„We have no chance today,“ Simon Delestre stated dryly. Just recently the Frenchman had watched the rapid sprint by Richard Vogel and Gangster Montdesir (v. Kannan). As if pulled by a string, the world ranking leader in the sprint managed to overcome every twist and turn in the river and forward, and in just 33.02 seconds they reached the finish line without a single mistake. The competition agreed: no one else can do better today. And that was exactly what happened.
„Richard’s round was next level and a class apart,“ summed up Tom Schewe. The current world No. 127 was one of three Germans in the final in Verona and tried his luck as the penultimate starter as well. With the nine-year-old Congress Blue PS (v. Congress), the 28-year-old put everything on the line, again managed to stay faultless and was allowed to rejoice over a great second place – although he was three seconds slower than Richard Vogel in the end. Third place went to the Frenchman Simon Delestre, who with his Gatsby du Tillard (v. President) didn’t even try to beat Vogel’s top time. Henrik von Eckermann and Minute Man (v. Vigo) jumped ahead of Max Kühner and Vivo de Muze PS (v. Vivant) in fourth place.
The winner was then visibly proud of his horse, with whom he had already won the Rolex Grand Prix in Brussels this summer. „He feels like a professor; he completed the obstacle course so confidently. That was world-class; he couldn’t have done it better. I am very proud of him.“
Tom Schewe was similarly proud: „Richard wasn’t to be beaten today, but my horse is only nine years old and we both don’t yet have much experience at this level. Therefore, I am already very happy with the result today.“
Nine riders had found the key to the course built by Uliano Vezzani and had entered the competition. Three German show jumping riders won their tickets – including defending champion Daniel Deusser with his world champion team partner Otello de Guldenboom (v. Tobago Z). However, they made a mistake in the competition and the two finished sixth. „Of course I am very happy. Otello has done a great job. He has also been very consistent since his victory last year here in Verona, proving this among other things in many big prizes and of course also at the World Championships in Aachen,“ summed up Daniel Deusser.
UPDATED information about UNITED TOUCH S
After his victory, Richard Vogel provided an update on the health of his top horse, United Touch S: „He is slowly making progress in terms of his health; it’s moving in the right direction. But we are also giving him all the time in the world to get completely healthy; he is in the best hands.“
Richard Vogel übernimmt mit dem Sieg auch die Führung in der Zwischenwertung der Weltcup-Saison vor Max Kühner und Julien Epaillard.
The whole result: HERE