Edited press release from Falsterbo Horse Show

Saturday evening offered a magical conclusion to an unusual day at Falsterbo Horse Show where unpredictable weather conditions led to the relocation of the CSIO5* 1.50m Agria Grand Prix qualifying round to the international dressage arena.

Despite the change, the competition remained fierce and exhilarating and last year's Grand Prix champion Martin Fuchs (SUI) once again demonstrated his exceptional skills and secured the win with his horse Bastille (Balou du Rouet x Chacco-Blue) – clocking a time of 63.88 seconds.

"It’s amazing to be back, and in front of this crowd, thank you very much to the Swedish fans for supporting me, it’s wonderful to be here," said the happy winner, who also celebrated his 32nd birthday at Falsterbo Horse Show.

In response to the question about what Fuchs thought about the change of arena the happy winner said: "I actually really enjoyed it, the crowd got really close here to the ring, so that made it great and that's also something special about this show. The organisers try to do their best with the different alternatives if it doesn’t work out with the grass, so big congratulations to the organising committee for taking this decision."

Tomorrow the big Grand Prix awaits and while recognizing the competition, Fuchs is eager for another win: "Obviously the goal is to defend the title this year, but it’s the best riders in the world here, so it’s going to be hard, but I will give my best and if not, I will come back next year."

With a time of 66.25, the second place in the Grand Prix qualifier went to Sophie Hinners (GER) and Iron Dames My Prins (Zilverstar T x Winningmood), followed by Linda Heed (SWE) and Skylander VS (Stolzenberg x Cassini II) in third who were three seconds behind the winners.