Martin Fuchs victorious in Geneva

Martin Fuchs and Clooney 51 finished their wonderful year 2019 by winning the Grand Prix of the CSI 5* in Geneva yesterday afternoon in Switzerland. At the age of 27, the Swiss won this legendary event for the first time in his career, starting a new cycle of the Grand Slam show jumping competition, which brings together the Grand Prix of Bois-le-Duc, Aachen, Calgary and therefore Geneva. Having already missed the Longines World Cup final, scheduled for April in Las Vegas, the European champion and reigning world vice-champion will try to meet this Grand Slam challenge, without losing sight of his priority objective of 2020: the Tokyo Olympic Games.

In the initial round, the forty couples competing had a lot to do with a very technical course involving no less than eighteen efforts, including a triple vertical-oxer-vertical, a double oxer-vertical bidets and a second double vertical-oxer in the final line.

Opening the jump-off, nineteen-year-old Michael Pender of Ireland and HHS Burnchurch, revelations of this competition, faulted twice, finishing eleventh. Mark McAuley, another Irishman, had to settle for tenth place with Vivaldi du Theil, trapped at the beginning of the short course. Belgian Jérôme Guéry signed the first double clear on Quel Homme de Hus, which gave him a very good third place. Young Swiss rider Bryan Balsiger did the same with Clouzot de Lassus, but was slower by nine tenths of a second, which explains his sixth place. Martin Fuchs tried everything and managed to improve the reference time by less than half a second.

On VDL Edgar M, Brazilian Marlon Módolo Zanotelli finished four hundredths behind Jérôme Guéry, taking fourth place. Espoir, the Belgian Pieter Devos’ crack, set the fastest time but could not prevent a foul on the last obstacle, finishing eighth. Other big favourites were Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat, world number one, and Bianca signed a very good clear double, but not fast enough to get better than fifth place. Same causes and consequences for the Belgian Jos Verlooy, seventh. Scott Brash of Britain dropped to within five hundredths of the win with Hello Senator, taking second place. Finally, Darragh Kenny of Ireland and Balou du Reventon sinned at the beginning of the round, finishing ninth.

With this victory next month, Martin Fuchs, who will be competing this weekend in London in the World Cup, may well take over Steve Guerdat’s world number one Longines armband. Answer early January 2020.