Niklaus Schurtenberger and Philip Houston tied for the win in the CSI3* 1.50m Grand Prix presented by Oliva Nova Beach & Golf Resort at Autumn MET 2022. Photos © Hervé Bonnaud/1clicphoto.com. 

Press release from the Mediterranean Equestrian Tour

After three weeks of great sport, the second part of the Autumn MET 2022 in Oliva Nova, Spain, came to an end on Sunday with the CSI3* 1.50m Grand Prix presented by Oliva Nova Beach & Golf Resort.

With 50 horse-and-rider-combinations at start, only six pairs cleared the first-round track set by the German course designer Peter Schumacher. As the first man out in the jump-off, Switzerland’s Niklaus Schurtenberger and the 11-year-old Lireu (Legolas x Landgraf I) set the time to beat to 44.54 seconds – only to be matched by Germany’s Philip Houston and the 12-year-old Sandros S Bella (Sandro Boy x Chacco-Blue), who crossed the finish line in the exact same time. 

While Belgium’s Jerome Guery and Great Britain V (Nabab de Reve x Carolus H), the last pair out in the jump-off, clocked the quickest time of the class – 42.12 seconds – they had to settle for the third place when a pole fell. Schurtenberger and Houston shared the win ahead of Guery in third, while Jason Foley (IRL) and Rockwell RC (Kannan x Guidam) finished fourth and Maartje Verberckmoes (BEL) aboard Guidam’s Willow The Second (Willow x Indoctro) fifth. 

Left: Philip Houston and Sandros S Bella. Right: Niklaus Schurtenberger and Lireu. Photos © Hervé Bonnaud/1clicphoto.com. 

“My plan was to go fast, but not risk too much,” Schurtenberger commented afterwards about his jump-off, that only Houston could match. “And I think it was a good plan! I have had Lireu since he was five, and this is for sure the biggest win I have had with him.”

Schurtenberger is a regular at the Mediterranean Equestrian Tour. “We have been coming here since the very beginning,” he said about the venue in Oliva. “We love coming here – it is good for both the younger and the older horses. Coming to Oliva always feels like coming home.”

The Autumn MET 2022 now takes a week off before resuming action on November 22nd with the third and last part of the tour.