The Global Champions League competition in Rabat brought plenty of excitement. In the end, the final rider to start, Thibault Philippaerts, guided his St Tropez Pirates team to victory.
There was a lot of movement between the first and second rounds. St Tropez Pirates claimed victory in this leg of the Global Champions League. In the first round, Philippe Rozier with Le Coultre de Muze (Presley Boy) and Thibault Philippaerts with Quilano (Arezzo VDL) both jumped clear. In the second round, Rozier incurred one fault with Dirty Sweet (Cornet Obolensky). Ultimately, Philippaerts’ clear round with Lyandro MDB (Grand Slam) secured the win for the team.
“This is truly an amazing feeling,” said Thibault Philippaerts shortly after the competition. “I have a great stable and a fantastic team at the moment. I was able to take some risks, but I knew it was best to stay clear. I had complete faith in my horse, so it all came naturally.”
“I was also lucky to be the last one to start,” Philippaerts added. “That allowed me to ride the final line exactly as I wanted. Lyandro is still very young, but he already has the confidence as if he knows he’s carrying me through the course.”
“Thibault really is the future — he’s completely ready,” added Philippe Rozier. "It's my last year on a CSI5* level. Time to make place for the future after 45 years of career!"
On the podium, Rome Gladiators followed in second place, with Istanbul Warriors taking third. In the current overall ranking, Valkenswaard United leads the standings.
Young horses gaining experience
Afterwards, Niels Bruynseels reacted to missing the podium with the Prague Lions. “In the first round, both Pieter and I came in with fairly inexperienced horses. It was a necessary choice, but it cost us,” said Bruynseels.
“I also want to stay realistic — it wasn’t just about the horses. As riders, we weren’t at our best either. Luckily, the second round with our more experienced horses went much better. You really notice there’s a big difference in level between the first and second rounds!” concluded the Belgian.
Good news came for Jur Vrieling, who finished sixth with the Scandinavian Vikings, securing his spot in the GCT Playoffs. “I think I’m really lucky with my horse. My horse, Kiliman Sitte (Comme Il Faut), is still young. You can feel it’s still a bit hesitant in the first round, but you can also see the energy we can recover with between rounds! It’s great to see how these young horses perform here — you can tell they’re being trained with care.”
Christian Kukuk and Cepano Baloubet win Grand Prix qualifier
In the individual ranking, Christian Kukuk achieved the best result with his 11-year-old BWP gelding, Cepano Baloubet. Kukuk and the son of Chaman (breeder: W. Seemann) finished just under two seconds ahead of Simon Delestre with Golden Boy DK (Diamant de Semilly). Peder Fredricson followed in third with his 15-year-old SF gelding, Alcapone des Carmille (Diamant de Semilly).
For Belgium, Koen Vereecke achieved the best individual result, jumping to sixth place with Merryweather vt Leeuwerikenhof (Emerald), a 13-year-old BWP mare owned by Freddy Demuynck.
