Victor Bettendorf with 3 wins at the “London International Horse Show
During the prestigious tournament in the English capital, Luxembourg’s best show jumper stated that it was an honor for him to compete there, as his father had previously wanted to ride in London. All of his expectations were surpassed, and in the end, he was even awarded the title of “leading rider.”
This accolade was well-deserved for the 35-year-old Luxembourger, who managed to win three competitions at this CSI 5* tournament just before Christmas and finished second in another. His final performance in the World Cup show jumping event, worth €110,000, at 1.60 meters with the gelding Doha de Riverland did not go ideally with two knockdowns. Nonetheless he ensured a certain presence on television as the pair could even be admired on Eurosport between Christmas and New Year. The victory in the World Cup event went to the Irishman Tom Wachman with Do It Easy.
On Encore Toi du Linon, the current world ranking number 79 started off spectacularly in the “Excel London” arena in the east of the metropolitan city, right next to the city airport. With an almost mythical time of 56.28 seconds, which made him about two seconds faster than the competition, Bettendorf dominated a 1.55-meter jump ahead of Belgian Hos Verlooy, who placed second on Parise van den Dael in 58.34 seconds. Local rider Jack Whitaker with Valmy de la Lande took third place (58.56”).
The following day, Victor Bettendorf won another 1.55m event: while three pairs were faster in the first round without a knockdown, nobody could surpass him in the subsequent jump-off. With Doha de Riverland, he achieved his second victory with a time of 28.45 seconds. It was extremely exciting: with Donald, another competitor from the well-known British equestrian family Whitaker, on Millfield Colette, being just a fraction slower (28.58”), and the third-place finisher, Sanne Thijssen from the Netherlands with Cupcake, finishing just half a second behind the winner (29.01”).
On Saturday, December 20, the Luxembourger made another statement. Riding the mare Cancun Torel, he won a test over 1.50 meters, again ahead of Jack Whitaker, who finished second on the aforementioned “Valmy” with 59.14 seconds, nearly 80 hundredths behind Bettendorf. Spanish competitor Alvaro González de Zarate Fernandez followed in third with Casa Diva and a time of 59.28 seconds.
However, three victories were not all that Bettendorf, who lives in Normandy, had to show from the other side of the English Channel: he finished fourth in another 1.50m event on the eleven-year-old mare Encore du Linon and even added another podium finish on December 22 with “Cancun”: also over 1.50 meters, he only had to give way to Frenchman Kevin Staut, wan Olympic gold winner back in 2016 in Rio, and Kannonqulan with a time of 57.57” (Bettendorf finished in 57.88”). The British rider Jessica Mendoza with I-cap CI took third place (58.24”).
Bettendorf: “This week was just perfect”
“The mare is always competitive but is sensitive and needs to trust me. I have ridden her for nearly three years. To win a class here is a huge deal, I have known this show since I was a child and always wanted to ride here. I have made my father (a veterinarian, rider and breeder) very proud as he always wanted to ride at London too” explained Victor Bettendorf on December 19 on the Facebook page of the “London International Horse Show” following his success on Encore Toi du Linon.
The crowning achievement mentioned in the introduction was yet to follow: he received the “Leading Rider” prize with his series of successes in eastern London. It had already been a dream for him just to be part of the event, he stated to the official tournament website, londonhorseshow.com. “I wanted to prove to the organisers that I am really happy to be here and am trying to do my best. This week was just perfect.”. He also praised the special British atmosphere and the knowledgeable audience.
Skarsoe collects World Cup points
Victor Bettendorf wasn’t the only equestrian from the Grand Duchy competing in the British capital. In dressage, Fie Christine Skarsoe witnessed the “dream trio” of Fry, Dujardin, and Moody achieve a British sweep of the Grand Prix podium. In the subsequent Freestyle, Skarsoe, one day after her 49th birthday, secured an eleventh-place finish on Imperador dos Cedros with a score of 72.800 percent. She earned 7 points in the Western European League of the World Cup after London, currently placing her second in this ranking.
Luxembourg’s Dressage Elite in Mechelen
A week after London, Fie Christine Skarsoe travelled across the North Sea to Mechelen, Belgium, where she and her FLSE teammate Nicolas Wagner Ehlinger competed in the Grand Prix of another World Cup event. Among fifteen competitors, the European Championship finalist and his Hanoverian gelding Quater Back Junior placed seventh with 68.457 percent. Skarsoe narrowly missed a placing (68.348 percent) but still finished in the top ten.
On Tuesday, both competed in the freestyle. With 74.865 percent, Skarsoe and her familiar Lusitano finished tenth. Wagner Ehlinger and Quater Back fared even better: 76.150 percent earned them a sixth place. Larissa Paulius and Flombeau from Belgium won this class. Earlier in December, Amélie Decruyenaere Haupert had already distinguished herself with a seventh, eighth, and tenth place finish at a CDIJ tournament in Aachen.
AI supported translation from German, corrected by Paul Krier