Grimaud, France – June 16, 2019 . After their victory in the Saut Hermès and their beautiful sixth place in the Longines Global Champions Tour Cannes CSI 5*, the Rhônalpin Olivier Perreau (FRA) and Venizia d’Aiguilly continue their momentum and won  the selective Grand Prix of the CSI 4* of the Hubside Jumping yesterday afternoon in Grimaud, France. They added another chapter to the amazing story they have written together for past ten years.

Selective! It was a particularly selective course that was proposed by the Swiss course designer Gérard Lachat (SUI),  to forty combinations that entered the Grand Prix of the CSI 4* of the Hubside Jumping of Grimaud. The feature class of the week, with its obstacles reaching the height of 1.55m and its generous endowment of €150,000 euros, gave a hard time to the competitors, who struggled as there was no margin for error  here and there. Ten of them finish would end up with a score of four penalty-points, synonymous to a single rail down, three were clear but had penalties for exceeding the time and only three managed a clean performance, advancing to the jump-off.

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Second rider to start in the first round, Félicie Bertrand (FRA), the new darling of the public, winner in 2019 of two important Grands Prix in Bordeaux and Montpellier, aboard Sultane des Ibis, was the first to find the keys to the course.

The first … and the only one for a long, long time. It was necessary to wait until the twenty-seventh combination to start, Olivier Perreau (FRA) and Venizia d’Aiguilly, to be assured of a jump-off. The two French, current ambassadors of a new generation in full bloom, would be joined by the Ukrainian Rene Tebbel, riding on Saxo de La Cour, third and last finalists of very select test.

Olivier Perreau (FRA) and Venizia d’Aiguilly (Diamant de Semilly x Quick Star) claimed first place after a flawless performance, crossing the finish line in 39.31 seconds.

“Félicie (Bertrand) had been very, very quickly, but with a mistake. As we were only three in the jump-off and since Venizia is naturally fast, I decided to increase the pace of the jump-off. This mare was born at home, in the family breeding, her little sisters are growing up and I hope they will be as talented as her because Venizia is really exceptional”explained the winner.