Jérôme Guery and Jyrado vh Bovenhoekshof won the CSI2* 1.45m Grand Prix presented by Dammann Reitplatz- u. Sportplatzbau GmbH as the Autumn MET kicked off in Oliva Nova, Spain. Photo © Hervé Bonnaud / www.1clicphoto.com.
Press release from the Mediterranean Equestrian Tour
This week, the 2024-edition of the Autumn MET at Centro Ecuestre Oliva Nova in Spain kicked off with the first part of the tour that in total counts nine weeks of competition. Horses and riders from 36 nations have gathered under the Spanish sun, where the outdoor season will continue until December.
Sunday’s CSI2* 1.45m Grand Prix presented by Dammann Reitplatz- u. Sportplatzbau GmbH – which concluded the first week of competition – went to Belgium’s Jérôme Guery and the 9-year-old Jyrado vh Bovenhoekshof (By Ceira d’Ick x Baloubet du Rouet). Stopping the clock on 37.41 seconds in a jump-off between 19 horse-and-rider combinations, the Belgian rider bested a field of 55 competitors.
“I was in the beginning of the jump-off, and I knew that I had to take some risk because many others were coming behind me,” Guery said after his victory. “We did a good round. My horse is naturally quick, so we managed to put enough pressure on those to come."
Speaking of his horse Jyrado vh Bovenhoekshof, Guery said: “I have him with the breeder. He arrived in my stable when he was seven. I want to focus more on him now. I came here with him as my number one horse and next week, I plan to do the three-star Grand Prix with him. I have high hopes for him, and I hope that he can do few five-star shows next year. He is a naturally fast horse with super good mentality and good scope.”
Jérôme Guery and Jyrado vh Bovenhoekshof. Photo © Hervé Bonnaud / www.1clicphoto.com.
“It’s a big upgrade,” Guery said about the improvements that have been made at the venue in Oliva Nova over the summer months. “It was already a really nice place, but now you see that everything is even better. The parking is good, the ground in the stable area is new, as well the aisles between the arenas.”
“I like to come here often because here I can compete with my son Mathieu and my wife Patricia,” Guery – a familiar face at Centro Ecuestre Oliva Nova – concluded. “It's something special and I can also teach Mathieu and be focused on his development. We brought 16 horses in total for this tour, and we will come back later this year, and again next year as well. I think this is the perfect place to produce horses and have a good time with my family.”
Mathijs van Asten (NED) and Vedet DK Z (Vagabond de La Pomme x Carthago Z) placed second with a time of 37.65, while Lily Attwood (GBR) and Karibou Horta (Landor S x For Pleasure) took third in 38.35. With a time of 38.59, Ricardo Valadas Coelho (POR) and Orion Ter Doorn (Elvis Ter Putte x Lord Z) finished fourth, followed by Niklaus Schurtenberger (SUI) and Lireu (Legolas 88 x Landgraf I) in fifth in 39.43.
The Autumn MET I continues next week and runs until October 20, followed by MET II in November and MET III in December.
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