It was a great night for Netherlands at the CSI5*-W event in La Coruna on Friday, with Maikel van der Vleuten taking the top honours in the 1.50m Massimo Dutti Trophy at Casas Novas. Ten pairs of the 44 in the class qualified for the jump-off after clear rounds in this competition that was the feature class of the day.

Riding the 11-year-old gelding Salomon (Stolzenberg x Aramis), Van der Vleuten stopped the clock at 34.65 seconds in the jump-off. The podium was completed by Maikel’s compatriot Leopold van Asten on VDL Groep Miss Untouchable (Chacco-Blue x Aldatus) with a time of 35.82 seconds, while German rider Ludger Beerbaum on Chiara (Contender x Coronado 3) took the third place after stopping the clock at 36.62 seconds. Best of the Spanish riders was Eduardo Álvarez Aznar in fourth place, riding Rokfeller de Pleville Bois Margot (l'Arc de Triomphe x Apache d'Adriers).

“I always try to do as much as I can out of my own feeling, if I know I can't beat the time, I know I shouldn't give it a try,” said Maikel van der Vleuten after his win. “But in the first round, I had a good feeling so for the second round the horse gave me a good feeling and that I should go for it”.

“It's a very good organization, and they have a really good course designer,” said Van der Vleuten about the event at Casas Novas. “It's a great spot to be with the other top riders”.

Earlier in the day, Julien Epaillard demonstrated his winning skills when stopping the clock at 64.30 seconds riding Instit de Jucaso (Cooper van de Heffinck x Darco) in the 1.45m NH Collection Trophy. The Frenchman already knows how to win at Casas Novas, with two victories in the Grand Prix in 2006 and 2015 on his record. Epaillard produced a brilliant round, and was three seconds faster than his closest competitor Jur Vrieling with Dallas VDL (Douglas x Heartbreaker) in 67.82 second. Laura Renwick riding VDL Groep Alitta (Karandasj x Indoctro) followed in third with her time of 68.18 seconds. Eduardo Álvarez Aznar was best of the home riders, taking fourth place on Fidux (Malito de Reve x Voltaire).

Source: Press release from Oxer Sport // Picture © Manuel Queimadelos / Oxer Sport