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ON a night of true champions, 34-year-old Luxembourg rider Victor Bettendorf burst out of the pack to land the €1.25m (£1.04m) Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) Super Grand Prix. Riding the emerging megastar, nine-yearold mare Foxy De La Roque, Victor won with a commanding performance, the faster of just two double clears.
“This doesn’t feel real,” he said. “The previous winners of this class have been my heroes for my whole career and I can’t believe I have joined them as a winner.”
The LGCT season finale, at a new venue this year – outdoors but under the lights – hosted a stellar cast of 15 combinations, all of whom had earned a golden ticket from the series grands prix. Not all the winners elected to travel and some tickets were passed down the line, but an enthralling contest ensued.
Four combinations jumped clear in round one and all bar one came through to round two with eight faults or fewer, which meant that the margins were tighter than ever.
As the pressure spiralled, cool-headed young Belgian rider Gilles Thomas and the flashy chestnut stallion Ermitage Kalone (Catoki x Kannan) staked his claim on the silverware with the first double clear. He played to the powerful stallion’s strengths by leaving strides out, thus guaranteeing his spot on the podium.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 28, 2024 من Horse & Hound.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 28, 2024 من Horse & Hound.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
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Gen Z hits the Valley
A fresh influx of bright young things - and a rancher invigorates Tessa Waugh's local hunt, boosting numbers, charming the regulars and bringing the best out of the hounds
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Shop 'til you drop
The horses aren't the only lure at major equestrian events. Lucy Elder asks shopaholics for their tips on tackling the trade stands and which venues come up trumps
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Gerard
This \"sharp and sensitive\" horse came to hunting late in life, but aged 24, is loving the sport and is still \"fit as a fiddle\"
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'We've been very lucky'
Charles Frampton and Matt Ramsden, masters and huntsmen of the Heythrop and the Duke of Beaufort’s, are both retiring from hunting at the end of this season. Here they are in conversation about their careers
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Viroflay is up and away
A sharp star cements his name in the record books as he reclaims one of the pointing circuit's four classic titles
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Be prepared
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst is wise counsel when it comes to equine emergency readiness. Karen Coumbe MRCVS explains what is needed
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Right the wrong's
Even the best riders in the world tend to lose more than they win. Becky Murray finds out how to reset your competitive mindset and turn the tide when the results aren't going your way
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The perfect Pic-me-up
A formidable chaser provides Paul Nicholls with a much-needed tonic, a highlight in an otherwise devastating week for the sport
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Just the tonic
Whatever your horse's discipline, workload, or stage of life - help him move, look and feel his best from the inside out, with help from Thunderbrook
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Meade's magic touch
Brilliant riding is only part of the equation for top-level success. Harry Meade shares how his system works and the methods that boost his horses’ performance and longevity.