Text © World of Showjumping

Fresh from their win in Friday's 1.50m, Julien Epaillard (FRA) and Donatello d'Auge (Jarnac x Hello Pierville) yet again proved unbeatable to their competitors in Canteleu when topping Sunday's CSI4* 1.55m Grand Prix Région Normandie on home soil. A month-and-a-half after taking the title at the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final 2025, Epaillard and his 12-year-old home-bred gelding are back on a winning streak – and as usual they were lightning fast in today's Grand Prix that counted a total of 50 horse-and-rider combinations. 

Thirteen pairs qualified for the second round of the Grand Prix, where Epaillard stopped the clock on 43.91 seconds – 1.78 seconds ahead of Juliette Faligot (FRA) and Arqana de Riverland (Cornet Obolensky x Diamant de Semilly) who won Thursday's 1.45m class at the French venue. It was an all-French podium as Roger Yves Bost (FRA) and Prins van't Eigenlo (Vigo d'Arsouilles x Zandor) finished third with a time of 46.52 seconds in round two. Matthew Sampson (GBR) and Un Secreto Z (Ultra Boy x Arko III) finished fourth, followed by Jeroen Appelen (BEL) in fifth aboard King CJS (Action-Breaker x Lancelot).