Oliva Nova, Valencia, Spain – December 04, 2022 – The second week of Autumn MET III 2022 in Oliva Nova, Spain, came to a close on Sunday with the €51,950 Oliva Nova Beach & Golf Resort Grand Prix CSI 3*.
With 60 horse-and-rider-combinations at start, the first-round track set by the French course designer Gregory Bodo – counting 13 obstacles and 16 efforts with a time allowed of 77 seconds – saw ten pairs deliver a clear and proceed to the jump-off. Derin Demirsoy (TUR) and Jackpot R (Eldorado vd Zeshoek x Lupicor) were joined by first week’s Grand Prix winner Victor Bettendorf (LUX), this time aboard Simolo de La Roque Z (Spartacus TN x Casall), as well as Carlos Eduardo Mota Ribas (BRA) and Night Secret Z (Non Stop x Singular Joter), Alexander Zetterman (SWE) and Conrad (Catoki x Robin Z), Chloe Aston (GBR) and Flavie van de Helle (Carlow van de Helle x Carvallo), Margaux Rocuet (FRA) and Djibouti de Kerizac (Quaprice Bois Margot x Le Tot de Semilly), Stefanie Saperstein (USA) and Chicago (Cassiano x Lordano), Luis Plaza-Vidal (ESP) and Jericho S (Lord Z x Feinschnitt I van de Richter), Anna Power (GBR) and MdQueen (Cobra x Caretano Z) and Seamus Hughes Kennedy (IRL) aboard Cuffesgrange Cavadora (Z Wellie 72 x Luidam).
As second to go in the deciding jump-off, Bettendorf and the 10-year-old Zangersheide gelding Simolo de La Roque Z (Spartacus TN x Casall) were in a league of their own, crossing the finish line in 38.51 seconds – a time that those coming after them found impossible to match.
Margaux Rocuet (FRA) and Djibouti de Kerizac (Quaprice Bois Margot x Le Tot de Semilly) got the closest, stopping the clock on 40.09 and taking the runner-up position ahead of Alexander Zetterman (SWE) and Conrad, who finished in third place, backed by their penalty-free jump-off performance in 41.05 seconds.
Demirsoy was fourth and Power in fifth. Speaking about his plan for the jump-off, Bettendorf said: “I knew I had to get a good time to put pressure on the other ones. I got all the distances I wanted to have. I thought my time was beatable, but you had to take a lot of risk to be faster.”
“I think the course designer did a great job, he had ten clear rounds out of 60,” Bettendorf said about the track designed by Gregory Bodo. “It is nice to ride a jump-off when you know you will be placed, then you maybe take a little bit more risk. The mistakes in the first round were also spread out, which is another sign of a job well done by a course designer – the track was horse-friendly.”
“Simolo de La Roque Z is owned by Michel and Adeline Hecart, I have been riding him for a little over a year now and he is a very competitive horse,” Betttendorf said about his winning mount. “He is getting back to top form again, and jumping really good so I am happy.”
Autumn MET III 2022 now moves on to its third and final week, ending on December 11th. For more information, visit metoliva.com.
Final Results – €51,950 Oliva Nova Beach & Golf Resort Grand Prix CSI 3*
1) Victor Bettendorf (LUX) & Simolo de La Roque – 0 / 0 – 38.51
2) Margaux Rocuet (FRA) & Djibouti de Kerizac – 0 / 0 – 40.09
3) Alexander Zetterman (SWE) & Conrad – 0 / 0 – 41.05
Source: Press Release from the Mediterranean Equestrian Tour
Photos: © MET / Hervé Bonnaud / http://www.1clicphoto.com
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