Blood Earns the Diamond! Julien Anquetin is the Ace of the €400,000 Hermès Grand Prix CSI 5*

By Jumper News on 2024-03-18

Paris, France – March 18, 2024 – The statue of the French general Maréchal Joffre situated in front of the Military Academy at the entrance to the Grand Palais Éphémère, doubtless appreciated the showstopping spectacle. The grand finale of the fourteenth edition of the Saut Hermès, the €400,000 Hermès Grand Prix CSI 5* saw French rider Julien Anquetin (FRA) take the crown after an incredible jump-off with his 13-year-old Selle Français gelding, Blood Diamond du Pont. Third to enter the arena in the nine-way jump-off, the Frenchman gave the crowd a lesson in management and crossed the line in 34.64 seconds. Impressive.

**Julien Épaillard** (FRA) & **Donatello d’Auge**

However, the win was certainly not in the bag at that point given the rivals lined up to take their chances, starting with Julien Épaillard (FRA), considered to be the fastest rider in the world, who had purposely held Donatello d’Auge back for this Grand Prix. The Frenchman, world No.4 and bronze medallist at the last European Championships, also went all out with his risk-taking in each of his trajectories. However, the clock finally stopped at 34’’92, just 28 hundredths of a second behind his compatriot and friend.

**René Lopez Lizarazo** (COL) & **Kheros van’T Hoogeinde**

World No.1, Swedish rider Henrik von Eckermann (SWE) then committed one fault with Iliana. Solely the Colombian rider René Lopez Lizarazo (COL) with Kheros van’t Hoogeinde, managed to come close as he completed his jump-off in 35’’96. This time the podium was definitive. Two French riders on the two top steps of the podium and, on the third, the most French of Colombians, the latter having settled in Lorraine in north-eastern France nearly 40 years ago.

**Julien Anquetin** (FRA) & **Blood Diamond du Pont**

“It’s the finest victory of my career, admits Julien Anquetin (world No.72), aged 32. I’m on cloud nine. I’m struggling to get my head round it. I’ve already won a Grand Prix in a CSI 5* class (La Coruña in 2023) but winning here in France is unbelievable. In the jump-off, I think my U-turn was the finest of my entire career. I was happy when Julien Épaillard also qualified for the jump-off as I was very motivated by the idea of pitting myself against the fastest rider in the world. I said to myself that we would be able to have some fun! It was a great challenge. I knew I’d been quick in the jump-off but it was very stressful to watch the others. My horse has been incredible once again. This horse competed in his first international competitions with me. This victory is quite the accomplishment.”

There is certainly no disappointment in coming second today though. “I’m honestly very happy for Julien and I’m delighted to be where I am, confesses Julien Épaillard. I’ve had a slightly unlucky weekend with 4 penalty points on three occasions, so it’s a nice end to the competition. In the jump-off, I tried to save some time at the start but my U-turn was not exceptional. At the last fence, I may well have lacked a little boldness too. I wasn’t daring enough to try it with one less stride. There’s no use going back over it though. Julien was the best. And it’s great to see that there are some youngsters pushing us along.”

Really going on the offensive, Rene Lopez (COL) thrilled the public from the first round and his third place has given him back his smile after a fall on Friday in the first class. “I’m very happy… even if first place is best, smiles Rene Lopez. I had the horse to take the win and I was so keen to achieve that but the start of my jump-off proved tricky. It’s a good result for the horse who has linked together a series of clear rounds. His owner Mr Bertrand Darier has trusted in me for a number of years so I’m also pleased for him. I’m thrilled.”

In the first act, a complicated home straight, which notably included a set of double fences, caused numerous faults among the fifty riders, as was the case for individual Olympic champions, world number 2 Ben Maher (GBR) and world number 3 Steve Guerdat (SUI), both Hermès partner riders. The final upright also dashed the hopes of several renowned riders, who had posted a clear round right to the last, including the French Olympic champions Philippe Rozier (FRA) and Kevin Staut (FRA), the French champion Edward Levy (FRA), as well as German rider Daniel Deusser (GER). T

The allotted time (63 seconds) set by Spanish course designer Santiago Varela Ullastres (ESP), assisted by Frenchman Grégory Bodo (FRA), also prevented Belgian riders Pieter Devos (BEL) and Jérôme Guéry (BEL), Hermès partner rider, and Julien Gonin (FRA), from posting clear rounds.

“The home straight caused a lot of faults, but that was also down to the fact that it rounded off a course, which had already called for some very different levels of exertion in the first section, explains the course designer. We’ve had a very fine Grand Prix. We built the course, but the credit has to go to the riders who put on a fantastic show.”