Augier de Moussac was one of eleven riders to clear the 1.45m track, moving on to the jump-off – where the first prize was an Audi A1.
It was probably the sight of the Audi A1 that made the riders put their horses in top gear for this jump-off. As first in the ring, Hilary Mc Nerney (USA) rode an incredibly fast round on the 12-year-old mare Z Acodate Ddl (Acord II x Aldatus), getting a spot-on turn to the third vertical and then later on racing down the final stretch to the last oxer to stop the clock on 33.86 seconds.
The riders following Mc Nerney, would illustrate exactly how fast she had been – none of the eight to come could catch her time. If they did, it came on the expense of a rail.
Second-last-to-go, it was Emma’s turn to enter the ring and the Czech rider gave it her everything aboard the fantastic 11-year-old mare Kanonja (Kannan x Baloubet du Rouet). Not once touching the brakes for the last three jumps, Emma went full speed to shave off 0.02 seconds on Mc Nerney’s time and eventually taking home the victory.
“It’s unbelievable! I could not even imagine winning the two-star Grand Prix with this mare, but I have been in a good rhythm the whole weekend,” said Emma – who also won the Top Series 1.40m against the clock the first day. “I said to myself ‘I am on a lucky start, so I might as well give it a go’. Honestly though, I did not think I could beat Hillary Mc Nerney’s time. I saw it, and she was so smooth and sleek around the turns – so I thought I had no chance. I thought she would win the class, and I would aim for second or third,” smiled Emma who had a hard time believing she had won three classes on three different horses at the Brussels Stephex Masters.
Third place in this Grand Prix went to Karel Cox (BEL) on Nicole, who was very close – only 0.08 seconds behind Augier de Moussac. Fourth was Markus Beerbaum on Tequila de Lile (Luccianno x Etna Paluelle), while fifth went to Emile Karim Fares (LIB) on Captain Z (Lord Z x Niveau).
Click here for full standings
