Markus Saurugg wins third leg of Longines China Tour in Beijing

Saurugg’s cautious clear round as the last competitor to go saw him take top spot on the podium from China’s Rima Da in second place and Zhiwen (Daniel) Zhao in third.

Twenty-six horse and rider combinations came forward to contest the Grand Prix class which was the highlight feature of the three day event in the Chinese capital.

Only five combinations went clear in the first round to progress to the jump-off, which then saw Saurugg as the only rider to record a double clear round. Riding C Jay, his time of 51.04 seconds was significantly slower than his remaining competitors but crucially his effort came with no faults to ensure victory.

Da, on Z Wellie, went round in a time of 43.23 seconds but incurred four faults, as did Zhao who went round in a time of 44.31 seconds on Fancyface.

Four faults and a slower time of 49.88 seconds from Zhenqiang Li on Lucky Luke O saw them finish fourth, whilst Xin Xu, riding Calipolas Son, came fifth with a time of 44.52 seconds which also came with eight faults to their tally.

Prestige Swiss watchmaker Longines are the Title Partner and the Official Timekeeper of the Longines China Tour, and Saurugg was presented with an elegant Longines watch by Kate Tsai, Marketing Director of Longines China.

The Longines China Tour is made up of four legs, which in addition to Beijing has seen events in Shanghai and Dalian earlier in the year.

Germany’s Franke Sloothaak won the first leg of the competition in Shanghai back in May, whilst The Netherlands’ Vincent Vermeulen won the Tour’s second leg in Dalian last month.

The fourth and final leg of the 2016 Longines China Tour will be held in Guangzhou on 25 to 27 November.