Belgian victory in the Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Cannes, third place for Meyer-Zimmermann

Only four of the 40 pairs in the Grand Prix of the Global Champions Tour stage in Cannes made it into the jump-off. Two were eliminated – including the double world champions Henrik von Eckermann and King Edward, who unintentionally went their separate ways in the course – and seven gave up, including Denmark’s Zascha Nygaard on Drako de Maugre, who carried Patrick Stühlmeyer to the German championship title in Balve on the same weekend two years ago and is now in action for Denmark.

Janne-Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann and the eleven-year-old DSP mare Cascais were one of the four pairs to clear the cliffs of the course designed by Uliano Vezzani at the marina in Cannes. Here, however, they came up against fast competition.

The pricking

Ireland’s Michael Pender set a good pace with the ten-year-old Cornet Obolensky son HHS Cyprus in a clear 41.35 seconds. Janne and her Colestus daughter, registered with the Saxony-Thuringia Horse Breeding Association and bred by Dennis Grubitzsch, followed suit: zero faults, albeit almost two seconds slower at 43.44 seconds.

Abdel Said and his twelve-year-old Hanoverian mare Zasou vom Claashof, a Zinedine daughter bred by Dr. Stephan Hinrichs, then demonstrated that it is possible to go even faster than the duo from Ireland. The pair completed the jump-off in under 40 seconds, broke through the light barrier at 39.44 seconds and also had no knockdowns.

Fourth place went to the Dane Andreas Schou in the saddle on the Belgian gelding Napoli vh Nederassenthof. The pair had one knockdown, but also had the slowest time at 43.54 seconds.

More Germans in the money

It wasn’t just a lucrative evening for Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann yesterday. The three other Germans in the competition also made it into the placings. Jörne Sprehe and the Toulon son Toys were by far the fastest pair in the round and still secured a handsome 30,000 euros for fifth place.

Daniel Deußer and his Tobago Z-son Otello de Guldenboom had a great weekend anyway, having already finished second in the first competition of the Global Champions League on Thursday, a 1.60 m time trial. They came seventh in the Grand Prix.

They left Philipp Weishaupt behind, who also could not complain about a lack of success in Cannes. The rider from Riesenbeck was third on Friday behind Deußer with Oreo D.R. (who, however, had 16 faults in the second competition) and second again on Friday. He had saddled the 13-year-old OS gelding Chaquitos PS for the Grand Prix.

The two have only been a couple for a short time. The Chacco-Blue son, bred by Gestüt Lewitz, belongs to the Argentinian José Maria Larocca, the Aachen silver medallist. Until a year ago, he also rode Chaquitos himself, together with his compatriot Ignacio Maurin, who presented the gelding at the 2023 Pan-American Games, among others. He rode under Weishaupt for the first time in December. At the Global Tour stage in Madrid, the pair have already won a show jumping competition.

Yesterday the pair competed in their first 5* Grand Prix and were delighted with eighth place.

You can find all the results from Cannes here.