“A pretty nice end to the weekend”, the winner of the CSI2* GP says with a big smile. American show jumper Lucas Porter claimed his first Grand Prix title in the 1.45m class at the Equestrian Centre de Peelbergen with his speedy mare B Once Z. For Germany Otmar Eckermann and his daughter Katrin ended in second and third place.
14 out of 60 combinations returned for the jump off in Kronenberg. Dutch rider Mathijs van Asten was first to go. With Brugal VDL he scored the best result for the Netherlands finishing in seventh place. Van Asten’s time was beat by 62-year-old German Otmar Eckermann who won the Medium Tour on Saturday night. In 37.81 seconds he cleared the course with his illustrious stallion Coco Bongo Boy (v. Cassini Boy Junior) and took the lead.
Eckermann’s fan club could not contain their excitement and started cheering just before Tim Hendrix and his mare took their first jump, slightly breaking the concentration. For Pleasure-telg Janou knocked a pole down which proved an expensive mistake. Hendrix somehow still managed to finish in the fastest time of all, 37.32 seconds. The leader of the class leader, Katrin Eckermann, did with Dalien Swally R.P. A handsome effort to improve her father’s time and came close to the counter with 38.33.
Until the last rider nobody managed to finish in less than 39 seconds, but then 19-year-old Lucas Porter made his mark. The young American rider and his 13-year-old B Once Z were completely in sync, almost making their efforts look easy. However their accomplishment of finishing 0.21 seconds ahead of the time to beat was very impressive. Jeroen Dubbeldam’s pupil took over the lead, leaving father and daughter Eckermann in 2nd & 3rd place. “Of course it’s a pity, but if someone had the ability to improve my time, it was Lucas”, said the runner-up.
“I thought Otmar’s time was unbeatable. My horse does not have a big “stride, but she is very fast and is a true fighter. That certainly helped me secure the win”, Porter praises his mount. “Everything fell into place. Both the 1st round and the jump off were right up our ally and my horse felt like she was ready to give her all. Winning my first Grand Prix is fantastic, just like de Peelbergen. Everything is well looked after and this centre has all the facilities to host larger championships in the future. I will certainly do my best to be there once the time comes.”
For the full results: https://online.equipe.com/en/competitions/20619
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