Greve lands horse swap showdown

The old World Championship “final four” format is recreated in a fascinating contest and a Brit comes close to landing a major grand prix

- By PIPPA ROOME

THE Dutch national champion Willem Greve topped the horse swap class, beating representatives of the reigning medallists in all three senior championships.

The HeadFirst Group Prize - Best of Champions recreated the format used in the final of the World Championships until 2014, whereby four riders each jump a round on each other's horses. With the competitors warming up each mount in the ring and commentary by 2014 world champion Jeroen Dubbeldam plus Harrie Smolders, it made for a fascinating evening.

The top three all sat on four faults after the initial rounds and had to jump off their own horses to settle the placings.

The winner's ride was Isabel de Rijcker’s Hadewyn Van't Ravennest, while secondplaced Philipp Weishaupt, the European individual silver medallist, piloted Madeleine Winter-Schulze’s relatively inexperienced Cupido 130, whom he'd never previously competed internationally.

Third-placed Henrik von Eckermann, the current world champion - who was riding in a hand brace after suffering an injury in a fall - put Dufour Stables AG’s keen grey mare Calizi into the competition.

Fourth-placed Maikel van der Vleuten, the Olympic individual bronze medallist from Paris, brought forward Gabriela Roger Ibars’ beautiful Lalique.

“They were all different, but we've seen four great horses tonight with four great horsemen,” said Willem. “I think it was unbelievable publicity for our unbelievable sport. We saw horsemanship, friendship, colleagues. People were listening.