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Rolf and Harrie’s dream victory as team show jumping lifts off

Aug 17, 2015

Rolf-Göran Bengtsson and Harrie Smolders were the victorious dream team in Valkenswaard tonight in a spectacular precursor to the launch of Global Champions League in 2016. Riding as Team Madrid, they took the win over Edwina Tops-Alexander and Henk van de Pol who finished in second place as Team Chantilly, with Daniel Deusser and Christina Liebherr taking third for Team Hamburg.

It was revealed that teams for the new League, which will offer prize money of €7.5 million, are already lined up as anticipation for the new show jumping format gathers momentum. 

Winning riders Rolf-Göran Bengtsson and Harrie Smolders were paired as Team Madrid after a random draw supervised by the FEI. Each team was named was destinations on the Tour calendar and after their victory flying Dutchman Harrie declared: “It was always a dream to ride in a team once with him and it came out.”

Harrie Smolders - who was teamed with Rolf-Göran Bengtsson - rose to the challenge of setting the pace, and took his bay 11 year old mare Aiyetoro clear to the cheers of the local crowd. As the first of the team riders entered the stunning grass arena it soon became clear that the time allowed of 80 seconds would be tight, and as the riders took their chances around the 1,55m course many picked up a few time faults which would prove costly to the final result.

While the competition featured many of the best riders in the world, it was designed to test, as the layout encouraged the horses forward and the long straight lines across the vast arena posed a technical challenge as well as pace. Edwina Tops-Alexander was a class act, riding a stunning round with her mare Heidi du Ruisseau Z putting Team Chantilly right at the sharp end of the grid and put the pressure on for teammate Henk van de Pol. However, Henk rose to the challenge and completed a strong round with Spartacus TN with the quickest time so far, meaning that Team Chantilly sailed through to the second round and in pole position to start.

The second round course was fair and again open, drawing horse and riders into mistakes, and encouraging a fast pace, in particular towards the last line. With the added pressure and responsibility of being in the team, the battle was on as the floodlights lit the arena.

However it was Harrie Smolders and Rolf-Göran Bengtsson who came out on top, finishing in a joint time of 160.8 and picking up just one time fault. Edwina and Henk looked set to beat them, but the penultimate fence caught the Dutch rider out to the groans of the home crowd - and Edwina - and four faults was added to their combined time of 155,99. Despite being on 5 faults as they entered round two, both Daniel Deusser and Christina Liebherr for Team Hamburg rode clear, picking up just one time fault each to leave them in the final podium position.

1 AIYETORO CONCORDE 103JP33 KWPN Harrie SMOLDERS NED 0/1 31.000 €
1 UNITA ASK CORRADO I 103GM45 Holst Rolf-Göran BENGTSSON SWE 0/0 31.000 €
2 HEIDI DU RUISSEAU Z HEARTBREAKER 103AZ56 Z Edwina TOPS-ALEXANDER AUS 0/0 20.000 €
2 SPARTACUS TN STAKKATO NED42565 Hann Henk Van De POL NED 0/4 20.000 €
3 TOULAGO TOULON 103AX85 Old-int Daniel DEUSSER GER 0/1 13.000 €
3 L.B. EAGLE EYE DARCO 103CJ25 BWP Christina LIEBHERR SUI 0/1 13.000 €
4 UPPER STAR METALL 102ZV60 KWPN Luciana DINIZ POR 0/1 8.000 €
4 BRIGHTON CONTENDRO II 103JG09 KWPN Tiffany FOSTER CAN 0/5 8.000 €
5 SUNDAY TOP H D C CROWN Z 103WC44 SF Kevin STAUT FRA 0/4 5.000 €
5 FOR SALE 6 FOR PLEASURE 103ST06 Westf. Ludger BEERBAUM GER 0/8 5.000 €

Source Global Champions Tour