Edited press release from Sunshine Tour

Emanuele Camilli and the 10-year-old gelding Odense Odeveld (Diamant de Semilly x Querlybet Hero) won Sunday's CSI4* 1.55m Andalucía Grand Prix at the Sunshine Tour in Vejer de la Frontera, Spain. The Big Tour Grand Prix counted for the Longines Ranking Group B and brought the first three weeks of competition at the Tour to an end – with 49 horse-and-rider combinations qualified throughout the week. 

Dutch mastermind Louis Konickx got the perfect number through to the jump-off, as ten pairs cleared his first-round track which counted 13 fences – and was built as a qualifier for the Olympic Games 2024, as well as for the European Championship 2025. "This is a very interesting arena, it goes a little bit up and down, and I use that in my distances and my lines," Konickx said ahead of the class about the vast David Broome ring. "I hope we get a real exciting competition. Twelve clears would be really nice”. His predictions were almost spot on.

Five pairs managed to deliver double clears and fastest were Camili and Odense Odeveld who as first to go in the jump-off set the time to beat to 38.26 seconds. Michael Greeve (NED) followed with a time of 40.03, riding Denver (Diarado x Quantum) to finish as runner-up, while the third place went to Imma Roquet Autonell (ESP) and Icenta del Maset (Indret del Masset x Cento) who clocked a time of 40.05 seconds. The fourth place went to Anthony Bourquard (SUI) and White Gate (Casalito x Illbruck Contago), while Odile Gierech (LUX) and No-Comment de Septon (Jenson van't Meulenhof x Couleur Rubin) produced the last double clear of the class to place fifth.

“I’m really, really happy, for many reasons, first of all because I won and then the second this is an Olympic year, so to start preparations in this way, actually, I’m proper happy about it," Camili said. "My horse jumped fantastic, it was his second Grand Prix after a little break so it couldn’t be better!"

In the CSI4* 1.50m Medium Tour Grand Prix counting for the Longines Ranking Group D, it was Gilles Thomas (BEL) and the 10-year-old stallion Elfra van Beek Z (El Salvador x Vagabond de La Pomme) that were the best out of a field of 71 horse-and-rider combinations. 

In a jump-off of 18, the Belgian rider clocked a time of 32.42 seconds to take the win ahead of Daniel Deusser (GER) and Killer Queen VDM (Eldorado vd Zeshoek x For Pleasure) who crossed the timers in 32.77 seconds. Only 0.05 seconds behind Deusser followed Iris Michels (NED) and Bugano de l'Abbaye (Ugano Sitte x Made In Semilly), who tied for third with Sanne Thijssen (NED) and Cupcake Z (Chacco-Blue x Caretano Z). Christoph Obernauer (AUT) and Kleons Renegade (Quintero x Stakkato) completed the top five with a jump-off time of 33.15 seconds.