Victor Bettendorf at the “Saut Hermès”, Charlotte Bettendorf allowed to start again
As could be seen on her Facebook page, Charlotte Bettendorf is back in equestrian sport. After her eighteen-month suspension, she participated in a show jumping tournament in Wilmington, Ohio (USA), among other events. Her brothers, on the other hand, are competing in Europe. At events in Lier, Belgium, where Christian Weier also took part, Basile Bettendorf secured several top-10 rankings in recent weeks.
In a two-phase jumping competition over 1.30 meters for seven- and eight-year-old young horses, the Luxembourger finished in 9th place with Funky Malone. The following day, the same pair finished 8th over the same height. Basile Bettendorf reached the final for seven- and eight-year-olds with both “Funky” and Higgins Red.
There, he then put on a brilliant performance with the eight-year-old gelding “Higgins,” winning the 1.35-meter class. In the jump-off, he clocked a clear round of 35.50 seconds. Belgian rider Helena Beyers followed with Sapphire van Stal Petit Breck, a considerable 2.85 seconds behind in second place. Sweden’s Joel Torstenson finished third on Onana (38.46).
Earlier, Bettendorf and Dialoubet Blue had secured 10th place in a 1.45m jumping competition that counted for the Longines Ranking. To conclude the tournament, the 33-year-old also achieved 8th place in a 1.35m class with Veyron.
Victor Bettendorf didn’t quite manage to make a strong showing at this year’s prestigious “Saut Hermès” in Paris. The world number 55 had particular difficulties with his current top horses, Encore Toi du Linon and Doha de Riverland, especially in the larger jumping classes over 1.55 and 1.60 meters.
However, the Luxembourger, riding the second-mentioned animal, finished in ninth place in the 1.50-meter jumping competition at this CSI 5* tournament, placing him at least among the top ten in one test. He continues his journey in Miami (USA) these days at the Global Champions Tour, and two weeks later he will compete in Mexico City as part of the same tour. No FLSE riders will be participating in the World Cup Finals in dressage and show jumping, which are being held in Texas in between.
Over the past two weeks, Odile Gierech accumulated plenty of competition time in Vejer de la Frontera (Spain). She achieved a 6th and 7th place in a class for seven-year-olds, and in the final of the same age category over 1.40 meters, she also finished sixth on Ninjo Van T’ameldon. This was followed by another 7th place over 1.40 meters in a jumping competition for eight-year-olds, this time on Craquant.
In the final for eight-year-old young horses over 1.45 meters, Gierech and Leeske finished in sixth place, as they did in the CSI 4* jumping competition over 1.40 meters with Jagali D’Hoogpoort. With this eleven-year-old gelding, she finished seventh again in the final round over 1.50 meters.
Translated from German by AI and adjusted by Paul Krier. Also published in De Lëtzebuerger Bauer weekly newspaper.