GCL SHANGHAI – IT’S ALL CHANGE IN THE GCL RANKINGS

Text: Megan Wright

Set in the brand-new Shanghai Juss International Equestrian Centre, the Global Champions League of Shanghai proved a spectacle in the state-of-the-art five-story stadium.

After the first round only the Shanghai Swans and Valkenswaard United sat on zero penalty scores; behind them the Doha Falcons and the Istanbul Warriors were both on a score of four. The major shake-up from the first round was an elimination of the series leaders – the Prague Lions – due to the uncharacteristic fall of Pieter Devos. This meant that the Lions left the show with no points, relinquishing their series lead.

The second-round course proved to be quite the challenge as well with only seven clears in total. Uliano Vezzani designed the course with three combinations, three testing roll backs and two very waiting distances in the big 90 x 60m arena.

The first team to go, Riesenbeck International, saw their first rider, Harry Allen, eliminated at the one-stride double at number eight. This double caused quite a bit of trouble for all competitors. The short five stride line from 7 to 8a and 8b was set up against the side of the arena, and ultimately 8a proved to be the bogey fence of the round, falling a total of five times over 24 rounds.

The first clear of the second round was delivered by Olivier Philippaerts for the Stockholm Hearts, with his nine-year-old mare Poppemieke Jw van de Moerhoeve, by Vigo d’Arsouilles out of a Diamant de Semilly mare. She proved to be the star of the night, especially as this was the first 1.60m class of her career.

Mike Kawai, the under 25 rider for the Mexican Amigos, rode a perfect round being the only rider to post a clear in both rounds on the same horse – the 18-year-old gelding, Saxo de la Cour (Tlaloc M x Jalisco B).

The next team in – the Rome Gladiators – had their rider Michael Duffy post a clear round on Cantano 32 (Cachassini x Weinberg), but unfortunately their chances at a podium finish were scuppered by a 16-fault round from Marco Kutscher.

The Cannes Stars were the next team to secure a clear round with rider Janne Friederlike Meyer-Zimmermann onboard Messi van’t Ruytershof a 12-year-old gelding by Plot Blue out of a For Pleasure mare. This result allowed the team to finish in fifth place.

The Scandinavian Vikings with Evelina Tovek and Henrick von Eckerman finished just above the Cannes Stars in forth, despite both riders having a rail each. This result was based on a faster combined time in the second round.

With the last four teams to go and the current leaders sitting on sixteen penalties there was some room for error. The Istanbul Warriors managed to finish on 12 penalties, carrying four forwards from Round 1, with rider Angelica Zanotelli coming out of the second round with two down. A brilliant clear from Andreas Schou with Napoli vh Nederassenthof (President x Quasimodo Z) added to his clear from the first round, securing second place for the team.

The Doha Falcons finished in third with 12 penalties in the second round from riders Jérôme Gueryand and Julien Anquetin, adding to the four from the first round.

Second to last, Valkenswaard United had an unfortunate 16 penalty round from Edwina Tops-Alexander on Corelli de Mies, causing the team to end in sixth place despite the brilliant clear from Gilles Thomas, the under 25 rider for the team, aboard Luna van het Dennehof (Prince van de Wolfsakker x Quidam de Revel).

The final team, the Shanghai Swans had to finish on less that 12 penalties to secure their victory in the third leg of the series. Riders Pius Schwizer and Daniel Deusser did not disappoint, both producing quick clear rounds. Schwizer rode Vancouver de Lanlore, the 15-year-old stallion by Toulon out of a Le Tot de Semilly mare, while Deusser rode the 13-year-old gelding Gangster v/h Noddevelt (Eldorado van de Zeshoel TN x Careful). This brilliant win for the Shanghai Swans allowed them to move a staggering eight places up the overall rankings into eighth.

The fourth round of the GCL will be taking place in Madrid on the 17^th-19^th May 2024, and is bound to be another exciting round with a brand new series leader – The Cannes Stars.