A big entry list of 50 riders were preparing for the finale competition of the X-Bionic Summer Tour CSI4*, but when Christian Rhomberg of Austria walked by, I did a double take—the credit going to his immaculate, very blue DC sneakers, which led the way as he paced out the lines. Were they good luck, those shoes? Perhaps.
By the end of the class, Rhomberg’s immaculate riding earned him the biggest title of the week: victory in the X-Bionic Sphere Grand Prix CSI4*.
For the 26-year-old rider from Western Austria, this finish with his top horse, the 11-year-old Selle Francis gelding Saphyr des Lacs (Mr. Blue x First Bride) owned by sponsor Carola Lehner was significant. Especially since, the FEI European Championships in Goteburg, Sweden are right around the corner, and Rhomberg has been selected to represent Austria in what will be his first championship appearance.
“This was really good preparation,” Rhomberg said. “My horse is in really good shape at the moment, and I’m lucky that he’s jumping at this level. It was a really big deal for me [to win], because normally I’m always 2nd, 3rd, or 4th, so now I’m really happy to be 1st!”
And it was no cakewalk to the top of the class; the 1.50m jumpoff grand prix welcomed the top 15 riders back for the shortened course, but of those, just four had gone clear. A seemingly innocuous vertical at fence 3 that rode off a short left rollback turn spelled trouble for a big percentage of riders, and there were plenty who called it a day to retire on course.
Right behind Rhomberg was the USA’s Wilton Porter, who finished in 44.74 seconds to the winning time of 44.08. Porter rode an impressive double clear with Caletto Cabana, his own 10-year-old Holsteiner stallion (Cassini I x Capecanavera), and smiled up at the raucous cheers of his family and friends during the prize giving.
In 3rd place and with the last of the double clears was The Netherlands’ Johnny Pals and Wesselina, a 14-year-old KWPN mare (Cumano x Mytens).
The sun sets for now on Šamorín, but this expansive venue will now turn toward its next role, as host of the FEI Young Rider Jumping Championships for European Riders, and this time next month, a CSIO will bring top level show jumpers back to the X-Bionic Sphere. The future is bright for this state of the art facility, and as we learned this week, it’s more than worth the trip.
See the complete results list at this link.
