Helsinki Grand Prix to Eiken Sato
Buddha smiles! Victory for Eiken Sato in Helsinki
from Dominique Wehrmann 
Eiken Sato and Chadellano in the World Cup jumping competition in Gothenburg. Photo: Kim C. Lundin It is a long way from Eiken Sato’s home in Japan, where he grew up in a Buddhist temple but saw no future for himself as a monk(find out more about Eiken Sato here). He wanted to become a show jumper and left his home country to do so. A good decision, as he has certainly often thought. Today we saw why again.
Perfect stitching by Staut and Sato
A total of 13 pairs made it into the jump-off of the Grand Prix over 1.55 meters in Helsinki. When Kevin Staut and his agile ten-year-old Kannan-daughter Kannonqulan, the fifth starter against the clock, pulverized the times of the pairs in front of them, one would hardly have thought that they could go any faster than their 33.59 seconds. The ten-year-old mare took every turn on the smallest possible radius without once losing her rhythm and jumped with maximum efficiency. Staut had an extremely satisfied smile on his lips as he rode back into the warm-up arena. He knew that this would be difficult for the competition, if not impossible.
His joy did not last long. The pair after next were Eiken Sato and his Chadellano, fourth in the World Cup jumping competition in Gothenburg. The 15-year-old Chacco-Blue son has a decisive advantage over Staut’s petite mare: he has a huge transmission, but is similarly agile and just as careful. Eiken Sato, whose weight in the saddle Chadellano is unlikely to feel, knew how to use both to his advantage. He skillfully guided the bay through the jump-off course using the shortest routes and always caught the ideal line. Hard to believe, but true: he took another 0.7 seconds off Staut, 32.89 to 33.59 seconds.
But that really couldn’t be topped.
The other winners
Italy’s Giampiero Garofalo came third on the ten-year-old Belgian Querido van’t Ruytershof in 35.54 seconds, followed by France’s Marc Dilasser and Make my Day Z du Gevres with a gap of just three hundredths. Patrick Stühlmeyer and Conterno-Blue PS have just won the Gothenburg Trophy and were also on top form today. They finished fifth with two clear rounds.
Philipp Schulze-Topphoff had a slight knockdown in the first round with the great jumping Vivantas. Paula de Boer-Schwarz on Vancouver had the same fate. Johanna Beckmann and Emelie van de Mirania Stam received eight penalty points.
You can find all the results here.
