The Longines Global Champions Tour of Cannes opened with the GCL Individual Competition, a CSI5* 1.60m class counting towards the Longines Rankings and serving as a qualifier for the LGCT Grand Prix. Turkey's Efe Siyahi delivered a standout performance aboard Cantate to claim victory, while Belgium's Thibault Philippaerts secured a podium finish in one of the feature classes of the opening day.
Victory went to Efe Siyahi and the experienced Cantate (Corlensky G). The Turkish rider produced one of only two clear rounds in the class and stopped the clock in 72.38 seconds, securing an impressive win in the €80,000 feature competition.
Second place went to American rider Kristen Vanderveen with Bull Run's Jireh (Uriko). The pair also left every fence intact and crossed the finish line in 72.65 seconds, finishing less than three tenths of a second behind the winners.
Belgium's Thibault Philippaerts completed the podium aboard Pittman v/h Lilleveld (Diamant de Semilly). Although the combination incurred four penalties, their fast time of 70.30 seconds proved enough to secure third place against a highly competitive field.
Luxembourg's Victor Bettendorf followed in fourth place with Gibbs Un Prince (Number One d'Iso Un Prince). The pair finished on four faults in 71.52 seconds, while American rider Kaitlin Campbell rounded out the top five with Cosm Castlefield Cornelious (Cornet Obolensky) after stopping the clock in 74.00 seconds with four penalties.
