A Gem Of A Show For Smolders

Scott Brash and John Whitaker make the biggest impacts of the Brits, including with some rising equine stars, while the big class goes to the Netherlands

- Jennifer Donald

THE 10th leg of the Longines Global Champions Tour belonged to the flying Dutchman Harrie Smolders, but there were plenty of celebrations in the British camp, too.

With a team win alongside John Whitaker for the Hamburg Diamonds in the Global Champions League under his belt on Saturday, 37-year-old Harrie made it a sensational double by also lifting the grand prix trophy with the mighty 13-year-old stallion Emerald NOP.

“To win both on the same hors is something special,” said Harrie, who has extended his lead in the Tour’s individual standings with just four more legs before the fina in Doha.

Chantilly, France’s equestrian capital, welcomed a couple of hundred extra equine residents for a glorious weekend of jumping within the surrounds of the racecourse with a magnificent backdrop of a fairytale chateau and grand old stables.

Course-designer Uliano Vezzani took riders round every inch of the huge grass arena, where the going was described as “good to firm”. He set several critical tests of accuracy on turnbacks, with a double of towering verticals under the bustling VIP eateries and a final oxer which drew horses away from the arena entrance for one final maximum effort.

Four made the challenge look unfeasibly easy, but first-round casualties included John Whitake and Cassinis Chaplin who made a slightly sticky arrival in to the treble combination and ground to a shuddering halt at the second element. A spectator also had a near-miss when a shoe from Roger-Yves Bost’s Sunshine Du Phare flew into the packed stands as they tackled the final fence.

But the knowledgeable and vocal 4,500-plus crowds quickly put the incident behind them for some high calibre jump-offriding