SHF Indoor Finals: And the champions are...

In a competition organised by the Société Hippique Française (SHF, French Equestrian Society),some of the best 5 and 6-year-old Selle Français horses went head to head for the SHF Indoor Finals in the main arena at the Longines Equita Lyon, Concours Hippique International.

One of the specific characteristics of this event is its scoring system, based on marks allocated by three judges, including two international riders: Olivier Perreau from France, a GL events partner rider, and Grégory Wathelet from Belgium. "It was my first experience of this event," explained Grégory Wathelet. "The 5-year-olds were naturally a bit more nervous in the arena. But we saw some great things. It was varied and interesting. It is important to observe the young horses and really follow them. Thanks to this kind of exercise, we become a little more objective with regard to our own horses," he added with a smile. 

In the 5-year-old category, the title was won by Histoire de Kerser, a son of Mylord Carthago, ridden by Pierre Dos Santos. Second place went to Hermès de la Trigalle (Padock du Plessis) presented by Yannick Naud. The 6-year-old category was won by the promising Gift des Lunes, the daughter of Cornet Obolensky presented by Grégoire Hercelin. In addition to completing a clear round, the mare (fourth in the French 6-year-old championships in Fontainebleau) obtained extremely good scores of 17.5 and 18. With a total score of 75.5, the couple won this Indoor final, finishing just ahead of the Sofian Misraoui and Gigolo du Barrois, who were second with a fine score of 75.

SHF Final - 5-year-old Indoor Final

1.     Histoire de Kerser and Pierre Dos Santos: 72.5 pts in 34’’58

2.     Hermès de la Trigalle and Yannick Naud: 72.5 pts in 36’’93

3.     Hollywood de Morel and Jérôme Debas Montagner: 72.5 pts in 38’’16

 

SHF Final - 6-year-old Indoor Final

1.     Gift des Lunes and Grégoire Hercelin: 75.5 pts

2.     Gigolo du Barrois and Sofian Misraoui: 75 pts

3.     Griotte de la Haye and Louis Wood: 74 pts