Laura Renwick & Bingtang
Great Britain’s Laura Renwick had a stellar day at the Longines Global Champions Tour of Madrid, winning both CSI5* rated classes within the space of a few hours on Friday afternoon, May 20.
After picking up victory with MHS Washington in the Trofeo Volvo 1.45m CSI5*, Renwick tacked up Bingtang and proceeded to double down on her win by earning 1st place in the Massimo Dutti 1.50m, the final competition and feature class of the day.
If the afternoon’s 1.45m featured many riders using the class for a slow school, the early evening’s Massimo Dutti 1.50m. turned up the level of competition as riders rode for the win, immediately shifting into a quick gallop once they cleared the first phase of the two phase track. In all, there were 24 clear rounds from the 47 starters, a nod to the level of competition in place this weekend at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid.
Renwick only held onto her lead by fractions of a second when Belgian’s Olivier Philippaerts put in a good effort aboard H&M Challenge van Begijnakker. However, his time of 26.19 seconds wasn’t quite enough, and fractions still separated those leaders from 3rd place finish Kevin Staut of France, who rode Ayade de Septon et HDC through the timers in 26.27 seconds. Jos Verlooy and Sunshine finished in 4th place for Belgium, and Germany’s Christian Ahlmann was 5th aboard Caribis Z.
In addition to a valuable Longines FEI Ranking competition, this class counted as a grand prix qualifier for the quickly approaching Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Madrid, presented by Ciaxabank. Set to kick off at 5:00pm local time, LGCT Grand Prix of Madrid will welcome many of the world’s top riders, Spain’s best competitors, and perhaps a wild card or two to try their luck.
See full results of the Massimo Dutti Trophy here.