Port Hercule, Monaco—June 25
It was a spellbinding Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix du Prince de Monaco presented by Sapinda, with speed demon Emanuele Gaudiano of Italy and his impressive grey horse Caspar 232 claiming top honors after an incredible nine rider jump-off.
Talking about what it means to win a LGCT Grand Prix, an elated Gaudino said: “For every rider to win a grand prix is good, but to win a Global Champions Tour grand prix is special—it’s amazing.
“We bought Caspar when he was young, and have worked together to this point today. Today was his first five-star grand prix win; he jumped every round better and better. He’s not a typical horse for this ring but he did an amazing job,” Gaudino said of the 10-year-old stallion.
Gaudino, 30, rides in uniform as he is a member of Italy’s Corpo Forestale dello Stato (the state foresty corps), an organization charged with protecting the country’s forests, parks and protected natural areas. He grew up in Italy, but moved to Germany in 2005 to help advance his jumping career.
Emanuele Gaudino on Caspar 232. Photo by Stefano Grasso/GCT
Compatriot Piergiorgio Bucci took a strong silver medal with his horse Casallo Z, with the horse’s sire Casall ASK finishing in third with Swedish rider Rolf-Göran Bengtsson.
Christian Alhmann of Germany keeps hold of his lead as overall ranking leader, still on a tally of 209 points. However the championship fight has intensified, with Edwina Tops-Alexander of Australia closing the gap to the top German rider, moving up to 169 points overall, and Bengtsson just a whisker away in third with 160 points.
Drop scores now come into play, with the top eight results counting towards the final LGCT Champion of Champions title battle, and with six events remaining it’s set to be an exhilarating gallop to the finish to see who will come out on top.
Luc Musette set the bar high for the first round of competition, designed to challenge the best international riders in the world. Nestled between the super yachts and the Formula 1 pitlane, 42 top combinations took to the arena and center stage in the heart of the Principality. Watched by passionate fans who lined the edge of the arena, a few big names failed to make it through to round two; LGCT ranking leader Ahlmann was one of the surprise drop-outs, with his eye-catching stallion Colorit clipping a pole, leaving them with 4 penalties.
Audrey Coulter of the United States was the first to jump clear with Capital Colnardo, making the 1.60-meter jumps look effortless. She was quickly joined by Christina Liebherr (Switzerland), Janne-Friederike Meyer (Germany) and Jos Verlooy (Belgium) with Caracas, all of whom earned their place into Round 2.
Nicola Philippaerts of Belgium set the initial early pace after a beautiful round with his 11 year old bay stallion Bisquet Balou C, however he was soon pipped to pole position for Round 2 by Germany’s David Will who set off at a blistering pace around the tight course.
Will rode his chestnut mare Mic Mac du Tillard beautifully, turning sharply but allowing enough time to allow for careful jumping.
Scott Brash of Great Britain showcased another masterful round with the relatively young Hello Guv’Nor, and was joined by compatriot Laura Renwick with Bintang II. Final rider to go John Whitaker and Ornellaia didn’t disappoint, with the legendary British rider finishing second in the grand prix here last year. They too joined those through to Round 2.
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The ring for the LGCT of Monaco was set right next to the harbor in Port Hercule. Photo by Stefano Grasso/GCT
Round 2 saw the top 18 return to the sand arena as the floodlights came on. The course was technical and asked many questions once more, with tight cut backs and galloping distances creating a challenge for the top riders. Both Brash and Renwick were caught out by the double combination, rolling a pole to the groan of the crowd who watched just meters away from the action.
Bengtsson looked competitive with the 17-year-old Casall showing all his experience and flair in the tight arena. John Whitaker set a blistering place with his mare Ornellaia, putting them in prime position for the jump-off, with Philippaerts, Jerome Guery (Belgium) and Gaudiano all looking racy ahead of the final round.
Last rider to go Will rode at Formula One pace, galloping the distances, but the fiery chestnut mare Mic Mac du Tillard just got away from him at the final fence, knocking the pole and eliminating them from the last round of competition.
U.S. rider Coulter finished up in 16th after Round 2 with 12 faults over the second course. Schuyler Riley, Georgina Bloomberg and Jessica Bspringsteen were the other U.S. representatives, and faults in Round 1 kept them out of the running.
Nine went through to the jump off, with Janne-Friederike Meyer of Germany and Chuck 27 starting off the final round and setting the pace at 40.51seconds. But the jump-off immediately moved up a gear, with Bengtsson shaving off a full 2 seconds to stop the clocks at 37.95 seconds.
Next to go, Gaudiano and Caspar 232 galloped around the course, turning tight to the fences and covering the ground with the grey horse’s large strides to finish in 36.64 seconds. His compatriot Bucci and Casallo Z pushed to beat the time, but had to setttle splitting the top two to finish in 37.37 seconds.
Piergiorgio Bucci claimed second in the LGCT of Monaco with his horse Casallo Z. Photo by Stefano Grasso/GCT
Guery and Alicante looked impressively fast, but the gallop to the last was too much for the grey stallion and he refused the final fence. Last rider to go Whitaker entered the ring with Ornellaia, and took some brave shortcuts, with the crowd on the edge of their seats. But the pair couldn’t match the timing of the top three, finishing fourth and handing the win to an ecstatic Gaudino.
The Tour now looks to Paris for the 10th round of action in the 2016 Longines Global Champions Tour.
For full results of the Longines Global Champions Tour of Monaco, click here.
Speed Counts In GCL
The iconic Monte-Carlo setting also saw a thrilling ninth round of action for the Global Champions League. Valkenswaard United took their third win of the championship season so far, with Bertram Allen aboard Izzy By Picobello and Eduardo Menezes with Caruschka taking pole position for the team.
Bertram Allen (right) and Eduardo Menezes celebrated their win for the Valkenswaard United in the Global Champions League event at Monaco. Photo by Stefano Grasso/GCT
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“I would be pleased if I was clear the first round but fortunately Bertram gave two strong clear rounds and my mare felt great,” Menezes said. He’d had a rail in Round 2, but Allen jumped two clean rounds and they were both lightening-fast to take the win. “This format that everything counts, Bertram said to me ‘your mare is naturally fast so don’t go crazy just normal speed and we should be on the podium.’”
Monaco Aces keep hold of their overall ranking lead with a tally of 217 points, with Valkenswaard United’s win today dramatically closing the gap to 214, just three points difference. With every result counting towards the final championship result, each point gained becomes even more valuable as the teams battle it out to take the prestigious top spot ahead of the final event in Doha.
The pressure was on the home team Monaco Aces for the Global Champions League of Monaco as the exciting new team completion made it’s debut in front of packed stands. In the previous eight rounds, the team had only finished out of the top four on one occasion, making them one of the most consistent on the League so far.
The riders took to the smallest arena on the League calendar, where agility, speed and scope proved key to the final result. Rob Jansen’s course was a test that demanded both skill and careful jumping from both horse and rider, with the time allowed a challenge in itself. The related distances were fair, but add a stride and riders risked picking up a time fault as they flowed through the 1.50/1.55-meter course.
Being drawn last to go in round 1 meant that Monaco Aces team riders Daniel Bluman and Schuyler Riley knew what was expected, stamping their mark on the competition by being the only team to sail through to Round 2 on 0 faults.
Doha Fursan’s Faleh Suwead Al Ajami with Come Soon and Bassem Hassan Mohammed with Argelith Squid also jumped clear, however an unlucky time fault put them just behind the leading home team. Joining them would be the Antwerp Diamonds (4 faults), Rome Gladiators (4 faults), Valkenswaard United (4 faults), Madrid in Motion (5 faults), Paris Jets (8 faults) and Miami Glory (8 faults). The tight arena saw the delicate poles fall for the likes of Kevin Jochems of the Cannes Stars, and Vienna Eagles’ Danielle Goldstein who both picked up 12 faults, pushing them out of contention for Round 2.
The iconic serene harbour set the backdrop for the exhilarating second round, with the latter part of the course altered for the finale. For the eight teams through it soon became clear that faultless rounds were to be the defining factor in the results. The clears mounted with Scott Brash of Miami Glory, Laura Renwick of Rome Gladiators, Athina Onassis of Madrid in Motion, Daniel Bluman of Monaco Aces and both members of the Paris Jets, Rolf-Göran Bengtsson and Nicola Philippaerts all securing faultless second rounds. An unfortunate miss from Faleh Al Ajami saw team Doha Fursan Qatar out of the running.
The Paris Jets were the ones to watch as the competition came to its climax, however they were pipped to the podium on speed after Audrey Coulter and Jos Verlooy put in blistering rounds with their horses to finish on a combined time of 127.00 against Paris Jets’ time of 129.67 seconds.
Valkenswaard United’s Allen had all the pressure on his shoulders, however took it in his stride, riding a stunningly speedy clear with his relatively young 9-year-old mare Izzy By Picobello to put them at the top of the leaderboard so far.
Yet it all came down to home team Monaco Aces as Riley needed to keep their scorecard clear. But it was not meant to be with an unlucky 8 faults, pushing Monaco Aces off the top spot and into second place.
After two rounds, the top step of the podium was once again claimed by the blue and orange colours of Valkenswaard United. Second place went to the Monaco Aces, and third place to the Antwerp Diamonds. It is clear that the the overall battle for the 7.5 million euro championship prize is as close as ever, with just a three point margin at the top of the table. The League now heads to Paris for the 10th round of action in what’s turning out to be a fascinating competition.
“The new concept is totally different, you don’t have to be from the same nation,” founder Jan Tops said of the GCL. “You have people you dream to be on a team with and you can’t because you have a different passport. But now you can compete together. It is up to the owner to decide who they want to pick in their team.”
