Release date: 23/06/2011 |    

Prix Federation Equestre Principaute de Monaco 1.45m International

The sixth edition of the Global Champions Tour began today, Thursday 23 June 2011, on the waterfront of the port of Monaco.

The docks have been transformed into a competition arena, with adjoining stabling, for this the 5th stage of the prestigious Tour that brings together the world’s best show jumpers.

With preparations for next weekend’s Prince’s wedding underway right across Monaco, organisers have one again achieved an astonishing technical feat in creating this luxurious five star venue from scratch, and managed to fit it in a smaller available area than last year.

The port is in fact being prepared simultaneously for an open-air Jean Michel Jarre concert. Following the amateur invitational events, the professional riders took to the track for their first event – a timed circuit set at 1.45 metres, and won by the European champion and world number two in team events, Frenchman Kevin Staut riding Major de Coquerie: 48.46 versus the 49.66 achieved by the Edwina Alexander/Cevo Socrates at the Grand Prix event of the Global Champion Tour in Cannes.

France also took third place with a time of 50.75 by Philippe Rozier/Jadis de Toscane. Daniel Deusser was in 4th place, and Irishman Mark MC Auley in 5th.

Kevin explains: “Major de Coquerie is in great form presently. He also won the event in Cannes, but on the last day. Here, he won it on the first – it’s a great omen. I won because I made one stride less than Edwina, and on such a cramped course that makes all the difference. Tomorrow morning, Simon Delestre, Pénélope Leprévost, Philippe Rozier, and I, fly to the CSI4* course at Fontainebleau, on a private plane made available by Philippe’s sponsor Eurodocument. We need to exercise our other horses on a big grass track to prepare them properly for the Nations Cup at Falsterbö and d’Aix la Chapelle. We’re heading back and forth because it was important to us to participate in the Monaco stage of the GCT.”

Australian rider Edwina Alexander has just achieved a first of her own. Thanks to the 4,000 euros 2nd place prize, she has become the first rider to earn a million euros in prize money across the various events.

Edwina becomes the first millionaire Global Champion Tour rider, the competition created six years earlier by her soon-to-be husband, Jan Tops – they plan to marry in Monaco this September.

Jennifer De Camp

Photo credit Stefano Grasso/GCT