Twenty starters, ten qualifiers for the second round, and one winner! The Equita Masters presented by Equidia Life offered up an amazing show and top-quality sport this evening in the Competition and Show arena at Equita Lyon. In the second part of the class, all the riders went out to do a fast round and take risks to try and win the class and add their name to the list of winners of the Equita Masters presented by Equidia Life. In the end, it was the Swiss rider Paul Estermann who took first place on Lord Pepsi with a time of 39’21. “I took a good line in the second round. My horse jumped well yesterday, so I tried to do my best to win today. I knew there were riders who could possibly ride faster, but I took good corners and my horse was really great,” said the delighted rider afterwards. Tomorrow, he will be riding Castlefield Eclipse in the Longines FEI World CupTM presented by GL events, the third stage of the World Cup for the Western European League, and he will certainly be trying to repeat his performance.
The public held their breath and got right behind Kevin Staut during his round; he was the last to ride and the only French rider qualified for the second round. At a very fast pace, the Frenchman did everything to try and take first place in front of his home crowd. Tight corners, long gallops…while his time was fast, it was not enough to beat the Swiss rider. With a time of 39’44, he finished second in the class. “I’m very happy with Qurack, he jumped really well. It’s disappointing that I didn’t manage to gain those few hundredths of a second that would have given us the victory in front of our public, but it’s already good to have two clear rounds and to be part of this class’s history, even if I didn’t get the victory,” he said after his round, before confirming how Qurack de Falaise HDC has developed: “A year ago, he did this same class with two faults, so it’s a good way to compare. He did two clear rounds this evening, so he has improved over the year.”
The Belgian rider Peter Devos on Dream of India Greenfield was third with a time of 39’62.
Full Results of the Masters click here
Photo by Equita Lyon – PSV