Good results in various disciplines
Wagner Ehlinger sixth in Grand Prix Special
Two Luxembourgers competed at the highly competitive “Printemps des Sports Équestres” in Fontainebleau, southeast of Paris. Alongside young rider Charlie von Roesgen, Nicolas Wagner Ehlinger, currently ranked 52nd in the world, participated in the tournament. Within the high-caliber CDIO5* Nations Cup competition, he particularly impressed in the second test, the Grand Prix Special, finishing 6th out of 14 on his familiar horse, Quater Back Junior. His score of 69.957% was just out of a placing spot, but ultimately he was the best of the unplaced dressage riders, behind world-class athletes such as winner Isabelle Werth (Wendy de Fontaine, 79.893%) and runner-up Carl Hester (Fame, 77.319%).
Driving: Luxembourg’s successes in Wettringen
With a top score of 117.940 points, driver Marie Schiltz and her now eighteen-year-old Oldenburg gelding Frogo secured first place in a CAI3 competition in Wettringen, western Germany. Claudio Lauterbach (Germany, Verano, 119.740) and Linnea Kristiansen (Sweden, Lady Lexington, 124.190) completed the podium. In the same competition, Nicolas Kandel and Delightful Dream finished in 10th place, and Franz Schiltz and San Remo Royal came in 13th.
GCT/GCL: Victor Bettendorf twice in the top 10
As announced, show jumper Victor Bettendorf flew back across the Atlantic after his stopover in St. Tropez to participate in another tournament in Mexico City as part of the Global Champions Tour or Global Champions League, following his trip to Miami Beach.
The horses he had already saddled in Florida just over two weeks prior – the ten-year-old gelding Gibbs Un Prince and the eleven-year-old gelding Atchoum De La Roque – had been brought from Miami Beach to the metropolis of 20 million to compete there as well. In the CSI 5* 1.60m individual jumping competition, Bettendorf and Atchoum rode through the barrier with the second-fastest time (71.50 seconds), but had one rail down, resulting in an eighth-place finish.
The following day, the pair completed a flawless 1.45m course, but their time was only the seventh fastest (65.73 seconds), which nevertheless earned them a placing. Bettendor’s team, “Madrid in Motion,” finished last in Mexico City, 17th, as his Dutch teammate Maikel van der Vleuten and Beauville got eliminated.
Following good results in February and March in Lier (Belgium), 21-year-old Luxembourger Mae Beffort competed in a CSI1* tournament in Oliva, Spain, where she achieved a top-10 placing. Riding the nine-year-old mare Kimba, she completed a 1.10-meter jumping course without a fault, finishing seventh out of approximately sixty competitors.
Claudia Kraus seems to be feeling at home in Opglabbeek (B): after excellent results there in March, she even celebrated a victory at the same venue a week after Easter, riding the Oldenburg gelding Felicity, with whom she was one of four pairs to reach the jump-off. In the this one, she secured the fastest time by far at 40.25 seconds. Marte Foulon (B, Commonwealth Hero) followed in second place, more than three seconds behind (43.37″), while Rafael Marlante Ramos da Silva (BRA, Genasis) came in third (43.75″).
Riding Unique Chacco, Claudia’s sister Julie Kraus achieved two top-ten finishes in Opglabbeek, placing 4th and 9th in two CSI 1* one-meter jumping competitions. Belgian rider Thomas Hermann, licensed with the FLSE, also competed in Opglabbeek and finished in the top 10 in all three of his events with Pascall, with his best result being 5th place.
Translated from German by AI and adjusted by Paul Krier. Original article also to be published in the “Lëtzebuerger Bauer” weekly newspaper.