In the end, it was Leopold van Asten’s weekend in Maastricht. As the ninth of twelve starters, title defender Gilles Thomas had indeed completed the obstacle course in the Grand Prix of Maastricht with lightning speed and flawless execution – so fast and so precise that victory seemed inevitable to him. Apparently not. As the last starter, Leopold van Asten put everything on the line again – and with VDL Groep Kwienbellie (v. Toulon) he was still half a second behind the finish line. The rider’s fist went up, and the victory in the CSI4* over 1.55m was achieved. His second victory this weekend with the same horse, after the 4* success on Friday – already his second victory of the weekend with the same horse. Third place was taken by compatriot Willem Greeve on Cero Blue TN (v. Chacoon Blue) from the breeding of Holsteins breeder legend Harm Thormählen.
Two German amazons were also in the running; they were also ahead of the time – but both of them had the misfortune of encountering a slight but potentially dangerous pole during the competition. Sophie Hinners rode Lommers (v. Carrera VDL) to a new best time as the seventh starter until the final jump; she rode with full speed and therefore took a risk towards the oxer – and then the pole fell, accompanied by the cheering of the audience. Thus, she finished in 10th place. One place ahead of her was the hunt for the best time for team partner Katrin Eckermann. Also known as a team rider in every competition, she was also on her way with Iron Dames Cascajall NRW (v. Casallco) as the penultimate starter towards the best time – and she had her misfortune on the penultimate jump.
The complete result here