07 Jul BEMER Riders Tour: Jos Verlooy wins the qualifier in Ommen
(Ommen/NED) A top class international field set out to conquer the qualifier of the third BEMER Riders Tour leg in Ommen, the Netherlands, this evening. A total of 66 starters began the course of the 1.55m jumping competition of the Big Tour. The quality of the competitors was so strong that one third, that is 24 pairs, finished the first round with zero faults. 13 riders started a second time and provided for an exciting jump-off.
First to go in the jump-off was Jos Verlooy (BEL) with the Irish Sport Horse gelding Fts Killossery Konfusion. The pair set a fast and clear time of 36.94 seconds, which remained unmatched until the end. It took an Irish rider to almost beat Verlooy and his Irish grey. Bertram Allen (IRE) and Edison de Hus by Conrad were close with 38.35 seconds, but had to settle for second place in the end. Allen actually knows the horse of his good friend Verlooy very well: FTS Killossery Konfusion was brought up to 5-star level by him and won the ‘VBR Prize’ at the CHIO Aachen 2021. The grey gelding, who descends from the Irish Nations Cup winner SIEC Livello, is naturally fast and has also proven this several times under Verlooy in the last two years. Home rider Frank Schuttert (NED) sat in the saddle of Hawaii-S and the chestnut mare almost gave her rider a home victory. 38.52 meant third place in the end. Fourth place also went to the Netherlands to Daan Van Geel and I’M Special Power Sih. Alex David Gill (GBR) and Jourdain VDL took it a little easier and were rewarded with two clear rounds and fifth place.
German riders in good form
Two of Germany’s successful riders, Sophie Hinners and David Will, both showed strong performances in the first round. Unfortunately, Hinners and Hialita B by Emerald had to accept a rail in the jump-off. Her stable mate David Will on the stallion Zinedream by Zinedine suffered a similar fate. Their time would have easily been enough to win, but four faults prevented a top placing. Sixth place was the result for the fastest four-fault ride. Patrick Stühlmeyer and Michael Kölz, as the leaders of the current ranking, are already pre-qualified for the third competition on Sunday. While Stühlmeyer made use of this option and kept the Holsteiner gelding Quando Vengo fresh for Sunday, Kölz already showed his Cellato the arena of Ommen this evening. And they did so successfully, finishing the first round without any faults and demonstrated that they are to be reckoned with in the third leg of the Tour. The best 50 pairs of the qualification will start in reverse order in the BEMER Riders Tour rating competition on Sunday. Patrick Stühlmeyer will be the first competitor to start in the course, as he did not ride in the qualification. The Grand Prix van het Vechtdal powered by Handelshuis Schuttert & Provincie Overijssel starts at 15:00 and can be seen live on ClipMyHorse.TV.
Result BEMER Riders Tour — Qualification for the rating competition, Wezenberg Transport Prijs, CSI3* Big Tour – 1.55m with jump-off (LR):
- Jos Verlooy (BEL) & Fts Killossery Konfusion, 0/36.94
- Bertram Allen (IRE) & Edison de Hus, 0/38.35
- Frank Schuttert (NED) & Hawaii-S, 0/38.52
All results: https://result.scgvisual.com/show/133/event/354/competition/10/result/
Legs of the BEMER Riders Tour 2023/24
Horses & Dreams meets Sweden, Hagen a.T.W. / GER, 19 – 23 April 2023
Pferd International, München-Riem / GER, 18 – 21 May 2023
CSI Ommen, Ommen / NED, 06 – 09 July 2023
Fest der Pferde, Donaueschingen-Immenhöfe / GER, 27 – 30 July
Turnier der Sieger, Münster / GER, 24 – 27 August 2023
CSI Lier Azelhof Horse Events, Lier / BEL, 31 August – 03 September 2023
CSI Arena Nova, Wiener Neustadt / AUT, 05 – 08 October 2023
VR CLASSICS, Neumünster / GER, 15 – 18 February 2024
Photo: Jos Verlooy (BEL) wins the qualification of the BEMER Riders Tour with the Irish gelding FTS Killossery Konfusion (c) Foto Trailer