The great participation of the CSI5 * W A Coruña reflected in a spectacular CaixaBank Trophy, the class highlighting the first day of competition. World number one, Henrik von Eckermann, was edged out in the final phase of the class by young British rider, Harry Charles. Great sport was seen in the indoor arena of Casas Novas to say goodbye to the opening day of CSI5*W A Coruña.
The CaixaBank Trophy brought together the best, and all showed their most competitive side; galloping hard and looking for points in a Longines FEI Ranking class. As a result, the CaixaBank Trophy was impressive and also had an unexpected outcome, because after having seen the performance of Henrik Von Eckermann with Glamour Girl, few thought that the Swede could lose the top slot. And yet, it was snatched by a young rider, who has plenty of quality and ambition: Harry Charles. Number one in the Longines FEI Ranking Henrik Von Eckermann finished his round with the daughter of VDL Zirocco with a time of 60.42 seconds that seemed unattainable. He galloped with intensity from the starting line, without making the slightest correction, always forward, stepping and arriving on the best ground.
The other horse and rider combinations, no matter how hard they tried, stopped the clock at 61 seconds or 62. Among them we should mention the Spaniard Jesús Garmendia who took one of the standing ovations of the evening in the crowded grand stands of Casas Novas, after an impressive round with Callias. His record of 61.06 made him claim a magnificent third place. However, when the victory of Von Eckermann seemed to be clear, young British rider Harry Charles, who at 23 years old has already represented his country Olympic Games and received team bronze in the recent World Championship, was responsible for beating the Swede’s performance and offering a great show that pleased the supporters of Casas Novas. A spectacular round aboard Billabong du Roumois, doing their best of its gallop as the round passed, made the miracle possible. A miracle that resulted in more than 2 seconds of advantage for the British, undisputed winner of the CaixaBank Trophy. Harry Charles, Henrik Von Eckermann and Jesús Garmendia were the top three, being Philipp Weishaupt with Coby fourth and Daniel Deusser with Bingo Ste Hermelle fifth. Among the best there were also other Spanish riders: Sergio Álvarez Moya went to ninth on “Frappant”, Armando Trapote tenth aboard “Tornado VS” and twelfth, Eduardo Álvarez Aznar with “D’Orient Batilly”. Santiago Núñez Riva with “Chakira Z” also scored a clear round.
French triumph in the Marqués de Riscal Trophy
The 1.45 class Marqués de Riscal Trophy saw an opening field of 54 elite contenders, 18 of which managed to leave the arena with a clean round. Frenchman Grégory Cottard was the fastest, with his mare Cocaine du Val finishing in 60.46 seconds.
Irishman Denis Lynch was second with GC Chopin’s Bushi, setting the time at 61.41, and Pilar Lucrecia Cordón, closed third with Noblesse du Palis, ranked highest in the Spanish representation that had an outstanding performance, with seven pairs classified within the top 14. Among them young Galician rider and current Spain’s champion in the Young Riders category, Diego Ramos Maneiro. A Coruña’s rider, the youngest rider of this CSI5*W, very motivated before his audience, did his utmost with his two horses and with both, he claimed the victory together with the top riders competing in Casas Novas. With the veteran Texas de Trebompe he was fourth (63.19) and with Encantado C’SG he was ranked eleventh (72.36).
In the same line were Kevin González de Zárate, sixth with Favorite (66.25) and another rider from A Coruña, Jesús Bamonde, who crossed the time on 72.03 seconds with AGR Trouble Maker, being tenth in the final classification. Pilar Lucrecia Cordón, twelfth with Flair, and Armando Trapote, fourteenth with Poison, completed the top seven of Spanish clear rounds.
By OXERSPORT / IHP Edited Press Release
