Press release from Morocco Royal Tour, edited by World of Showjumping

Saturday was a great day for the French riders at the Morocco Royal Tour 2025 in the Moroccan capital Rabat, highlighted by the incredible comeback of Alix Ragot (FRA), winner under the lights of the CSIO4*-W 1.50m Maroc Telecom Winning Round with Serafina DBH Z (Stakkato Gold x Ramiro).

After a first round that qualified twelve horse-and-rider combinations for the winning round, they returned to the arena with all scores reset – a particular opportunity for the three riders carrying four faults, now competing on equal terms with the nine clears from the opening round.

Switzerland’s Noah Keller set the tone, delivering a clear round with Carina Z (Carthino Z x Vink Guidam). Soon after, Alix Ragot and Serafina DBH Z took the lead, setting the target time at 34.42 seconds. By contrast, six of the clear-round riders from the first phase faulted in the second and dropped down the standings. Most importantly, none of the remaining three contenders managed to beat Ragot’s benchmark.

“It was incredible,” said the young rider with a smile. “To start as one of the very last qualifiers and win with an 8-year-old mare in her very first 1.50m class… She is naturally quick, I don’t need to push her, and today she did everything perfectly. I like winning — I don’t want to finish second. So I told myself that without taking silly risks, I had every chance. In this kind of class where everything resets to zero, you just have to play the game. And she did everything to perfection.”

“But above all, I wanted to enjoy myself, and I really did today,” he continued. “Last year, she already won the CSI1* Grand Prix here, so I think she likes the atmosphere… From the age of five, she has always progressed step by step; at five she did everything right, at six she kept on developing, at seven she was still delivering. And this year, she has won several 1.45m classes, and now her very first 1.50m. We don’t yet know where her limits are, but one thing is certain: She has everything it takes to go very far.”