Robert Murphy seizes victory in the Amadeus 4* Grand Prix of Salzburg at the Amadeus Masters
Tuesday 09 December 2025
Robert Murphy landed his first four-star Grand Prix victory in the Amadeus Grand Prix of Salzburg in Austria with van Geel Horses’ Hulde G.
“I was here with this mare last year and there’s a special atmosphere here. She’s been jumping fantastically these past few days and has been in top form, and this was a great way to end the year,” said Robert.
Forty riders came forward over course-designer Franzs Madl’s (AUT) 13-fence, 16-effort 1.60m track but only four mastered the course to advance to the jump-off.
“It was tricky and big enough, but when I walked the course, I knew the distances suited her,” said Robert, who nonetheless found an added dimension caused problems – “The ring is unique and a round shape which makes it quite difficult to ride.”
Three of the four jumped clear again, but Robert. quietly cool but nevertheless devastatingly effective on the Vigo D’Arsouilles x Warrant 13-year-old, claimed the top spot on the podium with an impressive 3.60 seconds to spare.
“I won it on the second half of the course as I wanted to get the double out of the way before I moved on, that would be the trickiest fence for me,” added Robert, who finds this mare to be a big character.
“I have to work on her and keep her as happy as possible; she’s a bit like a teenage girl and moody at times. She can be quite clingy with people and gets attached but my team know her and how to keep her happy.”
Sameh El Dahan posted a victory double with Joanne Sloan-Allen’s home-bred WKD prefixed horses. Sameh bested a field of 45 in the Amadeus 4* Masters 1.50m speed on WKD Toronto, holding a long-time lead form the first half of the competition on the Tornesch x Carnaval Drum 12-year-old with 0.55 seconds in hand.
The eight-year-old WKD Comme Je Peut (Comme Il Faut x Ramiro) marked Sameh’s other win in the hotly contended Seven and Eight-year-old 1.35/1.40m speed, the pair racing ahead of their 28 rivals to win by 0.09 seconds.
Sandy McLean scores a victory double in Abu Dhabi
Sandy McLean made the trip to the United Arab Emirates to score a victory double at the Butheeb Equestrian Academy in Abu Dhabi.
Sandy hit winning form on day one on new ride BE Golden, guiding the Golden Hawk x Namelus R 10-year-old to victory in the 33-strong 2* 1.45m speed by 1.73 seconds at their second show together.
Sandy’s seasoned campaigner Gino F stepped in to head a second 2* 1.45m for Sandy. Thirty-five riders contended this Grand Prix qualifier over a two-phase course, Sandy and the Ultimo II x Grannus 14-year-old confidently taking the win by 0.21 seconds.
Katie Speller was also a winner, topping the 36-entry 2* 1.35m speed with Team Z7’s seven-year-old Z7 Pink Panther (Cuick Star Kervec x Obos Quality 004) with 2.80 seconds in hand.
Laura Renwick posts a victory double on a successful Spanish run on the Autumn Mediterranean Equestrian Tour
Laura Renwick continued with her winning form on the Autumn MET III in Oliva Nova, Spain, with a winning double.
Abbie Summers’ If Evers Girl claimed a Gold 1.45m win for Laura. Eighty competitors contended this two-phase track but the If Ever 111 x Arko III nine-year-old maintained a relentless pace under Laura’s expert guidance to score a 0.72 second win.
Laura was also a winner in the Small Grand Prix as the home-bred 11-year-old Cottee (Asterix E Z x Couleur Rubin) stepped up to mark another win after registering a second place 24 hours earlier. A 12-fence, 15-effort 1.40m course reduced the 65 starters to 10 for a hot, competitive jump-off, but Laura again emerged as the best with only 0.04 seconds to spare.
Laura also netted third in the world ranking Gold 1.45m Final with Marseille as 10 from a start list of 80 qualified for the jump-off, the Toulon x Otangelo eight-year-old finished 0.80 seconds off the pace.
Anna Power’s amazing winning streak from last week continued with another win in the Gold 1.45m as Bina Ford’s Oxford V/D Witte Driesendijk headed the 95-strong Gold 1.45m speed. Anna and the 11-year-old Emerald x Echo Van Het Neerenbosch stallion claimed a 0.24 second advantage over second-placed Laura and If Evers Girl.
The Netherlands’ Sanne Thijssen denied two speedy Brits a world ranking win in the 79-entry Gold 1.45m speed, Rachel Proudley settling for second on the nine-year-old Guess Du Mont two seconds in arrears, followed closely by Guy Williams on BH Gringos Legacy.
Continuing with their previous week’s form, Charlotte Walker and Masterpiece F topped the Bronze Tour Final. Twelve of the original 47 participants mastered the 12-fence 1.40m track with Charlotte and the Harley x Burggraaf eight-year-old forging ahead to record a 0.97 second victory.
Nathan Bull conjured up a victory double with long term campaigner Milton Van Vrijhern, the Cupido 13-year-old winning two Gold 1.30m classes by 1.47 seconds and 0.44 seconds respectively. Ria Ward outpaced 53 rivals to head a Bronze 1.35m speed on the Cobra 15-year-old Loughlan Bridge with more than four seconds to spare and Chloe Aston topped an early 63-horse Six-year-old 1.25m two-phase on Celine AS Z (Cisco Von Rotcheck x Quintender) with a 0.19 second advantage over Maisy Williams in second on Ozzy ZK.
Robert Whitaker takes a podium place in A Coruna
Robert Whitaker narrowly missed out on a five-star win with Caroline and Stephen Blatchford’s Vermento at A Coruna in Spain and had to settle for second place.
Forty-four riders faced a 13-fence, 16-effort 1.55m track designed by Santiago Varela, but only 10 found the key to tackle the jump-off. Six riders posted double clears, Robert and the 12-year-old Argento x Skippy stallion again producing a flawless round to finish 0.38 seconds behind the winner, Belgium’s Pieter Devos on Jarina J.
Matt Sampson slipped Latte Macchiato into third in the 49-strong 5* 1.50m speed, the Pacino 12-year-old finishing 2.77 seconds behind the winner, Sweden’s Henrik von Eckermann on Glamour Girl.
Amelia Gachoud conjured up a winning double with the 14-year-old Hello Franklin (Billy Mexico x Goodtimes) – a former ride of Scott Brash and bred in Britain by Amanda and Emma McGlynn – in the 1* 1.30m classes. The pair got their campaign off to a great start by winning the initial Veola Trophy speed, beating the 23 rivals by a handsome 2.63 seconds. Twenty-four hours later, the winning partnership were again in the top spot in the Porsche Trophy speed and handiness over a Table C speed track, taking victory by 0.08 seconds.
Image: AHI/Oneklickfoto
