Will Whitaker and Upperclass 2nd in Longines Cup of Barcelona
Friday 10 October 2014
This evening saw riders at the CSIO 5* Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Final contest the Longines Cup of the City of Barcelona competition with its €120,000 prize purse.
As I’m sure you can imagine, the field of almost forty riders were not only strong but also focused on trying to beat the opposition to take home the lion share of the enormous prize fund on offer. It was only eleven of them though that managed to return home and breaking the finish line having left all the obstacles untouched and within the time allowed.
Seventh to come forward in the jump off, Will had the fortune to be able to monitor how some of those before him had tackled this final round against the clock. With most incurring faults it wasn’t until the rider just before him, Kent Farrington with Uceko, laid down the gauntlet with another clear in a time of 46.52seconds that the dynamics of the jump off changed.
Never one to back away from a challenge, Will definitely asked Upperclass to step up a gear but with an eye also on delivering a clear he didn’t push him to the full extent that he could of done and risk having a fence down. His strategy paid off as although he wasn’t quite fast enough to catch Kent when he broken the line almost 2 seconds slower at 48.34seconds it was enough to stave off the rest of the opposition. Marie Hecart and Myself de Breve (FR) and Piergiorgio Bucci and Catwalk Z (ITA) along with Gerco Schroeder and Cognac Champblanc (NED) also managed to achieve a second clear however their finish times which had run all run into the 50 seconds marks just wasn’t enough to knock Will from his 2nd position.
Results
1. Kent Farrington (USA) & Uceko 0/0 46.52seconds
2. William Whitaker (GBR) & Upperclass 0/0 48.34 seconds
3. Marie Hecart (FR) & Myself de Breve 0/0 50.33 seconds
4. Piergiorgio Bucci (ITA) & Catwalk Z 0/0 50.75 seconds
5th Gerco Schroeder (NED) & Cognac Champblanc
6th Doda de Miranda (BRA) * Ad Nouvelle Europe Z
