The Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Paris came down to a five-horse jump-off, with Max Kühner ultimately emerging on top. Partnering the 15-year-old EIC Up Too Jacco Blue (Chacco-Blue), the Austrian rider produced a flawless jump-off round in 38.36 seconds to secure victory in the prestigious CSI5* 1.60m contest and collect the winner’s share of the prize money.

Ireland's Denis Lynch finished as runner-up aboard the experienced Cordial (Casall). The pair also left every fence intact in the jump-off and crossed the finish line in 39.89 seconds. French hopes were carried by Olivier Perreau, who delighted the home crowd with a third-place finish aboard GL Events Dorai d'Aiguilly (Kannan) after stopping the clock in 39.99 seconds.

Germany's Christian Ahlmann secured fourth place with Untouched LB (United Touch s). The combination maintained a perfect scorecard throughout both rounds and posted a jump-off time of 40.29 seconds. The top five was completed by American rider Lillie Keenan and Fasther (Vigo d'Arsouilles). Despite one rail down in the jump-off, their fast time of 39.91 seconds proved enough to hold onto fifth place.

Kühner said: "Fantastic. Quite a long time ago I won my last one, so I'm always happy when it happens again."

Faced with a demanding test against many of the world's best combinations, Kühner credited his horse as the deciding factor in the jump-off. "The main difference was the horse. He's a naturally fast horse, so I just needed to use this flow and then I knew we would be quite quick," he explained.

The victory also carried extra meaning, with one of EIC Up Too Jacco Blue's owners celebrating a birthday in Paris. "One of the owners was joining us here and watching the show and celebrating his birthday, so for sure this is a very nice birthday present today," said Kühner with a smile.

 

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