Converting their pole position to a win Doha Falcons of Julien Anquetin, Jérôme Guery and Michael Pender stormed to victory in the GCL of Paris presented by Metrobus.
Harry Allen claimed the individual victory in the second round of the GCL, riding the Belgian-bred BWP gelding, Lukaku vd Bisschop (breeder: Stal den Bisschop). The duo was narrowly faster than Julien Anquetin and the 13-year-old Blood Diamond du Pont (Diamant de Semilly). Riding the 13-year-old SF gelding, the Frenchman finished just under two seconds ahead of Philippe Rozier and Dirty Sweet (Cornet Obolensky).
Guery, Pender and the Philippaerts brothers score in the GCL
The Paris leg of the GCL saw fierce competition and spellbinding performances, but it Doha Falcons that led from start to finish with Jérôme’s horses Careca LS Elite and Great Britain V , Julien onboard Z Ice Cube Z and big gun Pender’s HHS Calais being pulled in for round two.
Championship leaders Stockholm Hearts powered by H&M We Love Horses duo of Nicola and Olivier took home second place on board Katanga v/h Dingeshof and H&M Legend of Love in round 2. But hot on their heels Cannes Stars powered by Iron Dames once again stood on the podium in third with Sophie Hinners on Special Life and Katrin Eckermann delivering a double clear with Cala Mandia NRW.
In the team’s first win since GCL Samorin in 2021, the Doha Falcons took their well earned spot at the top of the podium. Speaking with GCTV, Mikey Pender said, “There really are amazing crowds here in Paris, it was brilliant. The team has been a bit unlucky all year, but we have a good team and have been going well in general… just knocking on the door. We have a brilliant team bond, all the shows we have such brilliant riders, and I think that helps a lot - hopefully we can keep it going.”
Tactics were certainly in play heading in to round two, with Doha Falcons seen discussing the approach for round two amongst themselves, as well as enlisting the help of the team manager. With the right decision clearly made, Guery spoke of how round two was a lot bigger put potentially less technical, whereas round one posed a lot of technical questions. He said, “We saw with round one how it was a lot more delicate, particularly with the plank which is the fence I had down, other than that we went pretty well in round 1 with Julien having a clear round.”
Jumping two horses each across round one and round two, Nicola and Olivier Philippaerts secured the third consecutive podium for the Stockholm Hearts powered by H&M We Love Horses, ultimately furthering their championship lead ahead of the home stage in Stockholm next week. Speaking with GCTV, Nicola said, “All the horses jumped fantastic today, really we were very lucky to be on the podium, we survived another leg and we are looking forward to going into Stockholm as leaders next week.”
He went on to add: “We are only half way now, we have a lot of stages to come so it is very important that we plan carefully to get the strongest team everywhere that is possible.”
A look ahead to the ninth stage of the championship race, next week in Stockholm, Olivier shed some light on what the team have in store. He said, “Next week we take Nicola, myself and Jessica Springsteen, but we have all planned to take the best horses we have and hopefully we keep the lead next week.”
Championship second place holders, Cannes Stars powered by Iron Dames, performed at their ultra consistent best. Katrin Eckermann, no stranger to the spotlight, beamed through her interview with GCTV. She said: “Both my horses jumped amazing, I am so glad to be back with Sophie and the team - and to finish on the podium is great, especially with all the supporters around us from the Iron Dames.”
Harry Allen claimed the individual victory in the second round of the GCL, riding the Belgian-bred BWP gelding, Lukaku vd Bisschop (breeder: Stal den Bisschop). The duo was narrowly faster than Julien Anquetin and the 13-year-old Blood Diamond du Pont (Diamant de Semilly). Riding the 13-year-old SF gelding, the Frenchman finished just under two seconds ahead of Philippe Rozier and Dirty Sweet (Cornet Obolensky).
Guery, Pender and the Philippaerts brothers score in the GCL
The Paris leg of the GCL saw fierce competition and spellbinding performances, but it Doha Falcons that led from start to finish with Jérôme’s horses Careca LS Elite and Great Britain V , Julien onboard Z Ice Cube Z and big gun Pender’s HHS Calais being pulled in for round two.
Championship leaders Stockholm Hearts powered by H&M We Love Horses duo of Nicola and Olivier took home second place on board Katanga v/h Dingeshof and H&M Legend of Love in round 2. But hot on their heels Cannes Stars powered by Iron Dames once again stood on the podium in third with Sophie Hinners on Special Life and Katrin Eckermann delivering a double clear with Cala Mandia NRW.
In the team’s first win since GCL Samorin in 2021, the Doha Falcons took their well earned spot at the top of the podium. Speaking with GCTV, Mikey Pender said, “There really are amazing crowds here in Paris, it was brilliant. The team has been a bit unlucky all year, but we have a good team and have been going well in general… just knocking on the door. We have a brilliant team bond, all the shows we have such brilliant riders, and I think that helps a lot - hopefully we can keep it going.”
Tactics were certainly in play heading in to round two, with Doha Falcons seen discussing the approach for round two amongst themselves, as well as enlisting the help of the team manager. With the right decision clearly made, Guery spoke of how round two was a lot bigger put potentially less technical, whereas round one posed a lot of technical questions. He said, “We saw with round one how it was a lot more delicate, particularly with the plank which is the fence I had down, other than that we went pretty well in round 1 with Julien having a clear round.”
Jumping two horses each across round one and round two, Nicola and Olivier Philippaerts secured the third consecutive podium for the Stockholm Hearts powered by H&M We Love Horses, ultimately furthering their championship lead ahead of the home stage in Stockholm next week. Speaking with GCTV, Nicola said, “All the horses jumped fantastic today, really we were very lucky to be on the podium, we survived another leg and we are looking forward to going into Stockholm as leaders next week.”
He went on to add: “We are only half way now, we have a lot of stages to come so it is very important that we plan carefully to get the strongest team everywhere that is possible.”
A look ahead to the ninth stage of the championship race, next week in Stockholm, Olivier shed some light on what the team have in store. He said, “Next week we take Nicola, myself and Jessica Springsteen, but we have all planned to take the best horses we have and hopefully we keep the lead next week.”
Championship second place holders, Cannes Stars powered by Iron Dames, performed at their ultra consistent best. Katrin Eckermann, no stranger to the spotlight, beamed through her interview with GCTV. She said: “Both my horses jumped amazing, I am so glad to be back with Sophie and the team - and to finish on the podium is great, especially with all the supporters around us from the Iron Dames.”