Peder Fredricson has won the seventh leg of the Longines Global Champions Tour in Cannes, beating the biggest names in showjumping in a thrilling jump-off.
Rocketed the Riviera
Peder was riding the powerful bay Hansson WL, who rocketed around the course in the French Riviera, to take the top spot. The Swedish rider has also won a coveted place at the Longines Global Champions Tour Super Grand Prix at the new GC Playoffs in Prague in December.
Course designer Uliano Vezzani’s tough track saw many stars go out in the first round. France’s Kevin Staut retired – much to the disappointment of the home crowd – as did John Whitaker and Bertram Allen, while current LGCT ranking leader Edwina Tops-Alexander had two down.
Super-fast time
The first clear came from Ludger Beerbaum and Casello, followed by reigning LGCT Champion Harrie Smolders on his top stallion Emerald. More clears quickly followed, until there were eight combinations in the jump-off.
Harrie Smolders set the standard with a super-fast time of 38.46sec. Simon Delestre and Hermes Ryan did their best to take the title on home turf, but they finished fractions of a second behind Harrie in a time of 38.53sec.
Long stride
Next in was Peder Fredricson, who made good use of Hansson’s long stride, to cross the finish line in 38.05sec and take the lead. Peder then had an anxious wait as Cameron Hanley, Jur Vrieling and Olivier Philippaerts pulled out all the stops, but none could not beat his time.
The result means Edwina Tops-Alexander remains overall LGCT ranking leader, but Harrie Smolders and Simon Delestre have crept up the standings as the series heads to Cascais, Estoril.
Don’t miss GCT 2018: Cannes when it premieres on Horse & Country TV and Amazon Video on Saturday 16 June at 8pm.
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