Successful weekend for Christian Ahlmann and Mandato van de Neerheide

Last weekend, we were ready for the 7th leg of the European World Cup season with the CSI Casas Novas in La Coruña. One of the riders who appeared at the start there was Christian Ahlmann, who secured already 14 victories in a Longines FEI World Cup in his career and is therefore the absolute record holder. In La Coruña, Ahlmann counted on the 11-year-old chestnut gelding Mandato van de Neerheide (Emerald van 't Ruytershof) and they managed to jump into the picture both during the Longines Grand Prix and the FEI World Cup.

The Longines Grand Prix on Saturday evening was the first highlight of the weekend and Ahlmann and Mandato van de Neerheide immediately secured a place on the GP podium. After a flawless basic round, they were among the 15 combinations that managed to qualify for the jump-off. They again kept it clear and with a finishing time of 38.61 seconds they jumped to a 3rd place in the rankings. But the duo also made themselves heard during last night's FEI World Cup. In a jump-off for which 14 combinations were able to qualify, they received 4 penalty points, which ultimately gave them a 9th place in the rankings.

Who also managed to qualify for the jump-off was the Spanish rider Mariano Martinez Bastida and the 14-year-old gelding Belano vd Wijnhoeve Z, a son of Berlin and Darco who was bred in Belgium by D. De Cuyper and whom Martinez Bastida finished 3rd during the FEI World Cup in Madrid a week earlier. Martinez Bastida and Belano vd Wijnhoeve Z also managed to set a fast time in 42.80 seconds, but a fault along the way ultimately kept them from a new podium place and meant that they had to settle for a 7th place this time. His compatriot Santiago Nuñez Riva finished 10th during this World Cup with the 11-year-old mare Chakira Z (Crown Z x Quidam de Rêve – B: G.B.L. Nijhof). They also incurred 4 penalty points in the jump-off.

During the opening day on Friday, another podium place was reserved for the French rider Julien Epaillard and the 12-year-old black mare Cancun Torel Z, a daughter of Cosinhus and Grannus who was bred in France by Francois Xavier Guyard and with whom Epaillard won a 1.45m class in Madrid last week. During the 1.50m high speed class they kept all the poles in the cups and this performance earned them 2nd place in the rankings. For the Irish rider Richard Howley and the 12-year-old gelding Consulent de Prelet Z (Consulent Z x Fuego du Prelet – B: Svo Trans Feka), the winners of the World Cup legs in Oslo and Helsinki, there was a 5th place in this class.