Top Performing Horses of the Longines Global Champions Tour 2013
On the 24th November 2013, Scotland’s Scott Brash made history by winning an incredible double – The Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Doha and the overall 2013 Championship, all on his 28th birthday, making him the youngest ever winner of the Championship title. The climax of this year’s Tour saw some fabulous performances from some of the best horse and rider combinations in the world. Here we pay tribute to the Top Five Performing Horses of the 2013 Longines Global Champions Tour:
1 Scott Brash’s outstanding 2012 Olympic Team Gold medal-winning mount, Hello Sanctos, was crowned the Top Performing Horse of the 2013 Longines Global Champions Tour season. The 11-year-old gelding, by Quasimodo vd Molendreef, completed five Grand Prix legs of the 2013 Tour and was the only horse to win a bronze, silver and gold medal Grand Prix placing – he lowered just one rail throughout. While competing on the Tour, Hello Sanctos has collected an impressive €287,050 in prize money (excluding Brash’s Championship bonus). Brash describes his 2013 European Team Gold and Individual Bronze medal-winning partner as “a horse of a lifetime”.
2 William Funnell's 12-year-old stallion Billy Congo, by Vechta, is the second highest earner on the Tour this year. Funnell’s 2013 European Gold medal-winning ride completed seven Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix during the 2013 season, winning two Grand Prix silver medals and collecting €175,540 in prize money.
3 One of the most popular horses on the show jumping circuit, Gerco Schroder’s stallion London is the third most successful horse of the 2013 Tour. The 11-year-old, by Nabab de Reve, completed seven Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix, collecting a silver and a bronze Grand Prix medal placing. Schroder and London have amassed €162,000 in winnings during the 2013 Longines Global Champions Tour season.
4 AD Rahmannshof’s Bogeno, ridden by Alvaro (Doda) de Miranda, is fourth in our ranking of Top Performing Horses of the Longines Global Champions Tour 2013. The 13-year-old gelding, by Baloubet du Rouet, competed in six Grand Prix legs of the Tour, collecting a silver and a bronze Grand Prix medal placing. Doda de Miranda’s top horse collected €156,380 in prize money during the 2013 season.
5 Number five on our ranking is Christian Ahlmann’s handsome bay stallion Codex One, by Contendro I. The 11-year-old completed four Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix during 2013, picking up a gold and silver medal Grand Prix placing, as well as €155,325 in prize money.
The 2013 Longines Global Champions Tour season saw some incredible performances from both horses and riders of the very highest calibre. With some of the richest prize pots in the show jumping calendar on offer, the Longines Global Champions Tour of 2014 is sure to be another intensely fought Championship. With the season schedule set to be released soon, we have a showcase of incredible sport to look forward to next year, as World, Olympic and European Champions compete to become the Longines Global Champions Tour overall Champion of 2014.