Paris, France – March 18, 2023 – The ten best female riders and the ten best male riders from Friday’s Hermès Sellier CSI 5* competed in Saturday’s star event: the €100,000 Saut Hermès Prize CSI 5*. The final ranking in this event, with obstacles at 1.55 meters, worked out according to the cumulative scores from two rounds and the time of the second round. In round one, six horse and rider combinations posted clear rounds. To stand a chance of victory, they had to repeat the performance, taking every possible risk to secure the fastest time.
Austrian Max Kühner (AUT) got the balance just right. Paired with EIC Coriolis des Isles (Zandor x Tlaloc M), the world number 15 was the fastest of the four horse and rider duos to bag two clearn rounds, stopping the final timers in44.72 seconds.
Dutch rider Willem Greve (NED) and German rider Kendra Claricia Brinkop (GER) completed the top trio. Willem Greve waspaired with Highway M TN (Eldorado v. Zeshoek x Chellano).
They crossed the finish line in 45.50 seconds, forty-nine hundredths of a second ahead of the number 128 rider in the world, Kendra Claricia Brinkop (GER) riding Naf Naf DMC (Thunder van de Zuuthoeve x Clinton), being timed in 45.99 seconds in the tiebreaker.
Winner’s Circle – Max Kühner (AUT)
“I’m so happy because it was very unexpected, laughs Max Kühner. Coriolis had a little rest at the beginning of the year, so he was a little rusty to start with. It’s only his second competition after Doha in late February, so I didn’t have high hopes. However, he quickly got back in shape to take the win and surprises are always the best!”
Final Results – €100,000 Saut Hermès Prize CSI 5*
1) Max Kühner (AUT) & EIC Coriolis des Isles – 0 / 0 – 44.72
2) Willem Greve (NED) & Highway TN – 0 / 0 – 45.50
3) Kendra Claricia Brinkop (GER) & La Perla van Heffinck – 0 / 0 – 45.99
Source: Press Release (edited) from Saut Hermès
Photos: © Saut Hermès / Christophe Tanière
Categories: English
