The second week of the 2016 Spring MET III concluded on Sunday with a victory for Germany’s Holger Wulschner in the CSI2* 1.45 Oliva Nova Beach & Golf Resort Grand Prix. Already last Saturday, Wulschner took the victory in the 1.45m Gold Tour aboard BSC Cavity and today his 12-year-old BSC Skipper showed incredible form as well. In a jump-off that counted twelve combinations, only German riders Holger Wulschner and Maurice Tebbel kept a clean sheet for a second time.

The jump-off turned out to be a tough challenge for most of the competitors. First to go was Portugal’s Joao Pereira Coutinho aboard Baldano – a son of Baloubet du Rouet. Although he did not seem to take all the risk, the Portuguese rider got one unlucky rail down finishing on four faults and a time of 51.90 seconds. The next three competitors all got an early knockdown on the second fence of the jump-off course, but Dutch rider Johnny Pals gave it a real try aboard his top mount Vignet (Heartbreaker x Iroko). A thrilling time of 47.52 seconds appeared on the scoreboard, but four faults were a fact.
 
Although there were still seven riders to come after Pals’ ride, the Dutch rider kept the lead for a long time. Eventually, the tenth starter – Germany’s Maurice Tebbel – kept all the rails up on the talented 9-year-old Camilla PJ (Calme x Picard). The young rider decided to not take all the risk and finished clear in 53.29 seconds.
 
However, Wulschner did not just give the victory to his compatriot. Aboard the 12-year-old BSC Skipper (Stolzenberg x Lord Liberty), Wulschner knew exactly what to do to beat Tebbel’s time and leave the rails up. The result was a new time to beat: 51.76 seconds, and only Belgium’s Constant Van Paesschen and Compadre van de Helle (Casall x Concerto II) were to go.
 
“My plan was to go for a clear round, and just try to better Maurice’s time a bit. And then I just had to wait for what the last combination would do,” Holger Wulschner explained afterwards. A good gamble, since Van Paesschen got an early knockdown and also had a fault on the last fence finishing on eight faults in a spectacular time of 47.69 seconds.
 
After having one rail down in last week’s Grand Prix, Holger Wulschner’s BSC Skipper got an easy week to prepare perfectly towards today’s Grand Prix. “He jumped only a few smaller classes, and yesterday he jumped the 1.35m on the grass. Today he felt perfect!” At BSC Skipper’s last show in Braunschweig, the son of Stolzenberg won the 1.50m Championat. “This horse has won a lot over the last couple of months, and after winning the Championat of Braunschweig he got a rest for three weeks. He started up again here in Oliva and has been in great shape again!”
 
Holger Wulschner’s first appearance at 2016’s Spring MET during the third part of the tour has already been very successful. “I brought three good horses to Oliva: BSC Skipper, BSC Cavity and BSC Cha Cha Cha. That means that I can vary a bit between these horses. Cha Cha Cha has jumped only small classes until now, but will jump next week’s Grand Prix.”
 
In the past, Spring MET Oliva has already brought some luck for Holger Wulschner: “I have been here for the last two years, and it was always great. In 2014, I rode Fine Lady here and also won the Grand Prix. Two weeks later she won the Grand Prix in Hagen and afterwards she was sold to Eric Lamaze. Now she will probably be his Olympic mount for Rio de Janeiro!”
 
MET Oliva suits Holger Wulschner’s schedule perfectly. “The third tour of 2016 Spring MET perfectly connects to the outdoor show in Hagen, because there is a break of two weeks in between. For us, it is great to prepare for the outdoor season in Oliva, then have a short break before Hagen starts and then continue to Redefin, Hamburg, Wiesbaden, and so on. All in all, Oliva is an excellent place to prepare for the outdoor season,” Wulschner concludes.

Source: Press release from 2016 Spring MET // Picture © Hervé Bonnaud / www.1clicphoto.com.