Laurent Goffinet at home at the Rouen CSI 4*
Laurent Goffinet is awarded the second qualifier of the CSI 4* of Equi Seine, this evening at the Parc des expositions de Rouen. In the saddle on Atome de Étisses, the Norman, faithful among the faithful to the seinomarin meeting, pulled out all the stops to beat Pénélope Leprevost, second on Texas, winner of the first qualifier, and the Swiss Niklaus Rutschi, third with Quinao de Chandor.
The second day of Equi Seine competition ended shortly before midnight this evening at the Parc des expositions de Rouen. Not only did the track in the main hall host five events, but the organizers and officials also had to deal with a morning electrical problem, which fortunately could be resolved. No matter, there were still enthusiasts and atmosphere when the last couple entered the track in the jump-off of the major CSI 4* event, rated at 1.50m. It must be said that it was Laurent Goffinet, who has not missed an edition of Equi Seine for ages, and Atome de Étisses, winner with him of the last CSI 5* Grand Prix contested this fall in Grimaud.
The rider established near Vire, in the Calvados countryside, and the twelve-year-old stallion, belonging to the Haras de Lacke, co-ownership of Karine Boué, involved with the passion and energy that characterize her in the organization of this very nice end-of-season meeting, delighted their supporters. First, they were among the nine couples – out of seventy-four at the start – able to extricate themselves from the initial selective round imagined by Grégory Bodo. Sévère was the course designer in this qualifier for the Sunday Grand Prix, open only to the fifty best riders of this CSI 4*. Before looking at the jump-off, we will salute the flawless jumps of the Austrian Stefan Eder and the Norman Alexis Gautier, both penalized by one point of time exceeded on Condaro and Dairzel Duverie, as well as those of the Belgian Axel Vandoorne and Britain’s Skye Higgin, who picked up two points with Mistral van de Vogelzang and Djordania du Tillard.
Penelope not far from a double
The Polish Przemyslaw Konopacki, author of the final against the clock, accused a fault on the penultimate obstacle of the reduced course with Home-Run, ranking eighth. Five weeks ago, this couple had already placed fifth in a similar event at the CSI 4* of Saint-Lô. A fault in the middle of the course for the Bulgarian Konstantin van Damme, seventh with César. This is a couple that is progressing month by month. Raging was the fault, on the first obstacle, of Titouan Schumacher, ninth with a Carera des Brimbelles somewhat dissipated when crossing the starting line.
The first double clear round, secured in peace, was the work of Lars Kersten, a twenty-two-year-old Dutchman, associated with Emmerton, fifth. More experienced at this level, Niklaus Rutschi lowered the reference time by more than six seconds in the saddle on the powerful and leaping Quinao de Chandor. This very good performance earned the Swiss a deserved third place. Slower by a second but credited with a clear course, the Briton William Funnell and Equine America Billy Picador came in fourth place. First of the three French people who had the honor of concluding this great event, Pénélope Leprevost gave herself the means to sign a double with Texas, winner Thursday evening of the first qualifier. Preservative an excellent tempo throughout the route, the couple crossed the finish line a quarter of a second faster than the provisional leaders, to the delight of the public, won over to the cause of the original Rouennaise.
Determined to make this event his own, Max Thirouin set off at full speed on his faithful Utopie Villelongue. Faster by six tenths of a second than Penelope, the Francilien could not however avoid a fault on the oxer 13, the last obstacle of the initial lap. Laurent Goffinet therefore had his destiny in his hands, as well as the support of his family and the public. And like at home, he packed this jump-off with class, taking a decisive advantage in the bend preceding the double, crossed without apparent effort by an Atom in great form. On arrival, on a counted seize the tenths of a second in advance. This is to say the quality of the performance of the former rider of Flipper d’Elle.
“All the victories give me enormous pleasure. There, in addition, the owners of Atom participate in the organization of the contest, which further reinforces the joy of winning. Atom is in really good shape right now. our return from the CSIO 5* in Calgary, since then he hasn’t missed a thing. Before leaving there, we had to manage a small problem, which is now behind us. When Atom is at 100% form, no matter the nature of the track and the course to jump, I know we can win”rejoiced the hero of the evening, who will be among the great favorites of the Grand Prix, but “Sunday is another day”he smiled, before the awards ceremony.