Steve Guerdat claims the STAWAG-Prize
Steve Guerdat and Pius Schwizer head the field. Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum doing a balancing act between the jumping sport and baby sitting.
Is it alright if I bring Brianne-Victoria with me?” asked Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum politely, on her way to the Press Conference with her daughter, the five-month old Brianne-Victoria. The winner, Steve Guardat, nodded with a laugh, even though the Swiss rider knew he certainly wouldn’t be the centre of attention anymore in spite of the fact that the 28-year-old had just celebrated his first victory in Aachen. The Swiss rider won the STAWAG-Prize, a penalties/time jumping competition, with Jalisca de Soler. Guerdat jumped clear in a time of 72.55 seconds, leaving his fellow countryman, Pius Schwizer on Ulysee (74.09 seconds) and Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (Thedinghausen/74.42) on Checkmate far behind.
“The STAWAG-Prize may not be the most difficult jumping competition that we will be faced with this week, but because it is a penalty/time competition, one has to take a risk from the very start,” is how Guerdat analysed his round. “At least if you want to reach a good ranking – and this was the goal I had set myself, because I know that Jalisca is a fast horse.” The course offered plenty of possibilities to take tight turns in order to save time. “I think I was faster than Pius at fence 5 and at the double oxer.”
His fellow competitor had the advantage of jumping after him: “I saw Jalisca, I know how fast she is so I knew it would be really difficult to beat Steve,” admitted Schwizer, who has just been knocked from the top of the world rankings by the Canadian rider, Eric Lamaze. “But Ulysee can also jump very fast. He is a horse you can jump the really big courses over 1.60 metres with, as long as everything goes exactly according to plan. His world is more competitions over 1.50 metres.”
The 15-year-old Checkmate recently demonstrated that he can master the most difficult courses in the world in Estoril, where he won the Grand Prix. “He is now getting back into good form again after his injury and my maternity leave. I am very pleased with him,” said Michaels-Beerbaum, who was happy with her third place, because “I saw Steve ride and I didn’t really try to beat him. At the start of the CHIO week, I just wanted to complete the course at a good pace.”
Since the 40-year-old doesn’t want to compete at World Championships anymore with her other top horse, Shutterfly, because he is already 17, deciding instead to enter only selective competitions with him in future, Checkmate is her possible candidate for the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky in the autumn. “But I am realistic, at the moment I am only no. 6 in the squad,” commented Michaels-Beerbaum. She also revealed her dream for this year’s CHIO: “I would love to ride Shutterfly in the Grand Prix on Sunday.
Already aged 17, it would no doubt be the last time. I’ll wait and see how things go this week before making my final decision.”
ROGER YVES-BOST WON THE OPENING ROUND AT AACHEN
The sounds of the French national anthem rung out after the opening jumping competition: Roger Yves Bost was as so often before in Aachen the fasted in the NETAACHEN-Prize, a penalties/time jumping competition with 85 participants. The 45-year-old Frenchman from Barbizon took only 61.17 seconds to finish the course with the 13-year-old Selle francais horse, Jovis de Ravel. Only Christian Ahlmann (Marl/61.90 seconds) with Perry Lee was almost able to keep up with the speedy French rider. Bost’s fellow countryman, Olivier Guillon, finished third with Luigi D’Amaury in a time of 62.84 seconds.
Bost has been riding Jovis de Ravel since he was a four-year-old. The gelding who has competed at shows all over the world has only ever been jumped by the fast Frenchman. A few weeks ago Bost took part in two competitions with Jovis de Ravel at a show in Estoril and won both competitions over 1.50 metres. “I have also tried riding Jovis in the highest level jumping competitions and in Grand Prix, but because he is extremely fast he is more suitable for the speed jumping competitions over 1.50 metres,” Bost reported after his opening victory. Their list of victories confirms this statement: Jovis de Ravel won his 56th international jumping competition today! Bost competed for the first time at the “World Equestrian Festival“ 20 years ago: “We won the Nations Cup that year and I came second in the Grand Prix of Aachen. However, personally 2008 was my most successful year, when I won two jumping competitions and came second twice,“ added Bost.