 (Quo Vados I) also kept all rails up but struggled with the time allowed.
Eventually, Andreas Schou with Darc de Lux (Darco) took the necessary risks. On the penultimate line he held back a bit, but towards the final Rolex oxer, the Dane gave it everything and finished more than two seconds faster than Max Kühner. Matias Larocca and Wim Vinckx’s former Patron Van de Dweerhoeve (Thunder vd Zuuthoeve) also delivered a faultless round. The pair clearly aimed for a clear round and stopped the clock at 50.30 seconds.
Next to start was Henrik von Eckermann riding Willem Greve’s former Minute Man (Vigo d'Arsouilles). The Swede made a tight turn after the first jump but knocked a rail at the Agria oxer, as well as the plank.
Next came Dutch rider Sanne Thijssen and her trusted Con Quidam RB. In the saddle of the Quinar son, Thijssen hit the gas and seemed to fly over the fences with almost loose reins. She beat Schou’s time by more than three seconds, finishing in 43.74 seconds to take the lead!
Steve Guerdat knew what he had to do with his trusted Dynamix de Belheme (Snake de Blondel). The Swiss rider went for tight turns, especially towards the Rolex double. Heading into the final obstacle, he gave it his all and crossed the finish in 44.20 seconds, earning a provisional second place.
Peder Fredricson was also hungry for a home victory. Riding Alcapone des Carmille (Diamant de Semilly), the Swede took big risks, which unfortunately didn’t result in a clear round.
Second-last to go, Malin Baryard Johnsson and the Belgian-bred H&M Indiana (Kashmir van Schuttershof) aimed to keep a clean sheet. The pair came very close with a finish time of 45.64 seconds.
