Honoring His Ranking! Shane Sweetnam Supreme in the $5,000,000 GNP Seguros Grand Prix CSI 5* at Otomí

By Jumper News on 22 22America/Sao_Paulo October 22America/Sao_Paulo 2023

San Miguel de Allende, Mexico – October 21, 2023 – Irish victory on Mexican soil! Shane Sweetnam (IRL) and Cjoxx Z jumped their way to victory in the MXN $5,000,000 GNP Seguros Grand Prix CSI 5* on Saturday during the Otomí Grand Prix CSI 5* & CSI 2*, the first leg of the Mexico Fall Tour Series, held at the Otomí Club Hípico in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

Twenty-nine combinations representing Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Mexico and the United States of America challenged Frank Rothenberger‘s (GER) first-round course featuring obstacles set at the maximum height of 1.60 meters and the time allowed of 87 seconds. In the end, eight combinations completed the first round in flawless fashion, thus advancing to the tiebreaker.

The host nation was in good shape to claim the jackpot as four pairs of their own took part in the decisive round, Brazil had two while Germany and Ireland had one each.

The victory belonged to Shane Sweetnam (IRL) and Cjoxx, who were not only clean but fast enough to claim the crown. A testament of being the highest-ranked rider at the event, currently sitting just outside the top 10 in the twelfth position, the Irishman honored his ranking. Sweetnam guided the 9-year-old chestnut Belgian Warmblood gelding (Comme Il Faut x Dollar de La Pierre) across the finish line in 43.03 seconds for the win.

Manuel Gonzalez Dufrane (MEX) and Hortensia van de Leeuwerk left Mexican fans with a broken heart. Despite setting the fastest time among all finalists, the duo’s time of 42.26 seconds came at the expense of two rails down, 8 penalty-points and the sixth-place finish.

**Andres Azcarraga** (MEX) & **Contendros 2**

However, another Mexican made the crowd proud. Andres Azcarraga Rivera Torres (MEX) and Contendros 2 conquered second place, registering the second fastest clean jump-off performance, doing so in 44.92 seconds.

**Santiago Lambre** (BRA) & **Chacco-Blue II**

Santiago Lambre (BRA) and Chacco-Blue II proved their worth once again, securing bronze honors as the fastest four-faulters, being timed in 44.17 seconds at the end of their second performance.