Longines CSI 5* Lausanne, first victory for Simone Blum in a CSI 5*

Simone Blum’s victory ends the amazing CSI5 * adventure in Lausanne, Switzerland. Germany that triumphed in the final Grand Prix as Simone Bum and DSP Alice produced a wonderful first round and a super speed jump-off finishing with a time of 38,29 seconds, nearly one second less than the Olympic champions Roger-Yves Bost along with Sydney Une Prince. Simon Delestre closed the podium with his talentuous Chadino thanks to two clear rounds and a final time of 40,22 seconds.  

The fourth place has been taken by the Belgium rider, Nicola Philippaerts riding his Casall’s son, Chilli Willi, to two perfect rounds. He missed the podium just for twenty hundredths of second.

At the end, Italians fans can also smile thanks to the fifth place of the amazingly performant rider Alberto Zorzi who, without making any mistake, got the time of 43.45 riding the 13-year-old stallion Ego Van Orti, formerly ridden by the Australian Edwina Tops-Alexander. This ranking must have given great feelings to the chief caporal of the Italian Army as he is loosing his top horse, Cornetto K, previously owned by Athina Onassis, and who will now join the young American Alexandra Thornton, student of Jan Tops, Alberto’s boss. But not only as along with Cornetto K, there was also the purchase of Living the Dream, a 12-year-old Toulon’s son.

Last year winners, Robert Whitaker and Catwalk IV, have not touch any fence in the first round but one point of extra time penalty dismissed them from victory. Author of three points in the jump-off, they finished to an honourable sixth place.