Fontainebleau, France – April 24, 2026 – This Friday afternoon, the world’s best riders lined up for the €56,800 Normandie Drainage Prize CSI 5* at the Printemps des Sports Équestres CSI 5* & CSI 2*. This class, ridden over 1.55m obstacles, counted as key qualifying stage for the GL events Grand Prix at 1.60m on Sunday. So, with 63 riders from 19 different countries in the starting line-up, all eyes were trained on the Main Arena this afternoon.
For this strategic stage of the competition, the course designer Grégory Bodo (FRA) and his team had devised a very demanding course, including obstacles that everyone remembered from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. More than just a nod to last Games, they provided a real technical test for the riders and their horses.
The difficulties of the day included the fragile fence in the colours of Toubin & Clément, the third obstacle on the course, as well as the “Around the world in 80 days” vertical over a water trough and the narrow wall in the colours of the Longines Equita Lyon, Concours Hippique International, which all had an impact on how the proceedings unfolded.
Julien Épaillard (FRA), on Le Coultre de Muze, was the third rider to take to the course this afternoon. And when he completed a clear round in a blistering time of 70.70 seconds, he undoubtedly imagined himself on the top step of the podium!
One by one, the best riders set off but none managed to beat the Frenchman’s time. The suspense kept building and it was not until the very end of the class that the situation changed.
Out of the 21 clear rounds, only one rider managed to finish in a faster time than the French rider: Max Kühner AUT), who started in 59th position. Riding very fast over the ground, while remaining precise in the trajectories he chose, the Austrian gradually clawed back the precious hundredths of a second he needed to overtake Julien Épaillard. He finally won the class in 69.12 seconds with his bay Elektric Blue P.
France’s Alexa Ferrer (FRA) also confirmed her fine form by taking third place, with Vitalhorse Fleur d’Oz (71.41 seconds).
What he said:
Max Kühner, winner of the Prix Normandie Drainage with Elektric Blue P:
“I’m really happy with the result. Although I’ve been riding Elektric for a long time, he has just returned from a long break. It’s never easy to know when it’s the right time to dive back into the thick of things. There’s the physical side, but also the mental side. Today, he seemed very comfortable in the arena, so I just went along with him. We’re getting a good feel for each other again and that’s a really positive sign, even if I’m still not sure he’s totally ready for Sunday’s Grand Prix. In any case, he’ll rest up tomorrow and then we’ll see.”
Final Results – €56,800 Normandie Drainage Prize CSI 5*
1) Max Kühner AUT) & Elektric Blue P – 0 – 69.12
2) Julien Epaillard (FRA) & Le Coultre de Muze – 0 – 70.70
3) Alexa Ferrer (FRA) & Vitalhorse Fleur d’Oz – 0 – 71.41
Source: Press Release (edited) from Eloise Lepine for Les Printemps des Sports Équestres
Photos: © PSV / J. Morel
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Categories: CSI 5*, English, Jumper News Austria
