The new Sire of the World is Cornets Iberio! The eleven year old stallion was victorious together with his Irish rider Denis Lynch.
Of the fifty participants, eight of them were allowed to compete in the jump-off for the title of 'Sire of the World.' Philip Rüping (GER) took the lead with Casallco. The German rider set a high standard right away with the twelve-year-old son of Casall, finishing flawlessly with a time of 38.75 seconds. Next up was Victoria Gulliksen (NOR) with Thuur Z, a nine-year-old son of Tyson. The Norwegian rider, riding the Zangersheide stallion bred by Joost Thijssen, incurred a jumping fault. Their time was four hundredths faster than Rüping's.
Denis Lynch (IRL) was in the running for the prizes with Cornets Iberio (by Cornet Obolensky). A perfect round from the eleven-year-old grey and his rider put them in the lead with the new time to beat at exactly 36.00 seconds. The first to defend the Belgian tricolor was Jens Vandenberk (BEL). Riding Faldiano, he chased Lynch's time. The eighteen-year-old son of top sire Heartbreaker didn't make any mistakes but was not quite fast enough with a time of 37.05 seconds to take the lead.
Patrick Stühlmeyer (GER) had one of the youngest stallions under his saddle, the eight-year-old Chad Blue PS (by Chacco-Blue). They ended their jump-off with two jumping faults. Rüping had a second chance, so he kept the audience waiting for his second appearance until he warmed up with Baloutaire PS (by Balou du Rouet). Unfortunately, they had a mishap on the last obstacle.
Gilles Thomas and Feromas van Beek Z (by Fantomas de Muze) did what they do best and kept everyone on the edge of their seats. It remained thrilling until the last obstacle, but their time of 36.39 seconds was also just not fast enough for the first place.
Lastly, all eyes were on Mathieu Bourdeaud'hui and Oscar The Homage. The son of Quint vh Maarlo Z got off to a strong start under the young rider, but it was clear that they were aiming for a faultless round rather than the fastest time.
Click here for the full results
TOP FIVE
- Denis Lynch (IRL) & Cornets Iberio (Cornet Obolensky)
- Gilles Thomas (BEL) & Feromas van Beek Z (Fantomas de Muze)
- Jens Vandenberk (BEL) & Faldiano (Heartbreaker)
- Philip Rüping (GER) & Casallco (Casall)
- Mathieu Bourdeaud'hui (BEL) & Oscar The Homage (Quint vh Maarlo Z)