Ph ©Herve Bonnaud
The finale class of CSIO5* Gijon, Spain, held on Monday, August 31st under stormy, rainy skies produced a win for The Netherlands’ Henk van der Pol and Willink.
A narrow margin of 0.5 of a second between van der Pol and Irish rider Cameron Hanley on his longtime partner Antello Z determined who came away with the most prize money in the €153,000 Grand Prix of Gijon CSIO5* presented by Sabadell Herrero. And before they got there, the top placing riders had to battle it out with a large jumpoff field of 16 horse and rider pairs.
Spain’s Sergio Alvarez Moya thrilled the local crowd of 4,756 fans by placing 3rd aboard G&C Quitador Rochelais. Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah al Sharbatly, who had a fantastic weekend in Gijon with three wins, was on his way to another top placing in the grand prix, but had to settle for 20th place after a single rail was ticked by his mount Domino in Round 1.
For his efforts, van der Pol picked up a €50,490 check, ending the week’s competition on a very good note. He has had the ride on Willink, a 12-year-old KWPN gelding (Twister x Landsieger) for exactly two years, competing most recently on Nations Cup teams at Rotterdam and Dublin.
Find full results of the €153,000 Grand Prix of Gijon CSIO5* at this link.