The breathtaking conclusion at the Grand Prix final of the Global Champions Tour in New York finished with an astonishing first place for Ben Maher and his Explosion W. Today all eyes went to both Maher and Belgium favorite Pieter Devos aboard Claire Z. With seven combinations in the jump-off however, all options were still open.
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Quick results:
1. Ben Maher - Exposion W
2. Marcus Ehning - Cornado NRW
3. Martin Fuchs - The Sinner
With an amazing effort it was Ben Maher who took the competition aboard his beautiful Explosion W (Chacco Blue) in a brilliant time of 34.08 seconds. He was followed by Marcus Ehning who came in close second aboard Cornado NRW (Cornet Obolensky) with 34.65 seconds. With his second place he also qualified for the Super Final in Prague. Following in third place we found Martin Fuchs and The Sinner (Sanvaro) with 34.95 seconds.
In fourth place it's then Alberto Zorzi with Ulane de Coquerie (l'Arc de Triomphe) with a clear round in 35.11 seconds. Dutch rider Marc Houtzager follows in fifth place with his Sterrehof's Dante (Canturano) with 35.31 seconds.
Besides Maher the other favorite of the finals was Belgium rider Pieter Devos. All weekend everyone was talking about the top two riders of this event, Maher and Devos. Devos started strong with his Claire Z (Clearway). However they came in to trouble at the second jump of the double (3b) and Claire pulled away for the jump. With also a fence down they finished with a total of 8 penalties in seventh place. Devos looked dissapointed, but could be proud of his little trooper that jumped her heart out this season.
Photo: Stefano Grasso