Under the glass dome of the Grand Palais, reigning Belgian champion Gilles Thomas dotted the i's and crossed the t's. In the 1.50m main event, the competition was held against the clock. Together with the 9-year-old BWP mare, Qalista DN (Emerald van 't Ruytershof), Thomas raced to victory!
Earlier, Martin Fuchs won the 1.45m opening event. The Swiss rider was hot on Gilles Thomas's heels but couldn’t improve on the Belgian's time. Thomas and Wim De Nul's BWP mare sped to victory in 59.82 seconds. Martin Fuchs finished in second place, just about one second behind. The Swiss rider followed with L&L Upgrade (Ultimo), ahead of German rider Kendra Claricia Brinkop and the 13-year-old BWP mare, Ma Belle (Ugano Sitte).
Brinkop and the mare, bred by Gust Brosens, managed to stay ahead of Christian Ahlmann with D'Aganix 2000 Z (Dominator 2000 Z). Max Kühner secured fifth place with his trusted EIC UP Too Jacco Blue (Chacco-Blue).
"At just 9 years of age, my mare has already won a lot of events with jumps set at 1.45 m and 1.50 m,explains the winner. Today was her 5-star debut. She’s just back from three weeks on Spain’s Sunshine Tour and has returned from there in very good shape, which is what prompted me to bring her here. She won’t be competing in Sunday’s Grand Prix because I’ve also brought along Ermitage Kalone (the horse he paired with to bag 20th place in the Olympic Games). The main aim was to qualify for the Grand Prix with her and be able to keep Ermitage back for Sunday.”
Like all the other riders, the Belgian is also delighted to be riding at the Grand Palais once again. “I’ve already participated in the Saut Hermès three times but that was at the Grand Palais Éphémère. It was really wonderful just beside the Eiffel Tower but, when you see this place, it is quite extraordinary and unique.”
