Oliva Nova, Valencia, Spain – October 13, 2024 – The second week of competition at Autumn MET I 2024 concluded on Sunday with a Swiss victory in the €57,450 Oliva Nova Beach & Golf Resort Grand Prix CSI 3*.
Riding the 13-year-old gelding Quincassi (Quintero x Cassini I), Niklaus Schurtenberger (SUI) took the win after delivering the only double clear of the Grand Prix.
Hessel Hoekstra (NED) and Comthago VDL (Comme Il Faut 5 x Carthago Z) placed second after a fence down and a time of 41.77 seconds in the jump-off, while Wout-Jan van der Schans (NED) and A.S. Damascene (Emerald x Escudo 19) claimed the third place after recording 11 penalties in 52.12 seconds.
Only three horse-and-rider combinations out of the 59 pairs at start cleared the demanding first-round track set by Spain’s own Elena Boix. With a single time penalty in round one, Michael Hughes (USA) and Kashmir van d’Oude Pastory (Thunder vd Zuuthoeve x Sun Light vd Zuuthoeve) finished fourth, followed by Humaid Abdulla Khalifa Al Muhairi (UAE) on Foncetti vd Heffinck (For Pleasure x Concetto) in fifth.
“The course was technical, and not easy,” the happy winner commented on the first-round track. “There were only three clears, and in the jump-off my plan was to do a safe clear and not take too much risk,” he said about his winning strategy. “My horse is coming back from a long break – this was his first Grand Prix coming back – so we are very happy!”
“We love this place, it is like our second home,” Schurtenberger said about the venue at Centro Ecuestre Oliva Nova. “We have been coming to Oliva since the first show here. A year without Oliva is not a good one!”
Autumn MET I continues next week with the third and last week, followed by MET II which begins on October 29 and MET III in December.
Final Results – €57,450 Oliva Nova Beach & Golf Resort Grand Prix CSI 3*
1) Niklaus Schurtenberger (SUI) & Quincassi – 0 / 0 – 41.08
2) Hessel Hoekstra (NED) & Comthago VDL – 0 / 4 – 41.77
3) Wout-Jan van der Schans (NED) & A.S. Damascene – 0 / 11 – 52.12
Source: Press Release from the Mediterranean Equestrian Tour
Photos: © MET / Hervé Bonnaud / http://www.1clicphoto.com
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Categories: CSI 3*, English, Jumper News Schweiz
