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| Pius Schwizer and Ulysse. By Stefano Grasso/GCT |
Time allowed was amended after the first three horses had jumped, yet it was still a sticking point for most of the field. It was too easy to add an extra stride here and there after being drawn to the open space. Of the 45 combinations who started, 11 went clear and 17 obtained time faults.
Altered time
Pius was allowed to go through to jump-off after he incurred one time fault. The ground jury permitted this as the time was altered when he was entering the arena. The announcement had not been made to the riders at that point. And how fortuitous would that decision be?
"It was an abnormal situation with the timing in the first round but I knew that I was right as I had planned the ride to come in under time," said Pius. "The ground jury was correct with the standing and, of course, I am happy to have come through to win this class. There was a lot of prize money at stake."
Portugal’s leading lady rider Luciana Diniz lay down the challenge as the first rider out for jump-off. She was home clean in a time of 43.86 seconds.
Speedy round
Pius took every risk on the now damp grass following a light shower of rain. He incurred no penalties and took nearly three seconds off Luciana’s time on 40.99 seconds.
The following eight riders could not better the time, although Germany's Ludger Beerbaum had the big striding Holsteiner stallion Coup de Coeur under good instruction. They clocked 41.68 seconds as they raced across the final line to finish third.
The last to go was World Cup winner Christian Ahlmann and Taloubet Z. They appeared appeared to be covering the ground more quickly a and handy turn from the second obstacle to the third looked promising, but they only made it to second place with a time of 41.10 seconds.
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