“Trop Rapide” — Pénélope Leprevost wins qualification in Munich

20 May “Trop Rapide” — Pénélope Leprevost wins qualification in Munich

(Munich) The second leg of the BEMER Riders Tour at the 40th edition of the ‘Pferd International’ in Munich-Riem could not have started any better. 52 riders competed in the Prize of Terrafinanz Wohnbau GmbH, which was also the qualification for the rating competition on Sunday. 16 pairs went clear in the first round and qualified for the jump-off. With a lightning-fast clear round, the French Olympic Champion Pénélope Leprevost showed her world class and won with Bingo Del Tondou in the fastest time of 47.77 seconds. Two Bavarians completed the top three: Simone Blum (Zolling) and Ciara PS placed ahead of Wolfgang Puschak (Bonstetten) and Number One.

Start of a new partnership

” Usually my horse is slow, but not today,” joked an overjoyed Pénélope Leprevost after her winning round. “It is the first time we have won a competition together! He jumped great indoors in the five-star Grand Prix earlier this year and also on sand, but he is a bit shy on grass. That’s why I’m here, I love this event, but I also wanted to train on grass before the show in La Baule in June.” Bingo Del Tondou is a son of former world champion and super stallion Vigo d’Arsouilles. Leprevost has had the imposing grey gelding with the big stride in her stable for a long time, but due to a few minor teething problems he only started competing for the first time at the age of six. “Now he is 12, but he is a young 12-year-old,” the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic team gold medallist tells us. The horseshoe arena is also associated with good memories for Leprevost: “I was able to win the Grand Prix here in 2018 with Vancouver and that was the beginning of our successful partnership. I hope this is also true for Bingo and me!”

International challenge

Besides the three top placed riders, the Dutch rider Kars Bonhof and the Swiss riders Dominik Fuhrer, Niklaus Schurtenberger and Anthony Bourquard are among the pairs worth keeping in mind for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Bavaria presented by Hirmer, Prize of the Bavarian State Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry. They all tried their best to reach the time of the French champion rider, but had to accept penalty points in some cases. Jörne Sprehe (Fürth) and her rising star Hickstead White showed two strong clear rounds and are perhaps a little insider tip, as are the winners of the Grand Prix of Redefin, Michael Kölz (Leißnig) and Cellato. The 50 best pairs of the qualification will meet again on Sunday at 2 p.m. in the second rating competition of the BEMER Riders Tour season 2023. The ‘Pferd International’ is also broadcast live on www.clipmyhorse.tv.

National coach praises conditions

The national coach, Otto Becker, also kept a watchful eye on the action and did not want to miss the great atmosphere of Southern Germany’s biggest equestrian festival. As a native of Bavaria, he had already experienced the event in its early days 40 years ago: “I felt the need to come here again. The large grass arenas are something special and a challenge for the riders. It is important that the ground is in top condition. It has rained a lot here in the last few days, but the conditions are still perfect and it is simply fun to ride on a course like this.”

Result, BEMER Riders Tour, qualification for the rating competition, prize of Terrafinanz Wohnbau GmbH, CSI3* with jump-off (1.55 m)

1. Penelope Leprevost (FRA) & Bingo Del Tondou, 0 / 47.77 
2. Simone Blum (GER) & Ciara PS, 0 / 50.37
3. Wolfgang Puschak (GER) & Number One, 0 / 50.69
4. Kars Bonhof (NED) & Hernandez Tn, 0 / 51.35
5. Dominik Fuhrer & Ghost, 0 / 52.07
6. Jörne Sprehe (GER) & Hickstead White, 0 / 52.44

All results: https://results.hsr-performance.de/2023/muenchen/c3_result.html 

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: With a lightning-fast clear round, the French Olympic Champion Pénélope Leprevost showed her world class and won with Bingo Del Tondou (c) Fotoagentur Dill