Kendra Claricia Brinkop and Christian Kukuk Succeed in Deauville; Julien Epaillard Wins the Grand Prix

Riding the 10-year-old Gatsby le Magnific, a son of the recently deceased Action Breaker, Kendra Claricia Brinkop won the second-most important jumping competition of the weekend at the CSI4* in Deauville, a 1.50-meter class with a jump-off on Saturday. They were one of nine pairs to remain clear twice and were faster than anyone else who made it to the second round. Brinkop took over the Selle-Français gelding at the beginning of the year. He was trained in France and, just under a year ago, became the property of Stephen Stables, where he was initially ridden by Emilie Conter before moving into a stall in Brinkop’s stable aisle. Deauville marked the pair’s first victory.

Second place went to France’s Romain Dreyfus, who rode the nine-year-old Westphalian Comme Convenu, a son of Comme il faut who is also just nine years old. Third place went to Belgium’s Wilm Vermeir riding the nine-year-old Holsteiner Adelio by Adagio de Talma, followed by the legendary Swedish show jumper Indiana, ridden by Malin Baryard-Johnsson.

Christian Kukuk was also among the participants in the winners’ round and, riding one of his new acquisitions—the 10-year-old Irish horse HK Carrera by Carrera VDL—was also able to join the ranks of those who scored two clear rounds, finishing in seventh place.

Grand Prix

Christian Kukuk also placed in the Grand Prix. Here, he rode the nine-year-old Viki van Gogh, in whom he has high hopes for the future. The pair was the fastest with four faults, clocking 43.18 seconds, and finished ninth.

Otherwise, the competition was firmly in French hands. The victory went to Julien Epaillard, for whom Deauville is, in a sense, a home game. He rode his 13-year-old, home-bred World Cup winner, Donatello d’Auge. The last major tournament for the son of Jarnac was the Rolex Grand Prix in ’s-Hertogenbosch, where Epaillard, however, withdrew. Since then, he has ridden the gelding only in 1.40-meter classes; last week, he competed over 1.50 meters for the first time since then, and now in Deauville over 1.55 meters. With a clear round and nearly one and a half seconds faster than the rest, Donatello impressively demonstrated that he is once again ready for bigger challenges.

Behind them, Brazilian rider João Victor Castro Aguiar Gomes de Lima was delighted to be the only one to break through the French dominance at the top of the competition. The Holsteiner Cashpaid J&F, a son of Casall, carried him to second place, followed by Kevin Staut on Vida Loca Z and five other riders representing the host nation.

Kendra Claricia Brinkop also advanced to the jump-off with the nine-year-old Replay van’t Paradies, whom she has been training for several years, but had two knockdowns there. They finished in eleventh place.

You can find all the results here.