European Champion Steve Guerdat Flies the Highest in the $175,000 ATCO Electric Six Bar CSIO 5*

By Jumper News on 9 09America/Sao_Paulo September 09America/Sao_Paulo 2023

Spruce Meadows, Calgary, Alberta, Canada – September 08, 2023 – Fans packed into the stands of the Spruce Meadows International Ring for the WestJet Evening of the Horse, to take in the action of the $175,000 ATCO Electric Six Bar. The competition where each round, the jumps get taller.

Ten horse/rider combinations decided take on the challenge, hoping to add their names to a trophy that contains so many great riders. The competition began to unfold:

Round 1 Final Fence Height: 1.60m

Clear Riders: 9

Out: Fredrik Spetz (SWE)

Round 2 Final Fence Height: 1.70m

Clear Riders: 8

Out: Brian Morton (CAN)

Round 3 Final Fence Height: 1.85m

Clear Riders: 7

Out: Conor Swail (IRL)

Round 4 Final Fence Height: 1.95m

Clear Riders: 4

Out: Kyle King (USA), Nayel Nassar (EGY), John Whitaker (GBR)

After four rounds of competition, we were down to four riders for the final round of competition. Aaron Vale (USA), Hans-Dieter Dreher (GER), Daniel Coyle (IRL) and Steve Guerdat (SUI) all proceeded to challenge the final round where the height of the final fence was 2.05m.

Guerdat was last to go after watching his fellow competitors each have two rails. He was in the rare situation where he could afford to have one down and still win. Currently ranked #3 in the world (and the current European Show Jumping Champion), aboard Albfuehren’s Maddox, the pair did what they needed to do and jumped a respectable 4-fault round to take the victory single handed.