To celebrate the comeback of the international Jumping of Dinard at the highest level of competition, the magnificent site of the Val Porée, beautifully decorated in pink, was hosting the first class of the CSI5*, where the best riders in the world will compete during the next four days.

The challenge of the day, for the 40 riders on the start list in this Alvalle class, was clear: Present the showground to the horses, and prepare for the Tropicana Derby, on Saturday, and for the Grand Prix of the City of Dinard, culminating point of the competition, on Sunday afternoon. On the menu for this opening class, a 12 fences course, at a height of 1m45, in two phases, only the second one being against the clock.

Out of the twelve riders who signed a clear round, the Belgian rider Jerome Guery was the fastest in 40.77 seconds, on Zojasper (Concorde x Jasper). With a big smile on his face, the rider was obviously very happy about his horse. "He seemed very comfortable on this huge track that can sometimes be impressive. I had planned to be quite fast, but not to push him to his limits. He was very confident and I thought I could ask a little more on the second phase. I did not take the latest risk, but I cut my turns short. Of course, not so many riders decided to play the time, the real sport will only start tomorrow, but begin a show with a win is always encouraging."

Eric Lamaze, who was leading the class most of the time, finally placed second with Fine Lady 5 (Forsyth x Drosselklang II), in a time of 43.30. The third place went to Luca Maria Moneta and Herold N (Heartbreaker x Haydn).

Source: Press release from CSI5* Dinard