Yuri Mansur & Babylotte. ph: Hickstead
On Friday, July 28, 2017, Yuri Mansur and the 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare Babylotte (Dollar Du Murier x Concorde) helped Team Brazil make history with the country’s first ever win in the FEI Nations Cup of Great Britain at Hickstead CSIO5*. Two days later on Sunday, July 30, the celebration continued as the duo were in top form to claim the 1st place prize in the €200,000 Longines King George V Gold Cup.
Course designer Kelvin Bywater of Great Britain set the 12-obstacle course that saw a field of 46 competitors. Of the initial group, only 4 were able to make it to the jump off in the class that served as both the finale and the feature presentation of the Longines Royal International Horse Show CSIO5*.
Keith Shore and the 14-year-old Anglo European gelding Mystic Hurricane (Tornado x Magic Motion) were first to go in the jump-off, and the duo set the pace with a time of 57.63 s. Shore was in contention to become the first British winner of the Longines King George V Gold Cup since Ben Maher in 2010, though an unfortuante four faults left the door open for the competitors who followed, leaving him in an eventual 3rd place.
“I don’t really think he should’ve had a fence down to be honest, but that’s horses and they do,” said Shore. “It was only last night [that] I knew I was going to jump in the class, so to come in third is very good.”
Germany’s Patrick Stühlmeyer and the 14-year-old Oldenburg stallion Lacan 2 (Land x Contender) were next to go in the order, and they finished on 8 faults to end the day in an eventual 4th place.
Ruben Romp of the Netherlands’ and the 12-year-old Zangersheide mare Audi’s Teavanta II C Z (Treasure x Ahorn) accumulated 4 faults, though their time of 54.60 was three seconds faster than Keith’s time of 57.63 s, propelling them into the lead.
Mansur and Babylotte were last to go in the jump off, and they produced the sole clear round to finish in 1st place with a time of 57.52 s. It’s been a successful week of competition for Mansur who also had a 1st place finish in the Bunn Leisure Vase, the first international class of the show on Thursday, July 29.
“For me it was an amazing experience – this mare, I just have no words for her,” said Yuri. “When I bought her she was jumping in 1.45m classes and hated to jump on grass, but since then she’s more than proven herself. Today, my strategy was to go the same speed as Ruben, but after I made the turn to fence seven, I said to myself [that] I have to stay clear, and that’s what I did. It’s a dream for me, I can’t believe it.”
For full results, click this link.