Summer Festival 3 at Longines Tops International Arena Draws to a Close with World Class Wins

As the curtains began to fall on Longines Tops International Arena Summer Festival 3, top sporting action and high-octane entertainment resulted in a fun-filled final day.

With the best of the 4* on show in the 1.55m 4* Grand Prix, and the finest talent in the 1.45m 2* Grand Prix, coupled with the stars of tomorrow in the National Classes, and Young Horse Classes, spectators and show jumping fans were treated to a spectacular display of show jumping.

The Summer Festival 3 Entertainment Schedule did not disappoint - from live musicians, DJ’s, children’s face painting to balloon artists, every member of the family were accounted for in a true fiesta atmosphere. All eyes now look ahead to the Longines Global Future Champions with tickets on sale via the Longines Tops International Arena website.

CSI4* Grand Prix 1.55m

The dynamic duo of Michael Greeve and Jacksonville Eurohill thrilled the roaring crowd, coming in on top of the podium, just 0.35 seconds ahead of second place getters Willem Greve and Highway TN, in an intense battle right down to the last rider.

Seven of the 43-strong start list qualified for the jump off, with some high-profile names missing from that list. Favourite-to-win Jessica Springsteen and Rmf Coco de Talma were notably absent from the jump off, as well as Billy Towmey and his spectacular Rmf Coco de Talma as well as Edwina Tops-Alexander and Corelli de Mies.

Third place went to Koen Vereeckem aboard Kasanova de la Pomme, who finished an agonising 0.02 seconds behind Greve in second. Fourth place was taken out by on-form young-gun Ioli Mytilineou and her ultra talented Levis de Muze. The remainder of the prize-winners included names such as home-hero Maikel van der Vleuten and O'bailey vh Brouwershof, as well as Max Wachman aboard Kilkenny and Sanne Thijssen with Con Quidam RB.

CSI2* 

The audience was in for a treat at the 2* Grand Prix as five of the 13 combinations that managed to get through to the jump-off were from the Netherlands. So the chance of a Dutch victory was a real possibility. That opportunity was soon grasped with both hands by Dutch rider Joy Lammers, who rode into the arena as the second starter. She steered her beautiful dark brown KWPN gelding First Boy B.B. controlled and fast through the course, stopping the clock at 48.08 seconds. It turned out to be a time that could not be matched by anyone, including such veterans as Sanne Thijsen, Kevin Jochems and Willem Greve. It was not an easy assignment that the course builder had laid down. It contained a few difficult turns and obstacle 11 was fatal to some riders. Sweden's Wilma Hellström, the last to start, was the closest to Lammers' time. She and her Holsteiner stallion Sam van de Helle crossed the finish line clear in 48.09 seconds. Third place went to South African Oliver Lazarus and Conbalthago PS. Dutchman Michael Greeve and Watermill Art SFN finished fourth followed by Canadian Wesley Newlands and the SF stallion Django du Lys in fifth place.

The 2* Small Tour combinations opened the third day at Longines Tops International Arena with an against the clock competition (1.35m). It started off right away with fast rides by Sanne Thijssen (NED) and Spain's Pilar Lucrecia Cordon. Cordon was first to set a time and did so full of verve. She rode a fast round with the BWP mare Missouri van 't Ruytershof in 64.93 seconds. Yesterday, she was second in the Medium Tour with this 11-year-old. But immediately afterwards, Cordon's time was improved by more than a second by Sanne Thijssen with Carembar Blue. They took over the lead with a time of 63.79 seconds. For a while it seemed to be the winning time but Dutchman Leopold van Asten thought otherwise. Van Asten showed it could be much faster and flew over the fences with the nine-year-old KWPN mare VDL Groep Jennifer. They stopped the clock at 59.02 seconds. A nice victory for the rider from Stoeterij Duyselshof.

The last competition of this successful Summer Event 3 was for the 2* Medium Tour combinations who rode their jump-off round immediately after their clear first round. The best was Siebe Leemans (NED), also hugely successful at the first two events. He had saddled the eight-year-old KWPN mare Karamella for this class and crossed the finish line in 25.83 seconds. Sweden's Antonia Pettersson Häggström finished in second place with Goldenstar. Earlier in the day, she was also second in the 2* Grand Prix. Third place went to top Dutch rider Maikel van der Vleuten, who rode the 12-year-old SF gelding Dreamland in this competition.

The Sunday of Summer Event 3 began with a magnificent final for the Young Horses. The talents of the future (a total of 35 combinations) made for a sensational competition. No fewer than 21 horses qualified for the jump-off, five of which were six-year-olds. The best six-year-old was the powerfully jumping Mojo TN who finished in fifth place with Dutchman Kars Bonhof. The first seven-year-old in the beautiful grass arena was Carthargos with Mykhailo Pylypenko (UKR). With a superbly ridden jump-off, they were the first to stay under 39 seconds, taking the lead. The next 10 combinations could not improve on that time and for some the last fence was the decisive factor. Leopold van Asten rode a nice fast round with the KWPN stallion VDL Groep Lincoln, resulting in a provisional second place. Swedish Antonia Pettersson Häggström managed to shave 0.01 seconds off Van Asten's time moments later with Hoppetossa and delegated van Asten to third place. But the battle was not yet over and that became immediately clear when Irishman Gavin Harley rode into the arena as the second-to-last starter. Harley had a plan and it was executed to perfection. His SF stallion Glamour du Chanu went through the course like a rocket, stopping the clock at 37.87 seconds. Good for victory.