Michael Duffy & Lapuccino 2 Ph. ©GHPC/ Michael Rzepa
Friday’s CSI3* 1.50m Gaston GLOCK’s Championat in Treffen went to Ireland’s young Michael G. Duffy on the 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse stallion Lapuccino 2.
A contest for valuable world ranking points, the 1.50m 13-obstacle course saw 15 proceed to the second round, where only eight would go on to boast a double-clear effort. First to try his hand at the shortened course was two-time GLOCK’s Grand Prix winner Martin Fuchs of Switzerland who clocked 43.81 seconds with the 17-year-old CDE grey gelding Fardon (VDL Corlando x Mezcalero) and finished fourth.
Ultimately finding the best mix of rhythm and tight turns was the 21-year-old Irish rider, Duffy, who won by a margin of close to two seconds ahead of runner-up 19-year-old Dutch rider Sanne Thijssen, who saddled up Celine M Z (Crusador x Orame) and crossed the finish line penalty-free in 42.63 seconds. In third place was Belgium’s Christophe Vanderhasselt and his Belgian Warmblood mare Identity Vitseroel (Air Jordan Z x Darco), who also produced a jump-off in under 43 seconds.
This week marks Duffy’s first time competing at the GLOCK HORSE PERFORMANCE CENTER and he was delighted with his successful premiere.
“I’m very pleased to have the chance to be here,” Duffy said. “It’s a really lovely victory! Lapuccino will have a rest tomorrow and then, on Sunday in the Grand Prix, we’ll aim to give it our all. I have two more horses here, which I’ll be taking to the start tomorrow.”
Competition continues this weekend in Austria with Saturday’s 1.55m GLOCK’s Perfection Tour over two rounds and Sunday’s CSI3* Grand Prix.
Full results at this link.
Source: GHPC