After being rescheduled due to the storm on site in the morning, the two Grand Prix in El Jadida, 1* and 4*, were held as normal thanks to the indoor arena. All’s well that ends well for Virginie Thonon and Q – Famous Van Berg Op Zoom, winner of the ONMT CSI1* Grand Prix and for Italy’s Emanuele Gaudiano with Nicolaj de Music, winner of the World Cup Grand Prix of His Majesty King Mohammed VI. The Italian achieved the same feat as Abdelkebir Ouaddar last year, winning both the Grand Prix of Tétouan and El Jadida.
El Jadida is a place that smiles on Virginie Thonon: she won the CSI3* World Cup Grand Prix in 2017 with High Tech Vy de Septon. On Sunday, competing alone against four Moroccan riders, she won the ONMT 1* Grand Prix with Q – Famous Van Berg Op Zoom in a calm and very fluid jump-off. “But hey,” smiled the Belgian with regards to her horse’s name, “at the stables we call him Mini Grisou.Nothing to do with his name, but a bit simpler. That said, apart from this victory, at 7 years old, he learnt a lot on this tour. He’s a fairly simple and fairly intelligent horse. He responded well to the jump-off. I didn’t go particularly fast, but that was enough because the others closed with faults.” Regarding the MRT, she added that there’s nothing like it to toughen up young horses!
Following on from this, Virginie Thonon, this time with Edgard de Préfontaine, qualified for the second round of the 4* Grand Prix together with ten other clear rounds in a field of 24 entries. The first round was a recognizable one from Swiss course designer Gérard Lachat having several technical subtleties spread throughout the round. From thirteen obstacles, the second round was reduced to seven, including the double, on a very galloping course, a “real false” jump-off as is often the case in this type of class.
This was confirmed by the series of clear rounds, that became faster and faster until the winner of the Grand Prix of Tétouan, Italian Emanuele Gaudiano and his Nicolaj de Music, ‘killed the game,’ taking two seconds and twenty-four hundredths off the time of French Olivier Robert, who was in the lead with Careca Ls Elite until Gaudiano and his mount came in. “I’ve won fewer classes here than in Tetouan: just one victory, but it’s the right one. In nine participations in the Morocco Royal Tour, I had never won a Grand Prix and this year I won two! I like coming here because of the appreciable weather at this time of year, because of the welcome from the Moroccans as well, but of course for the technical quality of the three stages, the ground and the choice of the course designers makes it appealing. In any case, coming here this year was the right thing to do!”
Belgian rider Cyril Cools, who had a great Morocco Royal Tour, closed in second place with Milton Z; the 12-year-old grey certainly lives up to his name.
TOPS 5
GRAND PRIX DE SA MAJESTÉ LE ROI MOHAMMED VI
24 participants et 12 classified
1) Emanuele Gaudiano, ITA – Nikolaj de Music 0-0/32.00, 2) Cyril Cools, BEL – Milton Z 0-0/33.89, 3) Olivier Robert, FRA – Careca Ls Elite 0-0/34.24, 4) Jérôme Guery, BEL – Enjoy d’Eole 0-0/35.02, 5) Barbara Schnieper, SUI – Canice 0-0/35.24
PRIX ONMT
CSI1* – 1.40 m Grand Prix – Jump Off
30 participants et 12 classified
1) Virginie Thonon, BEL – Q – Famous Van Berg Op Zoom 0-0/39.14, 2) Mouad Bouya, MAR – VDL Groep Ernest 0-4/36.94, 3) Driss Taoui, MAR – Cicero II 0-4/38.12, 4) Youssef Essamlali, MAR – Haranka 0-12/38.94, 5) Youssef Salmeron, MAR – Quint V/D Kruishoeve 0-RET
Complete results https://online.equipe.com/shows/58941
About Morocco Royal Tour:
Three fabulous venues, three four-day stages all “four stars” (CSI 4*) for the twelfth edition of the Morocco Royal Tour (MRT), were held between October 5 and 22, 2023. Created in 2010 on the “High Instructions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI” and directed by Prince Moulay Abdallah Alaoui, the MRT grows from year to year, confirming its place as a major competition on the world equestrian calendar, under the aegis of the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI).
The circuit kicks off in Tetouan, from October 5 to 8 (€234,000 in prize money), at the superb facilities of the Royal Guard. A magnificent site with permanent facilities: majestic grandstands, buildings and superb stables decorated in the purest Moroccan tradition.
The Rabat leg, from October 12 to 15 (€274,000 in prize money), took place at the Royal Moroccan Federation of Equestrian (FRMSE) Sports’ facilities, including a permanent on-site veterinary clinic, which are irreproachable from a technical point of view, with the flagship event being the Moroccan Nations’ Cup, scheduled for Sunday afternoon, but also featuring a prestigious 4* Grand Prix counting towards the World Cup on Friday.
The final leg in El Jadida, from October 19 to 23 (€241,000 in prize money), is an indoor show jumping event, with a sports program like that of Tetouan. It also provides an opportunity to discover the Moroccan Horse Show (Salon du Cheval d’El Jadida), undoubtedly the most important on the continent, where the flagship event is held–the Grand Prix de Sa Majesté le Roi Mohammed VI de Saut d’obstacles.
Press Release by R&B Presse:
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WhatsApp Morocco : +33 6 08 75 94 07
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