Press release from the Mediterranean Equestrian Tour 

The CSI3* 1.50m Grand Prix presented by Oliva Nova Beach & Golf Resort concluded the second week of Autumn MET I 2023 at Centro Ecuestre Oliva Nova in Oliva, Spain, on Sunday and it was Belgium’s Yves Vanderhasselt and the 10-year-old mare Nikita van de Koekelberg (Loro Piana Filou de Muze x VDL Cardento, bred by Guy Ganseman and owned by Luc Vermeir) that took the top honours.

With a time of 36.14 seconds in the jump-off, Vanderhasselt and Nikita van de Koekelberg bested a field of 56 horse-and-rider-combinations at start – eleven of which cleared Louis Konickx’s (NED) first-round track. 

“The course today was tough but fair,” Vanderhasselt said after his victory. “The time allowed was maybe a bit short, but the course was nice to ride. My plan going into the jump-off was to be as fast as possible without making any faults. Actually, I saw Oliver’s round and I thought I could never beat his time. I only tried to do my best, but I never expected to be faster than him. I think I made the winning difference in my approach to the last fence.”

“She is a granddaughter of Fleuri van de Koekelberg, who jumped big classes with Dirk Demeersman,” Vanderhasselt said about his horse Nikita van de Koekelberg. “She is owned by the Vermeir-family, and I got the ride on her this April. We started in 1.20m classes in April, and now she is winning a three-star Grand Prix. The quality of the mare is fantastic, but she is a bit sensitive and needs a lot of confidence from her rider."

“I was here for the first time five years ago,” Vanderhasselt said about the venue in Oliva Nova. “Now I have a few new, good, horses who need to jump a bit, so I thought instead of starting indoors I would try and make the summer a bit longer so I came here for two weeks to prepare for next season.” 

Just like in last week’s CSI2* Grand Prix, Oliver Lazarus (RSA) and Conbalthago PS (Contendros 2 x Baloubet du Rouet, bred by Gestüt Lewitz and owned by Team Equest Pty Lim.) finished in the runner-up spot after the clock stopped on 36.53. Nano Healy (IRL) and Oak Grove's Clown FRH (Cascadello x Balou du Rouet, bred by H.G. Van Wijlick and owned by Gestüt Eichenhain Gmbh) placed third in 37.59, while Joseph Clayton (GBR) and Commissaire S (Comme Il Faut 5 x Polydor, bred by Julius Peter Sinnak and owned by Unex Competiton Yard) finished fourth in 37.96, followed by Hessel Hoekstra (NED) and VDL Helena Van Perbeemd (Eldorado vd Zeshoek x VDL Cardento, bred by D. Vermeiren and owned by the VDL Stud) in fifth after clocking the fastest time of the afternoon – 35.70 – but on the cost of a fence down. 

The third and last week of Autumn MET I 2023 runs until October 22nd, followed by MET II from October 31st to November 19th. Autumn MET 2023 ends with MET III, which runs from November 28th to December 17th.