Global Champions Tour Vienna: Katrin Eckermann and Chao Lee Win Saturday's Top Prize; Sophie Hinner Finishes Fourth

Riding Chao Lee—the former World Champion for Young Horses, bred by her father—Katrin Eckermann was unbeatable in front of Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. Fifteen horses had made it to the jump-off of Saturday’s main show jumping event at the Global Champions Tour stop in Vienna. It was almost an Austrian victory on home turf: Katharina Romberg guided Cuma quickly through the jump-off course—but one rail wouldn’t stay in place at that speed. With a time of 36.69 seconds, the local favorite posted the second-fastest ride. Interestingly, both Chao Lee and Cuma are descended from Comme il faut.

Fast, faster, Chao Lee…

Katrin Eckermann and Chao Lee were ultimately 27 hundredths of a second faster—and without any knockdowns. Just how fast their winning time—which secured the pair 14,200 euros in prize money in this 1.50-meter jumping competition—actually was became clear during the jump-off.

Second place went to Belgium’s Nathan Budd and the nine-year-old Zangersheider gelding Ely des Rosiers Z by Emerald. Like Eckermann, the Belgian pair rode clear—as did six other pairs—but were more than a second slower (0/37.76). Behind them, however, the competition was much closer. Third place went to another Belgian rider, Gudrun Patteet, riding Baron by Bamako de Muze (0/37.89). The pair was thus five hundredths of a second faster than team world champion Sophie Hinners. She had ridden the proven Kannan daughter Iron Dames Kaleni Jo in Vienna (0/37.94). Among the four other riders with clear rounds in the jump-off was a pair who haven’t known each other for very long: Irish rider Denis Lynch rode Ping Pong van den Lentamel—which he took over from Gerrit Nieberg—to eighth place.

Earlier that morning, there had been a German victory in a CSI2* show jumping competition. Brianne Beerbaum had ridden the Holsteiner Zenzero by Zuccero to the top of a field of 51 competitors.

Results from Vienna