Belgium likes the Morocco Royal Tour. The European champion country won the Nations Cup and the “red equestrian devils” have already accumulated a number of victories on this series. Thierry Goffinet has just added a new one in the One Star Grand Prix of Rabat. It was even one and two for Belgium as Virginie Thonon took second place.

With his young Mojito van de Meiboom, Thierry Goffinet was the seventh and last to leave in the jump-off where nobody had so far succeeded to align a second clear round. In general, in a jump-off, you have to take risks, that is to say, go as fast as possible. But in this case, the risk was … not to go fast, to ensure the clear round: “A risk? Yes and no because actually, when we go a little slower, we have time to do things a little better organized. But it is true that I have a young mare who still lacks experience and maybe if I had to go in number 1, I would have gone faster and I would have makes one fence down. Today, I could ensure the no-fault and with a 7-year-old mare, it was the best thing that could happen to me.” Mojito van de Meiboom was indeed born in 2012 and it’s only been a year that Thierry rides this daughter of Malito de Reves: “I bought her from his breeder with whom she jumped already very well and I went slowly throughout this year. This is the first time she jumped on a 1.35m – 1.40m Grand Prix. Last week, in Tetouan, it was a little hard for her, but here I feel that she has passed a course.”
Thierry Goffinet discovers this year the Morocco Royal Tour for the first time … a real treat: “It’s fantastic and now I plan to come back every year, the organizers are great, the competitions are extremely well organized. And then it’s always nice here, unlike at home, in Belgium where, right now, it’s 8 °C and it’s raining! This surrounding, with the light and the sun, also motivates the horses, they do not degrade having to jump in the rain. It’s a joy to be here! “
Now, Thierry is thinking of the Sunday Nations Cup (starting at 12.30), a competition that Belgium has shared with Switzerland since the beginning of the story: “We are here with a B team because we all have horses having very little experience, it will be their first Nations Cup. Yesterday, we all had a good Grand Prix, the horses get experience, so, as they say here: inshallah!

 
The Moroccan chances were serious in this Grand Prix with three qualified riders in the jump-off but none managed to ride a second clear round. Only Othmane Krari, the junior Moroccan champion, managed to get off the track with 4 faults and climb on the third place on the podium with his faithful Ultrabelle Delalouvet who had allowed him to win this national title.
Morocco Royal Tour – CSIO4*-W Rabat 2019
Epreuve 10 – CSI1* Grand Prix Jump Off (238.2.2) 1.35m – Prix Ministère de l’Intérieur

1) Thierry Goffinet, BEL – Mojito van de Meiboom 0-0/44.33, 2) Virginie Thonon, BEL – Capucine de Maugre 0-4/39.28, 3) Othmane Krari, MAR – Ultrabelle Delalouvet 0-4/39.92, 4) Helen Tredwell, GBR – Super Nova 0-4/46.03, 5) Rachid Belmokhtar, MAR – Toscanino Douze 0-8/38.91, 6) Rayane El Ouarzazi, MAR – Carousa 2 0-8/39.51, 7) Ida Wilhelmsson, SWE – I’M Quite Bright 1/82.39, 8) Emanuele Gaudiano, ITA – Calgary 87 4/68.26, 9) Soukaina Ouaddar, MAR – Reading de Sienne 4/71.59, 10) Bettina Schnyder, SUI – Carlchen 80 4/74.10,

Complete results of the Morocco Royal Tour HERE

NATIONS CUP: DOUBLE CHALLENGE
There will be two competitions in one tomorrow, in the prestigious team competition, the Moroccan Nations Cup. Each of the fourteen teams entered will obviously aim for the victory, after all, it is a  the goal of any competition (!) And there, many teams can pretend to dethrone the Switzerland decided not to easily let go of its title. But among these fourteen nations, there are six that aim for another goal: the qualification for the Tokyo Olympics. The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Morocco and Egypt will fight for the two tickets to Japan next year. Morocco, African champion, led by Abdelkebir Ouaddar, obviously has serious chances but Egypt, with Grand Prix 5 * winners like Sameh El Dahan, Abdel Said and Nayel Nasser (who particularly spared his devil of Lucifer this week), is a serious pretendant. Saudi Arabia, bronze medalist at the London Olympics, is also planning to travel to Japan with a Ramzy Al Duhami in form in Rabat, where he took off aa class on the first day. In short, the match in the match will be just as exciting as the competition itself.

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