“I sold my two main grand prix horses earlier in the circuit, so he had to really step up," said Saïd of his winning mount.

The FEI has extended the shutdown of international events in mainland Europe due to the recent EHV-1 outbreak.

Darragh Kenny, the top-ranked Irishman in the world at #9, produced his winning round on a horse he had only been riding for two weeks.

HITS Saugerties has upped its FEI rating to fill the void for grand prix riders left by the cancellation of the Spruce Meadows Summer Series.

Calgary's Darrin Dlin was top Canadian aboard Buddy Bounce in 6th place as week 6 at the Desert International Horse Park concluded.

Peder Fredricson and Marcus Ehning logged flawless rounds to seal the deal, while Eric Lamaze and the Cascais Charms finish 9th overall.

Lamaze was one of seven to qualify for the jump-off at Al Shaqab; Niels Bruynseels (BEL) won while Lorenzo de Luca (ITA) was second.

Other Canadians factor in HITS Ocala action as Harold Chopping, Francois Lamontagne and Sam Walker all grab top-3 placings.

Canada's Ben Asselin is 4th with Luikan Q in the feature class which concluded week V of the Desert Circuit in Thermal, CA.

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic and its related restrictions, organizers plan a series of CSI and CSIO tournaments in September instead.