Miami Glory’s Scott Brash & Hello Forever. ph: GCL/Stefano Grasso
After a disappointing finish in the Longines Global Champions League of Berlin, The Miami Glory returned to center stage with a vengeance, producing a win in the GCL CSI5* Final of London at the Royal Hospital Chelsea.
Coming into the final day of competition on five faults, teammates Scott Brash and Denis Lynch produced the fastest of the clear rounds to secure the team victory on Saturday, August 5.
“I am really proud of the boys today and of Paris yesterday,” said Miami Glory rider and team owner Georgia Bloomberg. “It shows the depth of the team that we can come together and support each other.”
For the class that served as both the team final and the qualifying round for the sequential Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of London CSI5*, Italy’s Uliano Vezzani set the 13-obstacle course at a technical, 1.60. The options were difficult, with riders having the choice of either cutting inside fences and galloping the distances, or playing it safe and securing a clear by fitting in extra strides.
Having produced a clear round on Friday, August 4, the Berlin Lions were the only team to enter Saturday’s class with a clean score. Overnight changes were made to the structures of several teams, with The Miami Glory bringing in Scott Brash and The Valkenswaard United swapping out Janika Sprunger for Bertram Allen. The tactical changes worked in the favor of both teams, and they finished in a respective 1st and 2nd place.
“Both horses jumped amazing today, so it was a great team effort,” said Brash, who piloted the 11-year-old Oldenburg gelding Hello Forever (For Pleasure x Nimmerdor) to a speedy time of 68.17 in front of his home crowd.
Representing Ireland, Lynch rode the 13-year-old Belgian Warmblood stallion RMF Echo (Virus de Laubry x Feo) to a time of 73.78s. “The pressure was on, but it was a great round,” said Lynch.
In 3rd place, the Berlin Lions finished with an overall score of 156.78
For the full results, visit this link.
For the overall team standings, visit this link.