From press release by Hubside Jumping

Maikel van der Vleuten and Dana Blue (Mr. Blue x Hemmingway) took their second CSI4* Grand Prix win in a row at Hubside Jumping Grimaud, France this afternoon. The world no. 15 finished ahead of Germany’s Daniel Deusser with Killer Queen VDM (Eldorado Vd Zeshoek x For Pleasure), who was 0.30 seconds behind on the clock in the jump-off. Italy’s Emanuele Gaudiano and Chalou (Chacco-Blue x Baloubet du Rouet) took third place, while Ireland’s Bertram Allen and Dancing Queen Z (Dulf van de Bisschop x Quintessence Z) followed in fourth and home rider Mathieu Billot on Quel Filou 13 in fifth (Quidam's Rubin x Cascavelle).

“Dana Blue is a mare which really likes competing,” explained the winner. “She has a fighting spirit: She fights for her rider, but she fights for herself too – she really loves winning! It’s an essential quality in a jump-off like this one, faced with these types of riders: A victory depends on your mindset and your desire to win! She is also really fast naturally on the ground and that can also make all the difference. At the beginning of the week, after her victory last weekend, she rested. I rode her again on Wednesday. On Thursday we took part in an easy class, so that she could warm up. She competed in the Grand Prix today and the result speaks for itself. I need to talk to my father Eric about next week: We always talk about each show’s schedules as a family. This week, my horses each only took part in two classes, an easy one and a big one. Despite this, I think that Beauville Z will jump in the CSI5* Grand Prix.” 

The CSI2* Grand Prix in Grimaud went to the man who finished fifth earlier in the day: Mathieu Billot. Aboard Lagavulin 2 (Ludwigs AS x Stakkato Gold), the French rider beat USA's Jessica Springsteen on RMF Tinkerbell (Incolor x Argentinus) by 0.11 seconds. Third place went to Belgium's Jos Verlooy on Varoune (Verdi x Cardalme), while Dutch rider Jur Vrieling finished fourth on Grenoble DN (Gaillard de La Pomme x Capitol II) and Titouan Schumacher fifth for the hosts aboard Amak des Brimbelles Z (Amadeus Z*Brimbelles x Diamant de Semilly).