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Bosty best, Van der Schans best Dutch in Lyon

Nov 6, 2014

There was a frenzy of French excitement at the third leg of the Longines FEI World Cup in Lyon yesterday when the reigning FEI European individual champion, Roger Yves Bost, emerged victorious on home ground. In a competition that sizzled with excitement from beginning to end, it came down to a 14-horse jump-off against the clock in which the 49-year-old rider and his 10-year-old horse Qoud'Coeur de la Loge snatched victory from the grasp of Dutch veteran Wout-Jan van der Schans and Capetown.

Yesterday’s success was all the more special for Bost as his winning ride is by his great former campaigner, the stallion Ideal de la Loge. And in a field sparkling with quality combinations, it was Germany’s Hans-Dieter Dreher and Embassy II who slotted into third ahead of The Netherlands’ Gerco Schröder and Cognac Champblanc in fourth place.

Jump-off pathfinder, Wout-Jan van der Schans, set them a blistering target when clear in 37.24 seconds with the Oklund-son Capetown. And, fourth to go, Germany’s Hans-Dieter and Embassy ll had a great crack at it with the extravagant thirteen year old stallion giving the fences plenty of air but still returning a good time of 38.41 seconds to slot temporarily into second. Bost’s round changed everything however. The Frenchman started out to a roar of “allez Bosty” from the sidelines, and “allez” he most certainly did, with his French-bred horse answering his every question along the way. For anyone who watched this rider at his best with Ideal de la Loge there was a sense of deja vu, and he was very aware of that himself. “He’s very similar to Ideal, not just physically but in his attitude as well” Bost said afterwards. “He loves to go fast, just like his father, but he is easier in the mouth” the rider pointed out after posting the new target of 36.82.

There were four French in the final barrage, and Bost’s fellow-countryman, Simon Delestre, returned the quickest time of 35.89 with Qlassic Bois Margot but left the penultimate oxer on the floor.

Source Horses International/FEI