Memorable afternoon for the French equestrian in Casas Novas, whose riders took three of the five best places in the Longines Trophy (last lest of the day), among them the winner, Guillaume Foutrier, who competed last in the winning round and made the wait worthwhile with a very fast race with no faults. The test was long and hard, with 16 efforts in 13 obstacles and a demanding time in the first round, which forced the pairs to go close during the course. The starting order was divided into four series of ten pairs each (plus one rider that was not on the bets), with a total of 41 pairs. In the third series in the bets (the first two series took place in the previous trophy), no one finished with zero penalty points, either for a knockdown or an excess of time. The best of this series were the Spanish Julio Arias with Reggae du Tillard in 78.01 seconds and Reynald Angot, in 78.59 with Symphonie des Biches (both of them with 1 penalty). In the next series, the fourth in the bets, another ten riders were prepared to compete, but the luck was uneven, with good results in time but also knocking down. The first to achieve a zero was the British Spencer Roe, who wins his presence in the winning round, in 76.17 seconds without faults with Wonder Why. Then, the Spanish Gerardo Menéndez Mieres showed his great skills, coming from doing good tests in Europe and in the Mediterranean Games, and he made the best time of his series, in 75.22 seconds with Costello DC without penalties. In the fifth, the biggest applause from the audience went to the French Alexandra Paillot (76.25 seconds with Lumina) and Julien Anquetin (77.29 seconds with Alonso N), classified in this series for the winning round. Also Samantha McIntosh and Ben Schröder completed the best classified and won a place for the winning round. The last eleven riders to compete on the track of Casas Novas were especially bright, with three qualified for the winning round. The first was Eric van der Vleuten, who showed that he wanted a place in the winning round and scored another zero at 76.19 with Zigali P S. The following would be the French Guillaume Foutrier, who matched the best time of the first round without penalty riding Tchin de la Tour and Alexis Deroubaix (76.14 seconds with Timon d'Aure). FINAL SURPRISE IN THE WINNING ROUND The first to competed in the winning round was Ben Schröder but the chrono did not accompany him (54.14 seconds) and was immediately surpassed by the other riders participating in the final: the first, Samantha McIntosh (51.86 with Chec In 2). After her, Reynald Angot competed, who had no luck and was penalized with 4 points. The winning round was bad for Julio Arias, whose horse did not want to compete with the clock already running. Julien Anquetin and Alexandra Paillot would be the next to make the final round. This last horsewoman showed made the track with 50.59 seconds, surpassing the best time so far. Then, it was the turn of the Dutch Eric van der Vleuten and Zigali P S, who pulverized the time of the French with a few seconds of difference (48.32 seconds). For his part, the British Spencer Roe knocked down. Alexis Deroubaix with Timon d'Aure, motivated perhaps by possible call of the first French team, made a memorable performance in 48.03 seconds and leaded at that moment the test. Gerardo Menéndez Mieres gave a magnificent performance and placed third with Costello DC and 49.68 seconds. But everything would be decided in the last moment, with the Frenchman Guillaume Foutrier, who achieved a brilliant victory in the Longines Trophy, in 47.72 with Tchin de la Tour. Foutrier was accompanied by Alexis Deroubaix (second) and Eric van der Vleuten (third). HUGO TAVARES TRIUMPHS IN THE LEXUS TROPHY Hugo Tavares added another triumph for Portugal in this edition of Casas Novas by winning the Lexus Trophy (second test of the day). The test began with France dominating the top positions with Julien Anquetin, Aldrick Cheronnet or Alexis Deroubaix, but, after the first series of bets, the New Zealander Samantha McIntosh led, at that moment, the classification with a time of 66.39 seconds with no penalties on the back of Estina. In second place was, also provisionally, the Portuguese rider Luis Sabino Gonçalves (68.04 seconds riding Acheo di San Patrignano). In the middle of the competition, the Portuguese Hugo Tavares surprised signing a time of 66.13 seconds with Phebus du Fief and was placed first, relegating the horsewoman McIntosh to the second place. In the second series only the French Guillaume Foutrier was able to be among the first positions, but he had a fourth place with Valdocco Des Caps in 68.19 seconds. The Lexus Trophy was disputed like its predecessor in the modality fault & time but it raised the height to 1.45 meters. GREAT VICTORY OF ANDREA CALABRO IN THE MARQUES DE RISCAL TROPHY The Italian anthem sounded again at the prize giving ceremony in Casas Novas thanks to an impressive performance by Andrea Calabro in the Marques de Riscal Trophy (first test of the day), which came out to the arena the last one and showed his great skills, making a very quick test. Although the weather did not accompany, the riders lighted up the outdoor track of Casas Novas in the first test of the day with their efforts and talents. Out of the 31 pairs in the starting list, 12 were Spaniards, so the test had a remarkable national flavour, with two representatives among the top five classified (Diego Pérez Bilbao and Eduardo Álvarez). The test was very competitive, with Eduardo Álvarez Aznar coming out in third place with Balasco de l'Abbaye and making a great time (62.04 seconds), leading the provisional standing. But this first place was practically ephemeral, as the French Reynald Angot came out two places later and flew on the course: 57.57 seconds riding Brownie And Cream. There were many pairs and it was the time for Martim Portela de Morais and Beau Goss on the track to demonstrate their great moment: they stopped the clock in 57.08 seconds. The Ibizan rider Diego Pérez Bilbao, approached to the best but not enough to win, with a fourth place riding Itsi Pitsi Doree van 'T Kathof in 59.38 seconds. And when it seemed impossible to beat the Portuguese, in the last breath, Andrea Calabro was impressive on the back of Kwinthyre van het Paardeveld finishing in less than 54 seconds (53.51 seconds).
