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Leprevost pulls off the double in tight jump off

Jun 15, 2012

Ecstatic Pénélope Leprevost celebrated a double win last night in a supremely tight jump off on the opening night of Global Champions Tour of France.

The French rider crowned her earlier victory with another win in the 5* Prix Generali thrilling the local crowd in Cannes, one of the most glamorous locations on the French Riviera.

Pénélope won the first class on Oscar des Fontaines and the second event on the experienced mare Nayana.

Pénélope was already ahead of her rivals halfway through the course and finished in 34.39. Her time was almost beaten by her former trainer and fellow French rider Michel Robert who zipped to the finish line only a fraction of a second behind on 34.44.

The split second finishing times demonstrated the extremely high level of competition at the GCT events. Dutch rider Gerco Schroder was third on another fast time of 34.62 with American Laura Kraut on 34.77. The riders with the top times took full advantage of the tight turns built into the course by Uliano Vezzani.

A total of 13 riders had jumped clear in the first round of the 1.50m class, but only 12 went into the jump off after Edwina Tops-Alexander decided to concentrate on the Grand Prix on Saturday with her star horse Cevo Itôt du Chateau. Some of the world’s leading riders ended up on faults after the first round including Christian Ahlmann, Alvaro da Miranda, Rolf-Göran Bengtsson and Simon Delestre.

02 Int. Jumping Comp. 1.50m
Pl. Horse Rider Faults Time
1. Nayana Pénélope Leprevost 0/0 34.39
2. Kaloe des Perrieres Michel Robert 0/0 34.44
3. Eurocommerce London Gerco Schröder 0/0 34.62
4. Teirra Laura Kraut 0/0 34.77
5. Nectar Des Roches Edouard Couperie 0/0 35.00
6. Tinka’s Serenade Billy Twomey 0/0 35.36
7. Chiara 222 Ludger Beerbaum 0/0 36.34
8. Eurocommerce California Sheikh Ali bin Khalid Al Thani 0/0 37.07
9. Hallo Sailor Tina Fletcher 0/0 41.36
10. Alexandria Cindy van der Straten-Marie 0/4 35.83

Source: GCT