Steve Guerdat finishes 8cs faster, winning at Sunshine Tour

The swiss rider has achieved two victories during the weekend in the Small Grand Prix with Dynamix de Belheme

Spanish rider Iván Serrano proclaimed champion of the Suzuki Jump&Drive 

Sanne Thijssen wins the Horseware Grand Prix and Michael Hugues and Gilles Thomas completed the podium

The Swiss anthem has played in the Montenmedio facilities twice as Steve Guerdat conquered important victories throughout the week. After winning the Geolastic Trophy on Friday, on Saturday he won the Small Grand Prix with Dynamix de Belheme: a nine-year-old mare daughter of Snaike de Blondel x Cornet Obolensky. 

Last to jump in the tiebreaker contested by a total of 25 riders, he scratched a few tenths of a second from the time, earning victory. Guerdat stopped the clock in 40.61 seconds, 0.08 seconds faster than Austrian Max Kühner. In third place, American Lucas Porter rode with E Clinton.

Bulgarian rider Konstantin Van Damme and United won the other show jumping circuit of the Big Tour. They were followed by Doron Kuipers and Davide Kainich. In the Medium Tour, Leopold Van Asten, Gregory Wathelet and Maryk Sahney were the fastest in the 1.40m jump-off.

 Suzuki Jump&Drive

Throughout these days we have noticed a great atmosphere in the equestrian facilities of Montenmedio, Vejer de la Frontera. Families and groups of friends have taken advantage of the sunny day to enjoy the show jumping competition, and on Saturday around 1,500 people visited the Sunshine Tour. 

Unarguably one of the highlights of the day was the celebration of the Suzuki Jump&Drive competition, as it inaugurated the new retractable ceiling, the largest in the world for equestrian events. This was largely enjoyed by the audience that gathered around to encourage all participants. 

The Spanish rider Iván Serrano Sáez was the one who won the course after a brilliant performance with Calanque de Riverland. After an intense race to the Suzuki Swift, he completed the course at top speed. 

Overall, he took 71.83 seconds, while Alexa Larking who was leading the race with Lady Angeles ended in second spot with 72.51 seconds. Third place went to Konstantin Van Damme. All received their trophies from Juan López Frade, president of Suzuki in Spain. 

Horseware Grand Prix

While victory went to Sanne Thijssen with Con Quidam RB, Michael Hugues with Kashmir Van D’Oude Pastory and Gilles Thomas with Luna Van Het Dennehof earned second and third place. Excitement was palpable in the Horseware Grand Prix, as seven horse and rider combinations qualified for the jumpoff. 

Dutch rider Sanne Thijssen flew through the the course to take a well-deserved victory, stopping the clock in an impressive 40.86 seconds. She was four and a half seconds faster than Michael Hughes who finished in second place. 

Thijssen was visibly excited after the end of the course and received a grand applause from the audience. She has highlighted her horse is “an incredible horse that knew all times what he had to do, even though it was a demanding course”. 

The winning horse and rider combination has already signed great performances in top-level events as the 2021 Barcelona Nations Cup, achieving the first place in teams and fourteenth individual. Moreover, on Friday she took the second spot behind Steve Guerdat, so she is a promising rider that continues adding achievements. 

French Penélope Leprevost was another of the day’s protagonists after winning the Medium Tour Grand Prix with Verite Une Prince. In this event, Germany’s Jana Wargers and Belgium’s Gudrun Patteet took second and third place respectively. Irish rider Ciaran Nallon and Dolce Vita Des Ouches won the Small Tour Grand Prix on Sunday. 

After Monday’s rest day, young horses will return to the tracks on Tuesday. Riders will have three more days to clean courses and set them closer to the finals to be held on February 23rd. Stay tuned to HorseTV for the latest news!