A busy international weekend just ended in Oliva with the Grand Prix of the CSI3* competition. 45 competitors took their chances and 11 of them managed to get through the first round without jumping or time faults, among them many top riders such as Ben Maher, Nicola Philippaerts, Michael Hughes and Kendra Claricia Brinkop. So the riders knew what they had to do if they wanted to lay claim to victory: get off to a flying start and leave all the obstacles in the pits.
Ben Maher succeeded best in that task. He rode the 12-year-old Ginger-Blue (by Plot Blue) clear to the finish in this 1m50 high course, stopping the chrono after 35.15 seconds. This kept him ahead of Nicola Philippaerts, who in turn rode H&M Luna van't Ruytershof Z (by Levisto Z) to second place. This combination also managed to keep the clear and clocked off in 36.05 seconds. Michael Hughes completed the top three. He counted on Melodie-K van't Kattenheye (by Cornet Obolensky) to jump a clear round in 37.07 seconds.
Nano Healy (Oak Grove's Clown Frh) and Kendra Claricia Brinkop (Nector vd Bisschop) followed in places four and five.