Edited press release from Longines Pfingst Turnier Wiesbaden

For the first time, the Belgian anthem concluded the Longines Pfingst Turnier Wiesbaden in the Biebrich Palace Park, as Koen Vereecke (BEL) and Kasanova de La Pomme (Bamako de Muze x Malito de Reve) secured the victory with a flawless jump-off in 54.56 seconds in the CSI4* 1.60m Grand Prix of Landeshauptstadt Wiesbaden. 

At the 86th edition of the event, the 54-year-old was the first Belgian to make it to a Grand Prix victory. “The victory today means a lot to me,” Vereecke explained. “I'm supposed to ride my first Nations Cup [of the season] in St. Gallen in 14 days, so Wiesbaden was intended as a preparation – it couldn't have gone better. I didn’t want to ride too fast, I didn’t want to let it all out. I just rode my way and knew that there were faster riders, but I wanted to ride without mistakes and have a good round.”

Anna Maria Kuhlmann (GER) and Pegasus Deau Re Mi (Deauville van T&L x Corofino) placed second with a time of 57.53 seconds in the jump-off, followed by Nicola Pohl (GER) and Catz de Sulpice (Tresor de Virton x Vesontio du Mesnil) who placed third with a faster time but with a fence down in 50.75. 

“Looking back, I might be a little annoyed that I rode too fast,” 28-year-old Pohl commented. “I actually felt safe on this ground all weekend. It was all well managed. That’s why I dared to ride really fast," she said about the conditions in the big grass ring after a week of challenging weather. 

Yuri Mansur (BRA) and Vitiki (Valentino x For Expo) finished fourth with four faults in the jump-off and a time of 51.70, followed by Antonia Pettersson Häggström (SWE) and Zara de Laubry Z (Zandor x Chin Chin) in fifth in 57.97.