Starting this weekend at Royal Windsor CSI5*, Equador van’t Roosakker (Dream Nabob x Chin Chin), owned by Al Asayl Management, will be seen under the saddle of Kevin Staut. The 14-year-old BWP gelding was previously with Frederic David, who rides the horses of Al Asayl Management. The new partnership between France’s number one rider Staut, and the Al Asayl team will for now be limited to the one ride, which David will continue to ride the other horses in the string. Equador has gained fame in recent years in Europe and the United Arab Emirates; the son of the famous Usha van’t Roosakker, who is also the dam of Cella, the grandmother of Electra, and others, has won a victory in the Nations Cup in Ail Ain, and earned multiple rankings in five star grands prix.

Ben Maher stood out on the Longines Global Champions Tour of Madrid with a spectacular day on Saturday, May 5, 2018 that finished with victory in the LGCT Grand Prix of Madrid CSI5* aboard new mount Explosion W. The British rider has been on an upswing as of late, with strong results that included 2nd place in last month’s LGCT Grand Prix of Shanghai with the 9-year-old KWPN gelding (Chacco Blue) that is owned by his sponsor, Poden Farms. It was a close victory ahead of a rare, joint 2nd place in the grand prix recorded by Belgium’s Nicola Philippaerts on Harley vd Bisschop (Dulf vd Bisschop) and Spain’s Eduardo Alvarez Aznar on Rokfeller de Pléville (The Arc de Triomphe). the Pieter Devos of Belgium was pushed to 4th place on Espoir (Surcouf de Revel) despite a double clear that broke 40 seconds in the jumpoff. Spain had plenty to cheer about, with Paola Amibilia jumping to the first clear in Round 1 with Gaudi. The Spanish rider would finish 10th in the ten-horse jumpoff. For Maher, it will remain a day to remember; he took both titles in the individual 1.55m class that is also the Global Champions League final preceding the grandprix. Indvidually he was best with Explosion W and also won the team ranking of the same class. “It was really about riding the course how it needed to be ridden and it was great sport,” said Maher about the jumpoff. “Explosion has always been a good horse, but this year he as really come forward.” Complete Results Belgian riders Belgium, which was in great shape on Friday, where the young Belgian sprinters won the Linz Nations Cup with Gilles Dunon's double clear rounds on Fou de toi vs Keihoeve (Toulon) and Yves Vanderhasselt on his big promise, Jeunesse (Eldorado vd Zeshoeke) who will become a mother in the night of a filly of Mylord Carthago!With a clear round in the second set, Frederic Vernaet and Just a Gamble (Toulon), Wilm Vermeir will not even have to start in the second run! Cups of nations that will be successful in Belgium as the junior team won a victory in Fontainebleau ahead of Ireland, Germany and France while Switzerland won the Young Riders in front of Denmark, Germany and Belgium.

It is official – Harrie Smolders has become the number one rider in the world, for the first time in his career. With the results from April tallied and updated on the Longines FEI World Rankings, as expected the Dutch rider closed in on former world number one Kent Farrington, who has been out of the sport due to injury since February. Farrington held the world number one position for just over one year, and is expected to return to competition this month. Smolders now leads on 3,158 points, compared to Farrington’s 2913. During the month of April, Smolders picked up CSI5* victories at LGCT Shanghai, and at the past weekend’s Longines Masters of New York. Peder Fredricson of Sweden retains his World number 3 position, as does world number 4 Kevin Staut of France. Henrik von Eckermann of Sweden is now world number 5, and Mclain Ward of the USA moved up to world number 6. The new FEI World Cup Jumping Final Champion, Beezie Madden of the USA, jumped up from #21 to world number 11 due to her strong results in April.

Bertram Allen’s longtime mount Dino W (Berlin) will next be seen under the saddle of Abdelkebir Ouaddar of Morocco. Ouaddar announced on Tuesday, May 2, 2018, that the 10-year-old KWPN stallion had been purchased for him by his sponsor, his Majesty King Mohammed XI of Morocco. Dino W has already arrived in the stables of Ouaddar, and the new pair will make their competition debut at Fontainebleau in two weeks. Ridden by Ireland’s Allen since 2013, Dino W was owned by the Allen family’s Ballywalter Farms. Dino W has competed all around the world, from Geneva to Aachen. His first CSI5* victory was with Allen in 2016 at Stuttgart. Dino W was also ridden by Alex Duffy and Jack Dodd of Ireland before Allen took up the reins full time.

Switzerland stormed to victory in Slovakia on Sunday, April 29, 2018 in the opening leg of the European League One FEI Nations Cup Series.

Philipp Weishaupt picked up a big Friday paycheck at X-Bionic Sphere in Šamorín, Slovakia when he won the €150,000.00 Longines Grand Prix CSIO5*. New this year, the FEI has switched up the schedule of events during its Nations Cup Series—the grand prix is now on Friday afternoons to make way for the Nations Cup held on Sunday afternoons. At this, the opening leg of the Europe Division 1, held for the first time at X-Bionic Sphere, the crowd was light but enthusiastic for the Longines Grand Prix. The two-round class with no jumpoff required a double clear to be at the top of the placings, and the German rider was fastest in Round 2 with Asathir, an 11-year-old SEFR (Diamant De Semilly x Papillon Rouge). Luis Francisco de Azevedo, who was chasing qualification for WEG consideration for Team Brazil, placed a close 2nd with his top mount Comic. Azevedo also placed 2nd in the CSI5* Rolex Grand Prix at WEF in Florida with the 11-year-old KWPN stallion (Verdi TN x Heartbreaker). Egypt’s Abdel Said placed 3rd with Callisto, the same horse formerly ridden by Cian O’Connor. Said acquired the ride on the 11-year-old KWPN gelding (Quasimodo Z x Jokinal de Bornival) last fall. Said also picked up 1st place in the day’s previous class, the 1.45m Prize Heineken, riding Beauminka (Jodoxus x Akteur). The draw has been set for the eight nations taking part in Sunday’s Nations Cup (with Switzerland first to go), and meanwhile, the riders will have Saturday to rest their top horses and themselves at the state of the art X-Bionic Sphere facility.

Less than a year after their magnificent win ing the €1 million CHIO Aachen Grand Prix, Grégory Wathelet and the super mare Coree (ex Hus, Cornet Obolensky x Liberty Life) won the Longines Global Champions Tour €610,000 Shanghai Grand Prix in Shanghai China on Sautrday, April 21, 2018. The Belgian rider was best over a big jumpoff of 12 pairs, and seven double clears among those. Great Britain’s Ben Maher placed 2nd with new mount Explosion W (Chacco Blue) and Daniel Deusser was 3rd on Tobago Z (Tangelo vd Zuuthoeve). "I knew that in order to win, I would have to take all the risks, but she jumped fantastically, I put one more stride for the double, but everywhere else I took it off the others!” said Wathelet. “I had a very good turn on the three, I knew I had a good time but I did not expect to be almost a second faster to win."

Nayel Nassar of Egypt earned a big paycheck when he won the AIG $1 Million Grand Prix at HITS Coachella in Thermal, California, USA on Sunday, March 18th, 2017. Nassar rode his veteran partner Lordan (Lordanos x Landor) during the finale class of the 2018 HITS Coachella Winter Circuit. This is the second time Nassar and Lordan have won a $1 Million Grand Prix - in 2013, they won the Zoetis $1 Million Grand Prix at HITS Saugerties, NY. The prize money for first place in this nationally-rated class is $350,000. On the East Coast at Live Oak International in Ocala, Florida, Kristen Vanderveen of the USA (pictured above) confirmed her place at next month's Longines FEI World Cup Jumping Final when she won the final leg of the Longines FEI North American Eastern Sub-League. Vanderveen and the stallion Bull Run's Faustino de Tilli, a 13-year-old BWP (Berlin x Udarco) won the $100,000 Longines FEI World Cup Jumping Qualifier Grand Prix over Brianne Goutal-Marteau and Switzerland's Beat Mandli. Finally, on Saturday evening at the Winter Equestrian Festival, rookie rider Spencer Smith won his first major grand prix when he finished as the only clear round in the $132,000 Horseware Ireland Grand Prix CSI3*. Smith rode Theodore Manicias, a former ride of Germany's Has-Dieter Dreher.

Nayel Nassar of Egypt earned a big paycheck when he won the AIG $1 Million Grand Prix at HITS Coachella in Thermal, California, USA on Sunday, March 18th, 2017. Nassar rode his veteran partner Lordan (Lordanos x Landor) during the finale class of the 2018 HITS Coachella Winter Circuit. This is the second time Nassar and Lordan have won a $1 Million Grand Prix - in 2013, they won the Zoetis $1 Million Grand Prix at HITS Saugerties, NY. The prize money for first place in this nationally-rated class is $350,000. On the East Coast at Live Oak International in Ocala, Florida, Kristen Vanderveen of the USA (pictured above) confirmed her place at next month's Longines FEI World Cup Jumping Final when she won the final leg of the Longines FEI North American Eastern Sub-League. Vanderveen and the stallion Bull Run's Faustino de Tilli, a 13-year-old BWP (Berlin x Udarco) won the $100,000 Longines FEI World Cup Jumping Qualifier Grand Prix over Brianne Goutal-Marteau and Switzerland's Beat Mandli. Finally, on Saturday evening at the Winter Equestrian Festival, rookie rider Spencer Smith won his first major grand prix when he finished as the only clear round in the $132,000 Horseware Ireland Grand Prix CSI3*. Smith rode Theodore Manicias, a former ride of Germany's Has-Dieter Dreher.

Eric Lamaze of Canada took the KWPN gelding Chesney to the biggest victory of his career on Thursday, March 15 when he won the $132,000 Horseware Ireland Grand Prix CSI3* at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida, USA. He had to beat a start list of 85 entries over a course designed by Michel Vaillancourt. Chesney, an 11-year-old by Indoctro x Kannan, stepped up in a big way in the jumpoff. Lamaze was lacking his top horses at WEF, with Fine Lady 5 in Europe after competing in last week’s Rolex Grand Prix at Den Bosch, and other horses in his string already traveling to Mexico City, Mexico for the start of the Longines Global Champions Tour season. “I really believe in him, I think he’s a first class horse,” said Lamaze. “I really have respect for how careful he is. You don’t know – a few of these jump-offs and their wings start sailing and before you know it – Fine Lady was the same thing.” The win was Lamaze’s 23 career victory in a WEF Challenge Cup, an annual series that serves as the grand prix qualifier during each week of the Winter Equestrian Festival. Photo ©Sportfot

Longtime associates Jérome Guery and Dominique Hendrickx, both of Belgium, have announced a partnership together. Jérome will take over the ride on Bacardi les Hauts (Rexar du Houssolt), an 11-year-old SBS that was previously campaigned by Hendricxx, and two promising 9-year-olds that Guery acquired this winter during the Sunshine Tour, with owners Alexander Oancea and Luc Tilleman, will now gain mileage and experience with Hencricx. "I am fortunate to have a talented rider like Alain Colette to train the horses at the stables, but unfortunately, at the moment when we are on the road in competition at the high level, it is very difficult to give enough experience to our young horses,” Guery explains. “The five stars often only allow us to bring two horses. The opportunity that Dominique Hendrickx offers me is great because he will be able to train my horses in three and four star level competitions, and I can campaign Bacardi les Hauts which is a horse which, I think, suits me well. " Hendrickx agrees: “It's a difficult decision obviously but I try to be realistic and I must admit, that for me it's not easy to always have access to the level of competition that the horse deserves. In addition, the new rules of the FEI, with access to competitions according to the ranking, and the fact that the countries qualified for the super league [FEI Nations Cup series] have less access to second league contests make it difficult for me to get into the higher level shows. I think Bacardi deserves to get his chance for the highest level. He is ready. I love competition, of course, but it's not ideal for a horse with top ability to do two and three stars, and then getting a chance from time to time in a five star. In recent months, it has happened a few times that I propose to Jerome to campaign one of his horses in the three stars in Morocco or Oliva, and then one by one, the idea has made its way and today, We will truly develop a partnership in order to make each horse evolve, even if, as always, sales remain the ultimate goal. "

Daniel Coyle of Ireland rode in less-than-ideal conditions during a rainstorm at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida to win the $384,000 Douglas Elliman CSI5* Grand Prix. It was the 23-year-old's first, career five-star victory and he did it aboard Lothlorian Farm's Cita as the only double clear. In the CSI2* that also ran during WEF's Week 9, Jose Mesquita Musa won the $50,000 Rose Hill Farm Grand Prix for Brazil; Brazilian riders recorded strong top placings all week at WEF. Other top victories in Wellington included McLain Ward topping the $132,000 Equinimity WEF Challenge Cup CSI5* with Hija van Strokapelleken on Thursday, and Canada's Tiffany Foster winning the $70,000 Hollow Creek 1.50m Classic CSI5* with Brighton. Canada also topped the list at HITS Ocala a few hours north in Florida — Francois Lamontage won the $50,000 Purina Animal Nutrition Grand Prix with Chanel de Calvaire. And on the West Coast in California at HITS Coachella, American Mandy Porter won the $70,000 Ulcergard Grand Prix with Milano. This is significant as next week brings the 1.50m, $1 Million AIG Grand Prix at HITS Coachella, which this pair won just one year ago. Showing their top form this week makes them a clear favorite for a repeat victory in one week's time.