The top three teams in Prague: Miami Celtics, Valkenswaard United and Shanghai Swans. Photo © GCL.
Edited press release from GC Prague Playoffs
It was a battle right up to the last fence as Miami Celtics held under immense pressure to be crowned the 2022 GCL Super Cup Champions, taking the lions share of the €4.5 million prize purse after an evening full of elite sport coupled with a sell-out crowd at Prague’s O2 arena for the 2022 GC Prague Playoffs.
In the high adrenaline final, young talent Miami Celtics team of Bertram Allen, Michael G Duffy and U25 rider Edouard Schmitz beat Valkenswaard United’s years of experience from Marcus Ehning, John Whitaker and Andre Thieme by being the faster team on 12 faults overall.
Owners, riders, trainers, team managers and grooms all praised the GCL Super Cup throughout the week. Commenting on his team’s victory, Edouard Schmitz explained: “You wish for days like this... every rider dreams of this.”
He then added: “It was like nothing I have experienced before in my show jumping career, there was a lot at stake, we put a lot of good rounds towards the Super Cup final. I was very relieved to bring it through the finish line and the crowd’s reaction was unbelievable.”
Founder and president of GCL Jan Tops: “It is fantastic to see, even when you haven’t had such a good season you can still recuperate one weekend and make it a fantastic year. That is really special in our sport. That is what is all about.”
Smiling Michael G Duffy said: “Amazing feeling, and to do it with the two guys we have a great team spirit between us, we all get on so well. The week has flown, and it has been great fun… to finish with a win is not something I think any of us expected. We really fought hard all week and like Bertram said, we have three amazing championship horses we certainly wouldn’t be sitting here without them."
The legend John Whitaker smiled: “The show is brilliant. The audience is brilliant. It is a fantastic atmosphere, that class was tense to the last minute, it was really good to be part of it.”
Taking third place for the Shanghai Swans, Max Kühner said: “We sat together and thought about the strategy for the team because we also had four riders who were qualified for the Super Cup and we decided all together to bring the first choice horse for the team because it is a very important competition. We put everything into it.”
Then