Alex Thompson finishes 2nd in CSIO3* Grand Prix in Spain
Saturday 30 October 2021
A member of the winning Nations Cup team on Friday, Alex Thompson from Cropwell Butler in Nottinghamshire remained in great form this afternoon when he took 2nd place in the CSIO3* Grand Prix at Vejer de la Frontera, Spain.
Riding his own 12 year-old Cathalina S they were beaten by just a fraction of a second by Cedric Hurel (FRA) when they broke the finish line clear in a time of 42.98 seconds. There was less than a second that separated the top four places, which were notably the only four to jump double clear, with Juliette Faligot (FRA) and Jens Baackman (BEL) taking 3rd and 4th respectively with their times of 43.00 and 43.15 seconds.
It was a large field of just under sixty starters that came forward to contest the 1.55m course that took in thirteen obstacles requiring sixteen jumping efforts. A mix of related distances accompanied with some long distances that allowed the course to wind its way around the arena caught all too many with more than half the field accruing 8 penalties or more.
For Alex, who was making only his second Nations Cup show appearance this week, it was a superb British Team appearance for them across both the key days of competition. Their performance on Friday had seem them leave all fences untouched across both rounds of the Nations Cup with just a single penalty being awarded in the second round. To have come out and mirrored it again today stands testament to both their consistency and talent and he couldn’t have been any more delighted with the way that the eye-catching bright chestnut mare Cathalina S had gone throughout the week.
For full results
 c. Majestic Photography.jpg "James Smith Dominates in the Penultimate Winter Grand Prix at Aintree Winter Classic Show")
