Niamh McEvoy and Orange de Baugy take five-year-old gold by storm

The jump-off began with some combinations still playing it safe, but soon the pace picked up. Tension palpably rose when Irish rider Niamh McEvoy entered the arena. After her second-place finish last year in the 5yo-finale, McEvoy was determined to home the gold this time. Together with the KWPN mare Orange de Baugy, a daughter of Dominator 2000 Z and Barbarian, she rushed as the tenth combination to an impressive finishing time of 36.15 seconds. With this, she left the competition far behind and convincingly took the World Title with more than two full seconds ahead of the competition! “Orange de Baugy is without a doubt one of the best 5-year-old horses I have ever had under saddle! I knew I could ride fast in the jump-off because she is really very careful. But of course, with 20 combinations in the jump-off, you never know how it will go. So I'm really happy that after my 2nd place last year I managed to take home the gold this time (laughs). The World Championships is on the agenda for Irish riders every year and everyone works really hard throughout the year to get the best possible start here with our young horses.”

Silver went to Italian rider Diego Pagano with the chestnut mare Zuly, a daughter of Zirocco Blue VDL and Toulon bred by Ilenia Baesso. Pagano and Zuly competed right after McEvoy, but despite their fast ride in 38.44 seconds, they could not match the Irish combination's time and had to settle for second place. “Zuly is really a fantastic and easy horse to work with, both for me and for my team at home. We qualified at the Italian Championships and this is really the icing on the cake.”

Dutch rider Lotte Teuns managed to secure bronze with her SF gelding Jolidiams Des Tocrias, a son of Diamant de Semilly and Opium de Talma, bred in France by Gilles Denizet and Michel Guiot. Teuns started strongly in her jump-off, but chose to ride to the final obstacle in eight canter passes instead of seven, resulting in a finishing time of 39.06 seconds earning them the bronze. “I've only had Jolidams Des Tocrias under saddle for a week. He qualified in France for this World Championships and came to our stable last Saturday. That we've been able to accomplish this here is just incredible. I maybe should have ridden a canter pass less towards the last obstacle, but I am very happy with my 3rd place.”