Prague Lions started off very well in Cannes on Thursday in the first of the seven rounds of the Global Champions League. Gerco Schröder, in the saddle of the 16-year-old gelding Glock's Cognac Champblanc, lost only 4 points for dropping and was in fifth place overall. On Saturday, Schröder, who hails from the Netherlands, was replaced by another member of the Lions – the Belgian Wilm Vermeir riding the 11-year-old gelding Iq van het Steentje. Unfortunately, he made two errors – first in the initial double oxer and immediately in the next vertical only four strides away. He added 1 more point to the initial 8 for exceeding the time limit. The score remained at 13 penalty points thanks to the next Belgian member of the Prague Lions team – Niels Bruynseels with the 13-year-old mare Gancia de Muze – who confirmed his excellent condition and just like on Thursday, came off without any additional points. Thanks to their quick times, the Prague Lions beat out the St Tropez Pirates, who were ahead in points but were half a second slower.
The Miami Celtics and the Shanghai Swans had 8 points each, and two teams were not penalised at all in the Saturday climax of the GCL in Cannes. Eric and Maikel van der Vleuten of the Netherlands (a father and son duo) appeared for Madrid in Motion, which was the victorious team of the first Super Cup GCL held in Prague’s O2 Arena. Both 55-year-old Eric and 11-year-old Maikel did not hesitate even once in guiding their horses through the field and only waited for the responses of their adversaries from the New York Empire. At first it seemed that they would not give in easily, but in the end Irishman Denis Lynch on 16-year-old mare van de Vivaldi had to repeat their approach to one of the obstacles, and later made another error followed by a stoppage of classification as second in a row. This resulted in the disqualification of the whole team. Madrid in Motion thus won the event and were joined on the podium by the Miami Celtics and the Shanghai Swans. With 145 points, they still lead the overall rankings. Behind them were the Miami Celtics with 137 points and the St Tropez Pirates with 136. The Prague Lions, thanks to the 19 points awarded for fourth place at Cannes, now ranks eleventh out of sixteen and is gradually catching up on the main pack with almost 100 points.
Anna Kellnerová also unexpectedly visited the event to support the Prague team. She is currently recovering from an injury suffered during the GCL in Madrid. 'I really enjoyed my visit to Cannes although it was very short. I came to visit Saturday's event to support the boys and the team manager Jessica Kürten. Nobody expected my visit, so it was a pleasant surprise for all,' said Anna. 'I am pleased at the success of the Prague Lions: it is their second-best result of the season. Even as a spectator, I enjoyed the event even if I was actually more nervous because I could not influence the events. But I have also not started for the team in some other GCL events, so the feeling was similar. In any case, I am very glad that I could support the team,' she continued.
All her fans are naturally interested in how her convalescence is coming along, and she could not avoid the questions even from all the riders she met in Cannes. 'My recovery is going very well; I attend physiotherapy several times per day so that I can return to the saddle as soon as possible. But at the same time I must give it some time and I cannot rush it. I was surprised at the responses of the other riders, because everyone I met stopped and asked me about my condition. It is incredible how this team holds together. I am very glad that we have such an excellent community and that I can compete with such people,' Anna added.
The next round of the Global Champions League will take place in Stockholm from 14 to 16 June. This will be the latest in a total of twenty meets that make up this season, the last of which will again be held in Prague. The global show jumping gala show, GC Prague PlayOffs, will take place in Prague's O2 Arena in Libeň from 21 to 24 November. Ticket information is available at the address www.pragueplayoffs.com. More information about the Global Champions series is available at www.gcglobalchampions.com.
Photo: Stefano Grasso/GCL