2026 Rolex Grand Prix La Baule: Piergorgio Bucci Wins Ahead of Martin Fuchs; Richard Vogel Finishes Ninth

Italian rider Piergiorgio Bucci has won the Rolex Grand Prix in La Baule, France—his third major victory this year, following wins in Madrid and at his home event in Rome. In the jump-off featuring the seven riders who completed the main course without faults, he took the lead with the fastest clear round. With a time of 40.61 seconds, there was a gap of nearly half a second between him and the second-place finisher, Swiss rider Martin Fuchs, who had brought his successful Holsteiner, Connor Jei, to the French coast of Brittany.

A well-coordinated team

Bucci has known his horse Hantano, a 14-year-old KWPN gelding, for quite some time. At first, he guided the horse’s career as a coach. Since 2023, he has been riding him himself. The pair has enjoyed success in several Nations Cups and placed eighth in the Rolex Grand Prix in Geneva in December 2025.

Faster than the two of them was French rider Julien Epaillard on the 11-year-old stallion Fringan de Vesquerie, a son of Mylord Carthago, who had secured victory for France in Friday’s Nations Cup. However, the pair paid the price for their time in the jump-off, which was nearly two seconds faster: one knockdown resulted in third place, which in this high-stakes jumping competition—where the winner receives 150,000 euros—was still “sweetened” with 75,000 euros.

Irish Duo

Fourth place went to Ireland’s Cian O’Connor riding the OS gelding Chatolinue PS. As the name suggests, he is another horse bred by the Schockemöhle family, specifically at Lewitz Stud, where this son of Diabolo Blanco was born. O’Connor was just as fast as second-place finisher Martin Fuchs, except that he knocked down a bar. His compatriot Bertram Allen finished in fifth place with Qonquest de Rigo, a ten-year-old son of Fantomas de Muze. The Belgian gelding also had one knockdown but was slightly slower.

Sixth and seventh place went to Belgian championship riders Gilles Thomas and Pieter Devos. Thomas, who competed on the popular stallion Ermitage Kalone—his Olympic horse from Paris 2024, European team champion, and individual bronze medalist in 2025—finished in sixth place (4/46.67). Pieter Devos rode the 11-year-old Zangersheider mare Casual DV Z, a direct daughter of Cornet Obolensky. The pair had two knockdowns in the jump-off, finishing in seventh place.

“Richie” Vogel Finishes Ninth with a Fast Four-Fault Ride

Richard Vogel and United Touch S, who are usually strong contenders for the win, had one knockdown in the standard course, resulting in four penalty points and a time of 78.11 seconds. That was the second-fastest time among the four-horse teams. With that result, Vogel still managed to finish ninth overall, the best result among the German competitors.

He thus finished ahead of the successful French rider Nina Mallevaey on Dynastie de Beaufour, a 13-year-old daughter of Diamant de Semilly. Vogel’s Nations Cup teammates, Sophie Hinners/Iron Dames Singclair and Daniel Deußer/Otello de Guldenboom, also completed the course with one knockdown each, but were slightly slower, meaning they made it into the top 20 but not higher in the rankings. Pia Reich and PB Löwenherz had eight points, and Andre Thieme withdrew after making mistakes with Paule S.

Results: Rolex, Grand Prix La Baule 2026