William Whitaker king of the Olympia

They were thirty-seven riders on the starting list of the London’s leg of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup. Eighteen of them jumped clear in the first track presented by Portuguese course designer Bernardo Costa Cabra. In 37.02 seconds, William Whitaker’s jump-off was pure perfection. Two horses later, Karel Cox with Evert, threatened the British rider but did not manage to be fast enough. The pair finished in 37.21 seconds. The tension in the Olympia was at its climax too during Marcus Ehning jump-off. With Prêt à Tout, the Geneva winner, they were one second faster but they turned too tight on the penultimate vertical and paid the price with a pole down. Winners of the previous leg at La Coruna in Spain two weeks ago, Edwina Tops -Alexander and Vinchester signed a clear round but with 38.17, they had to settle for the fifth place. Last but not least, Laura Kraut and Zeremonie, the pair that helped USA winning team gold at the FEI World Equestrian Games last September, did not manage to turn the situation around. With 37.70 seconds, they lined up in third.

Even though there were many pairs qualified to the jump off, some international stars had difficulties during the first track. That’s the case for Steve Guerdat and his nine years old Venard de Cerisy, or Christian Ahlmann with Take a chance on me Z, the son of his incredible Taloubet Z. Same story for Ben Maher with Concona. All three chosed to jump with less experimented but very promising horses.

“It’s surreal! Since I’ve been coming here as a kid this has been a dream, and I can’t believe it’s actually happened!” Whitaker said after posting the biggest result of his career to date. He was full of praise for Utamaro d’Ecaussines, his 14 years old stallion. “I’m delighted for the horse and the owners, Jasmin and Ludwig Criel – he’s had fantastic results over the years but we never won a Grand Prix and I can’t believe it’s this one!” Whitaker said.

Winning the leg of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup in London seems to become a tradition for the Whitaker family, since his two uncles John and Michael already enjoyed many major successes at the Olympia during their spectacular careers. “I have memories of watching John and Michael winning the World Cup here – one of the things that got me out of bed in the morning was thinking that someday I could do it too!” William said saturday evening. The British rider already won a leg of the Longines FEI Jumping Wolrd Cup in Stuttgart in 2014 with Fandango. But a victory in front of his home crowd triggers unforgettable emotions.

Full result here

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