Fuchs Bounces Back in Bordeaux
Martin Fuchs (SUI) and Conner Jei © FEI/Łukasz Kowalski
Martin Fuchs (SUI) produced two flawless rounds of jumping to take victory in the penultimate leg of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Western European League staged in Bordeaux (FRA) with the wonderful Conner Jei (Connor x Cosimo). After a slow start to this season’s campaign, the 2022 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final Champion hit form with fourth and fifth placings in Basel (SUI) and Leipzig (GER), but desperately needed a strong performance here to secure enough points to guarantee his place in this season’s Final.
Pieter Devos (BEL), knowing his place in Basel was secure, produced another stellar performance with the homebred mare Casual DV Z (Cornet Obolensky x Cicero Z van Paemel) to take second place ahead of Willem Greve with the flamboyant 14-year-old stallion Grandorado TN (Eldorado vid Zeshoek x Carolus II) in third.
Jean Francois Morand set what riders perceived to be a fair track with tall, delicate fences and technical lines, including two consecutive one-stride doubles on a curving related distance and a final line of the combination to a Liverpool oxer on five strides. The line of doubles was responsible for 16 fences hitting the floor, whilst the combination claimed eight victims at part ‘b’ and a further four at part ‘c’. The final fence also shattered the dreams of multiple riders.
Morand’s time allowed proved lenient from the outset, allowing riders the luxury of additional time to ensure accuracy and precision. Initially it seemed that he had not set enough of a challenge for the high-class field, as five of the first ten athletes answered all of the questions in his first-round track. Second drawn Willem Greve (NED) produced the first of these and was joined soon after by the host nation’s Gregory Cottard aboard Cocaine du Val. Fuchs followed suit before eighth drawn Julien Anquetin (FRA) delivered clear round number four and became the third French athlete to earn their place in the jump- off. When Sophie Hinners and her victorious Verona partner Iron Dames My Prins (Zilverstar T x Winningmood) negotiated the track without fault two horses later to complete a 50% clear round rate.
The technicalities of the track, however, started to take their toll, perhaps due to athletes being lured into a false sense of security by the calibre of combinations that had conquered it before them. Having shown impressive consistency in the series so far, athletes Kim Emmen (NED), Pieter Devos, and Max Kühner (AUT) consolidated their form when producing clear rounds number six, seven, and eight and were soon joined by three-time Longines FEI Jumping World Cup ™ Champion Marcus Ehning as he produced the ninth clear from 19 starters.
However, it proved to be a round of two halves. Marie Demonte (FRA) rode a foot perfect round with the 11-year-old Epona du Quesnoy to bolster French hopes and ensure they had four athletes to cheer for in round two. A hiatus of 14 combinations ensued before the final jump-off places were confirmed by the penultimate and last athletes to contest round one. To the elation of the capacity crowd, their esteemed athletes Phillip Rozier and Julien Epaillard completed the first round without fault ensuring a jump-off of 12, five of which represented the host nation.
Willem Greve opened round two. Another athlete on the cusp of qualification for Basel, he was vying for big points to help him secure qualification for what would be, somewhat remarkably, his first Longines FEI Jumping World Cup ™ Final. Knowing his horse wasn’t as naturally quick as his Leipzig winner Highway TN, Greve used the incredible scope and stride of Grandorado TN to produce a brilliant clear in 39.74 seconds in what proved to be a tactically perfect round. As the remaining athletes chased his target, only two could leave all the fences standing and Greve was rewarded with another podium position and qualification for the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup ™ Final in Basel.
Cottard was amongst the athletes to fault in a bid to better Greve’s time, but third-drawn Fuchs was hungry for a big result here after ‘struggling a lot’ in earlier legs of the 2024/2025 series. Fuchs has been a familiar sight on the podium in previous seasons’ qualifiers, but hadn’t managed to replicate this thus far this season. Conner Jei appeared to realise the significance of the occasion as he matched his pilot’s determination to clear the fences whilst maintaining a strong pace and unmatched fluency around the twists and turns of the shortened track. As they broke the beam in 39.21 seconds, the sense of relief was visible on Fuch’s face as he knew he had taken risk enough to put pressure on his rivals, but had most importantly delivered a faultless round.
“Conner Jei felt fantastic today; he was smooth and fast in the jump-off and feels great. I’m so grateful to have a horse like him!” said Fuchs.
Anquetin, Hinners, and Emmen all faulted in their attempts to claim the top spot before Devos delivered another sensational performance with his homebred Casual DV Z. They took a daring inside line which required taking on the vertical midway round the track at an incredibly acute angle with little time to present the horse at the fence. This line saved them two to three strides on their rivals and saw them stop the clock at 39.54 to slot into second place with five athletes remaining. None of them, however, could post a second faultless round.
Precariously poised as last to go, Epaillard looked set to take a second victory in this class as he cruised around the course effortlessly taking out strides, whilst navigating the shortest route in his customary style. It was to be heartbreak for the partisan crowd as the final fence toppled in a time of 36.91 and victory was not to be his. One man’s loss, however, is another man’s gain, and an ultimate sense of relief and elation could be felt in the Fuchs camp as normal service had resumed.
“It’s a big relief!” Fuchs beamed. “I knew I put pressure on, but with Julien (Epaillard) last to go you always know you’re not fast enough! “He laughed. “I hoped he’d be slower, but that never happens with Julien!”
After the initial relief at having finally secured his place in what will be his first Longines FEI Jumping World Cup ™ on home soil, Fuchs was then hit with the overriding joy of victory at this historic World Cup venue where he was competing for the first time.
“The World Cup Final is always a big goal and I’ve been struggling a lot this season, missing precision and I’ve made a few errors. I felt a bit of pressure today because I needed a good result to qualify for the Final, now that’s done it’s a big relief and I’m so happy to win here. Conner Jei felt fantastic today; he was smooth and fast in the jump-off and feels great. I’m so grateful to have a horse like him!” Fuchs concluded graciously.
Pieter Devos was understandably thrilled with the performance of Casual DV Z. “She was the youngest horse in the jump-off (at ten years old). She has done three World Cups this season and had three double clears,” he told before congratulating Fuchs for his victory and Morand for producing a jump-off of 12 which he believes is “very good for the public.”
Greve was again delighted with the performance of his horse. “I couldn’t take all the risks in the jump-off because I really need points for the final but I was lucky that there were some four fault rounds. The course was very good with challenging combinations, and I am full of praise for the course designer and the job he did today!”
After 13 of 14 qualifying legs of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup ™ Western European League, Kevin Staut remains at the top of the standings with 70 points. Hans-Dieter Dreher (GER) holds onto second place whilst Devos jumps up to third and assures his place in Basel. Robert Whitaker (GBR), Julien Epaillard, and Max Kühner complete the top six in the standings and all head to Basel in April.
The Longines FEI Jumping World Cup ™ Western European League prepares to make its last move of the series as Gothenburg (SWE) hosts the final qualifier of the season in two weeks’ time on 23 February 2025. With the battle on for athletes vying for the final qualifying positions for the Final in Basel in April, all eyes will be on the Swedish city for the culmination of a sensational qualifying series.
by Alice Watson
