The CSIO 5* Grand Prix of Calgary and the million dollar for Philpp Weishaupt

Forty-three duos were on the starting list to attempt to haul themselves to the top of the ranking and scoop the pot of one million dollar offered to the winner plus enter the race for the Grand Chelem.

For Pedro Veniss, winner in Gevena, and Grégory Wathelet, winner in Aachen, all the hopes disappeared during the first round. Indeed, the first one left the arena on Quabri de l’Isle with five points when the second one, riding Eldorado van het Vijver HOF pushed two fences down. None of them took a ticket for the second round…

Twelve riders have won their qualification to the final round, seven of them with a virgin score but only one repeated the exploit. Philipp Weishaupt and his powerful LB Convall, winners of the Aachen Grand Prix in 2016, did not touch a single fence and took this incredibly hard, technical and high Grand Prix. As in 2016, they are now running for the Grand Chelem and will try to reiterate their performance in Geneva, ‘s-Hertogenbosch or Aachen.

Luciana Diniz took a nice second place with her talented Fit For Fun 13 who has not miss anything this season. The Portuguese did the quickest round but an unfortunate fault relegated her to the silver. McLain Ward and HH Azur completed the podium. The vice Olympic champions proved one again that they are in an amazing shape.

Only one British rider was in this Grand Prix and it was the champion Scott brash on his Ursula XII, winners in Calgary last year. Author of four points in the first round, they couldn’t jump the second one and finished eighteenth.

Eight teams were on the run for the victory of this very famous Nations Cup, known as one the most difficult in the world with the Aachen one. Things were looking pretty complicated from the beginning with the considerable fall of Eduardo Menezes. While he was jumping the first round, the Brazilian seemed to lose consciousness on a jump with Quintol and fell down as soon as his horse touched down. The live coverage and the competition have had to be stopped for twenty minutes as the rider has been taken to hospital by emergency services. However, his three teammates have been impressive, and rode to three clear rounds putting them in the leading position for the second round.

For the second round, everything was going to be played between the three best teams of the days, Brazil, United States and Germany. Indeed, the other teams, Belgium, France or Switzerland, were dropped behind and not able to come back.

The cup has finally been given to United States, represented by Lauren Hough on Waterford, Charlie Jacobs with Cassinja S, Lillie Keenan with the wonderful Fibonacci 17 and Beezie Madden riding Darry Lou, after a jump off with the amazingly strong Brazilians, Pedro Veniss, Yuri Mansur, Pedro Junqueira Muylaert and Eduardo Menezes from hospital, who reached the second steps with only three musketeers and lost for only fifty hundredths of second. The podium has been finalized by the German team, carried by Philipp Weishaupt, Holger Wulshner, Patrick Stuhlmeyer and Marco Kutscher.