This afternoon, the top 10 male and female athletes from Friday’s Grand Prix qualification returned to the arena at the Grand Palais. In this 1.55m Le Saut Hermès class, Pieter Devos secured a Belgian victory riding the KWPN mare, Jarina J (Cicero Z van Paemel).
Pieter Devos and the 12-year-old Jarina J remained clear over both rounds. "My mare brought her A-game. Strategically, I thought it was important to go fast initially, but after seeing that no one was finishing with a double clear round, I decided to play it safe. I did this despite the fact that Yuri (Mansur) was going after me and is known for being quick—ultimately, the Brazilian, teamed as ever with the 18-year-old Vitiki, unfortunately had two rails down.
In the end, I just tried to ride my own race without overthinking it. I still took a few more risks than I’d planned, especially over the last fence. My mare is very consistent and very quick, though. I can easily play around with the stride pattern, and winning in a place like this is truly something special."
Finishing with a time of 45.06 seconds, the duo remained over three seconds ahead of Jessica Burke and the SF gelding, Good Star du Bary (Rock' N Roll Semilly). With a single time penalty in both rounds, Malin Baryard-Johnsson completed the top three. The Swede rounded out the podium in the saddle of Hennessy (Hogwart).
