Edwina Tops-Alexander and California faced down phenomenal pressure to win the first-ever Longines Global Champions Tour Super Grand Prix as runner up Ludger Beerbaum declared the new GC Playoffs a “milestone in the history of show jumping”. Celebrating her win Edwina declared her amazing mare California “incredible” and said: “I really didn’t think I had won, I couldn’t see the scoreboard. After I had the fence down I thought I have just got to go for it. I can’t believe it, I’ve had the most amazing three weeks of my life and to finish by winning the LGCT Super Grand Prix is incredible." The €1.25 million showdown took place in front of a sell-out crowd at the O2 Arena in Prague with victory for Edwina greeted with a standing ovation after the Australian rider and her amazing mare clinched victory. Speaking about the event Ludger said: “The set up is something really special. The sport, the drama. For me, being in the sport for many years, it is a new feeling. I am quite sure this is a milestone in the history of show jumping.” The first-ever LGCT Super Grand Prix featured the 16 top riders who qualified during the 2018 LGCT championship series and the extreme pressure to go fast and clear produced electrifying sporting drama from start to finish. Earlier the passionate crowd were thrilled by the dazzling Walk of Champions opening ceremony with flaming torches lining their parade in the arena adding a touch of show business to show jumping. Olivier Philippaerts said the event had set a new benchmark in the world of show jumping: “Before we got here we did not know what to expect because the Playoffs are new and in a new city, but they have pulled it off, amazing. The shows are something we have not seen in our sport before and it has brought it to a different level.”
Edwina Tops-Alexander and California faced down phenomenal pressure to win the first-ever Longines Global Champions Tour Super Grand Prix as runner up Ludger Beerbaum declared the new GC Playoffs a “milestone in the history of show jumping”. Celebrating her win Edwina declared her amazing mare California “incredible” and said: “I really didn’t think I had won, I couldn’t see the scoreboard. After I had the fence down I thought I have just got to go for it. I can’t believe it, I’ve had the most amazing three weeks of my life and to finish by winning the LGCT Super Grand Prix is incredible." The €1.25 million showdown took place in front of a sell-out crowd at the O2 Arena in Prague with victory for Edwina greeted with a standing ovation after the Australian rider and her amazing mare clinched victory. Speaking about the event Ludger said: “The set up is something really special. The sport, the drama. For me, being in the sport for many years, it is a new feeling. I am quite sure this is a milestone in the history of show jumping.” The first-ever LGCT Super Grand Prix featured the 16 top riders who qualified during the 2018 LGCT championship series and the extreme pressure to go fast and clear produced electrifying sporting drama from start to finish. Earlier the passionate crowd were thrilled by the dazzling Walk of Champions opening ceremony with flaming torches lining their parade in the arena adding a touch of show business to show jumping. Olivier Philippaerts said the event had set a new benchmark in the world of show jumping: “Before we got here we did not know what to expect because the Playoffs are new and in a new city, but they have pulled it off, amazing. The shows are something we have not seen in our sport before and it has brought it to a different level.”