Frenchman Geoffroy De Coligny produced a sparkling display of precision and sheer speed to win the Accumulator class at Horse of the Year Show on Saturday evening. In doing so he pipped 19-year-old British star Harry Charles, who was seeking a third international class win on his Horse of the Year Show debut.
Harry looked to have done enough with Victor (Vanoverbeek x Ouche de Muze) in pursuit of a £7,390 top prize, finishing on the maximum score of 65. Points are awarded for each fence jumped with an option of an extra points-scoring 'joker' fence at the end.
Harry finished on the maximum in a time of 47.37 seconds, but Geoffroy had other ideas as he guided Raimondo du Plessis (Calin du Plessis x Mister Sartilly) through the course in 44.95, with Britain's Guy Williams taking third on Rouge de Ravel (Ultimo van ter Moude x Quouglof Rouge) .
"It was an amazing competition," Geoffroy said. "I am very happy to be here, and after finishing fourth in a class on Friday here, I am really happy with how it has gone. My horse is very quick and wins a lot of classes like this one. He is ideally suited to this type of class. I only have one word for this show - perfect. It is a great competition, good for the horse and I could not be happier to be here."