JULIEN EPAILLARD FINISHES TOP OF THE CLASS

Julien Épaillard earned himself the pleasure of listening to the French national anthem twice in one day. Having already won the opening class of the CSI 5* at the Longines Equita Lyon, Concours Hippique International on Friday morning with Donatello d'Auge, Julien notched up another win in the Longines Grand Prix the very same evening with his dashing Caracole de la Roque. The French rider is currently third in the world show-jumping rankings and further underlined his great form at the moment. This was his sixty-sixth win on the international stage this year.

Here, during a jump-off involving eleven couples, the rider from Normandy set a record time of 33''20 sec. Making very short turns, and maintaining a steady yet quick pace, the rider left his competitors no chance. "I was quite lucky on the initial round, which had a tricky entry to the triple combination, but my horse has so much talent! I don't know how she managed to come through that combination without a penalty. She is incredible. However, I made up for that in the jump-off. There, I got it right. She is a truly outstanding mare and it is a privilege to ride her. I try to do my best every time," he said, shortly after his victory.

Julien Epaillard's very quick time and performance forced the other couples to take risks. In the end, his position was unassailable and he won this class in style. He was almost three seconds ahead of the German rider Jana Wargers, second with Limbridge (36''04), and the French rider Roger-Yves Bost on his excellent Ballerine du Vilpion (36''98). 

This class enabled the best ranked riders to qualify for the Equita Masters presented by Hermès Sellier (scheduled on Saturday evening) as well as for the LONGINES FEI Jumping World Cup™ on Sunday afternoon. 

1.     Julien Épaillard (FRA) and Caracole de la Roque: 0 + 0 in 33’’20

2.     Jana Wargers (GER) and Limbridge: 0 + 0 in 36’’04

3.     Roger-Yves Bost (FRA) and Ballerine du Vilpion: 0 + 0 in 36’’98