Scott Brash & Ursula finish 3rd in Rolex Grand Prix, Geneva

Sunday 11 December 2016

This afternoon’s Rolex Grand Prix, one of the three competitions which make up the Rolex Grand Slam, was a particular thrilling one that saw seventeen of the field of thirty eight starters qualify for the jump off with their first round clear.

Scott, who had been drawn towards the end of the field in the 1st round, found himself in the fortunate position of being the last of the seventeen to come forward in the second.  The jump off course certainly caught a number of competitors out and it was just six that had managed to jump without penalties when Scott came in as the final rider of the competition.

Pedro Veniss (BRA) with Quabri de I’Isle  had set the standard with a clear in a time of 38.96 seconds and it had certainly looked to be a time that couldn’t be beaten as even those with faults hadn’t managed to break the 39 second mark. 

Having made history at the end of 2015 as the first showjumper to win the Grand Slam in addition to having won in Spruce Meadows recently, Scott was very much focused on delivering another win to push him two thirds of the way towards another victory.  Ursula certainly looked on fine form in the first round and she also made the jump off course look relatively easy covering the ground at what looked to be a forward enough pace to catch Pedro Veniss. 

As they turned towards the last line, with all fences left untouched, the crowd really got behind Scott cheering him home and giving him an incredible cheer when he jumped the last on zero jumping penalties. However, despite it looking like he may have done just enough to secure the class as his own, they broke the finish line a fraction of a second slower than Pedro to finish in 39.41 seconds. 

This saw them  finish in 3rd place behind winner Pedro Veniss and Olivier Phillippaerts (BEL) with H&M Legend of Love who took 2nd with their time of 39.21 seconds.  Kevin Staut (FRA) finished 4th with Reveur de Hurtebise HDC.

Michael and Robert Whitaker had also contested the 1st round.  Drawn very early on, Robert with Clare Whitaker & Mandy Hall’s horse Catwalk incurred 8 penalties whilst Michael Whitaker with wife Melissa’s horse Viking V were particularly unlucky when they lowered a front pole on the final fence of the course to finish on 4 penalties.

For full results visit www.chi-geneve.ch

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