As usual, the third day of Jumping Mechelen was concluded with a CSI5* class. In this 1m50 class there were 42 riders at the start. These 42 combinations were not only fighting for victory today, there were also precious points for the Longines ranking to glean. The riders were presented a tough basic course where not only the obstacles but also the allowed time proved a stumbling block for some combinations. Five combinations did manage to leave all the bars in the spoons but received one or two penalty points for time behind their name. In the end, thirteen managed to jump a clear first round, within the time allowed. A jump-off with thirteen therefore had to be decisive.
Quick results
1. Lars Kersten - Hallilea (by VDL Zirocco Blue)
2. Pieter Devos - Claire Z (by Clearway)
3. Willem Greve - Grandorado TN NOP
The audience in Mechelen was obviously hoping for a Belgian victory and with six Belgians in the jump-off, the audience already got value for money. The first rider in the jump-off was immediately one of those Belgians. Thibeau Spits knew what he had to do: jump a fast clear round. With King van Essene (by Calido I) he succeeded in doing so: 37.07 seconds was the reference for the combinations that had to come after him. Unfortunately, the 12-year-old stallion also tapped two bars out of the spoons resulting in eight penalty points.
Jos Verlooy was the second rider to enter the arena. He counted on his trusty Igor (by Emerald) to jump a clear round in 36.85 seconds. An arrow-fast time with which he managed to put the pressure firmly on the competition. German Hans-Dieter Dreher was next up. With Cous Cous (by Cachas) he was well on his way to improving Verlooy's time but a fault on the last obstacle threw a spanner in the works. Their time was indeed faster (36.67 seconds), which immediately made it clear that Verlooy's time was indeed beatable.
Erica Swartz was next as one of the two riders in the jump-off. Ridden by Madonna (by Flamenco de Semilly), she did leave all the bars in the scoop and stopped the chrono after 37.84 seconds, which earned her second place in the provisional standings. Przemyslaw Knopacki was the next rider to take his chance. In the saddle of the KWPN-bred Home-Run, he could not score a home run this time. The duo got one jumping fault behind their name in a time of 36.53 seconds, again faster than Verlooy.
Willem Greve was the first of two Dutch riders to advance to the jump-off. He immediately got off to a fast start and did what no one had managed to do so far: ride faster than Verlooy while leaving the wood untouched. In the saddle of Grandorado TN NOP (by Eldorado vd Zeshoek) he beat Verlooy by more than a second, taking over the lead from the Belgian. 35.82 seconds became the new reference time.
After Greve, it was time for the second rider to take her chance. Georgia Tame rode Curiano van Maarle Z (by Canabis Z) like a rocket through the course but her time of 36.43 seconds ultimately proved just not enough to knock Greve off first place.
Pieter Devos was the next to try to secure a Belgian victory. He pulled out all the stops with Claire Z (v. Clearway) and did what seemed to be impossible: beat Greve's time. The duo recorded a clear round behind their name in 35.67 seconds. Lars Kersten was the last Dutchman to defend the "orange honor" and he did so with flying colors! He rode Hallilea (by VDL Zirocco Blue) clear through the course and stopped the chrono after 35.31 seconds. A new time to beat, a new leader.
The audience had descended to the Nekkerhal tonight for spectacle, and they certainly got it. With a Dutchman in the lead, Niels Bruynseels wanted to leave nothing to chance. He went all out in the saddle of Matador (v. Emerald) to still secure a Belgian victory but he tapped one bar out of the scoop during that task.
With two more Belgians on the starting list, Gilles Thomas was next to take his chance. However, his 11-year-old BWP mare Luna van het Dennehof (by Prince van de Wolfsakker) also failed to maintain the clear, leaving all Belgian hopes on the shoulders of Nicola Philippaerts.
Philippaerts clearly did not want to leave anything to chance and made every effort to still secure a Belgian victory. Riding Luna van't Ruytershof Z (by Levisto Z), he jumped clear but was not faster than Kersten. His time of 36.28 seconds earned him fourth place.
