The finale of the Hubside Spring Tour de Grimaud-Gulf of Saint-Tropez, which had brought the world’s best riders together for two weeks on the French Riviera, saw Sadri Fegaier’s Haras des Grillons play host to the first CSI5* outdoor show in Europe (and the only one in the world so far this year). The world hierarchy was respected since the best rider on the planet was the winner of Sunday’s feature grand prix: Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat added an umpteenth victory to his exceptional list of wins today, five weeks after his greatest achievement ‒ the birth of his daughter.
“It’s my first win since I became a dad, so it obviously means a lot to me,” said Guerdat, who rode to victory aboard Venard de Cerisy. “I imagine that my daughter had absolutely no idea what happened (smiles), but it pleases me to think that I won this 5* Grand Prix for her on the day that she is five weeks old.
“We realised that Eduardo Alvarez Aznar, who was the first to go in the jump-off, had ridden a lot faster than we imagined when we watched his round on the screen. I don’t think my jump-off course walk was the greatest as there were strides to take out all over the place: this is why we were caught off guard by the jump-off and Eduardo’s time. I tried to take out strides but I didn’t succeed, so I stepped on the gas going into the double. So my jump-off may not have seemed very smooth.