World No.1 Harrie Smolders tops in Hamburg Grand Prix

The Dutch rider, who won the 2017 Tour, picked up the top prize of €100,000 for his triumph on the 14-year-old stallion, as well as the maximum 40 points on offer in Germany. And after five legs of the worldwide CSI5* Show Jumping series – Mexico City, Miami Beach, Shanghai, Madrid and Hamburg – Smolders moves into a tie for 11th place in the Tour rankings after only competing previously in China.

Seven riders went through to the jump-off round at the historic Derby-Park Klein Flottbek equestrian site, with Smolders’ and Don’s clear round in a time of 37.97 seconds edging out the home nation’s Maurice Tebbel and Chaccos’ Son (with the only other faultless ride in the tie-breaker) and Switzerland’s Martin Fuchs and Chaplin. For a video of Smolders’ jump-off performance with his partner, see here. 

“We knew that Don VHP Z would like this ring very much — he always jumps very well here and we are happy he showed his great form today,” Smolders said after the competition. “We also had a jump-off that suited him very well. He normally doesn’t win so many classes, but I knew I had a shot. He’s a very efficient jumper and I have to be aware that I use his energy efficiently, but he’s so consistent and he keeps jumping clears in 1.60 m classes.”

With his victory in front of the big crowds in Hamburg, Smolders has also reserved a place in the inaugural Super Grand Prix at the end of the year in Prague, Czech Republic, where individual Grand Prix winners on the Tour will face off. The rider indicated that he plans to compete at the next LGCT stops in St.Tropez and Cannes, France at the end of May and start of June.

Speaking of St.Tropez, the St.Tropez Pirates team won the latest stage of Global Champions League at the Derby-Park Klein Flottbek and now sits third in the League standings behind London Knights and Valkenswaard United. For more information on the mix of international riders on each GCL team, see here.