VICTOR BETTENDORF WINS UNDER THE PYRAMIDS OF GIZA AT LONGINES GLOBAL CHAMPIONS TOUR OF CAIRO
Luxembourg’s Victor Bettendorf and his 12-year-old mare, Encore Toi du Linon, secured a thrilling win in the CSI5* 1.55m jump-off class presented by AMEA Power at the Longines Global Champions Tour of Cairo, set against the backdrop of the Pyramids of Giza.
Out of five combinations that advanced to the high-speed jump-off, Bettendorf delivered a clear round in 38.37 seconds to win the top prize of €42,500. He narrowly edged out Belgium’s Thibeau Spits on King van Essene, who finished just seven hundredths of a second behind in 38.44 seconds. Germany’s Daniel Deusser took third place with a time of 38.78 seconds, followed by Ireland’s Cian O’Connor in fourth.
Expressing his delight at competing in such an iconic location, Bettendorf praised his horse's performance and described winning in front of the Pyramids as a dream.
The closely contested class featured four double-clear performances, with less than six-tenths of a second separating the top four riders. The event sets the stage for the upcoming €1 million Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Cairo, where top riders will compete once again in one of the most anticipated events of the season.
Today, Saturday 24 October, is the final day of competitions featuring a 1.45m competition with a jump-off starting at 12:30 Cairo local time, and the Grand Prix at 15:30. Start list here
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Edited by HT
Photo by Baroness Ludwiga von Korff
Full results here