Davis Wins Grand Prix of Lausanne

By Staff Report September 14, 2013

California’s Lucy Davis won the Grand Prix of Lausanne today, while countryman Laura Kraut kept hold of her circuit crown on the Swiss leg of the Longines Global Champions Tour.

After a dramatic second-round showdown Kraut managed to keep her lead over Christian Ahlmann (GER)and Luciana Diniz (POR). But it was 20-year-old Davis, of Beverly Hills, that stole the show.

French titans Patrice Delaveau and Kevin Staut placed second and third, respectively.  Davis blew the Swiss crowd away as last to go in the jump-off. Shaving .33 seconds off Delaveau’s time aboard her 9-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding Barron, Davis becomes the youngest rider in history to stand atop the GCT grand prix podium.

Asked if she went in thinking she had a chance at winning, she said, “I thought I had a chance. I wasn’t sure if it was a serious chance because my horse is inexperienced, but when you’re up against riders of this level you have to take a chance to win. My horse was fantastic.”

“Lucy won because of her bravery,” Delaveau said. “She took out a stride to the last fence and that was how she won. I could have tried to take a stride out to the last fence, but I might have finished faster but with four faults and not be on the podium or I might have been first. That’s the way it is.”

The First Round

The first round was certainly difficult enough, but 17 international combinations were able to jump clear and qualify easily for round two. Among them, Olympic Gold medalist Ben Maher (GBR) aboard Tripple X III and 2012 Olympic bronze medal combination Kamal Bahamdan (KSA) and Noblesse des Tess. Top-rankings combinations including Marcus Ehning (GER) and Plot Blue, Diniz and Lennox as well as Edwina Tops-Alexander (AUS) and Cevo Itot du Chateau, all of whom were unable to qualify through to the second round, leaving the victory lap wide open.

Kraut and Cedric jumped a flawless first round only to be eliminated in round two, ultimately finishing 18th. Her significant other, Nick Skelton (GBR), competed not aboard his usual GCT grand prix ride ― his 2012 Olympic gold medal partner Big Star, who is injured ― but instead rode Kraut’s student Jessica Springsteen horse, Vindicat W (who was also part of Great Britain’s 2012 team gold contingent). The duo finished 11th.

Last year’s 2012 Season runner-up Rolf-Goran Bengtsson jumped an outstanding clear aboard the quirky Quintero Ask while France’s Patrice Deleavu as well as Kevin Staut kept French hopes strong with two solid clear rounds aboard Carinjo HDC and Silvana HDC, respectively.

The first round concluded with a fou- fault score from Ehning and Plot Blue and riders waited as dark clouds moved in, threatening rain.

The Second Round

Wider oxers, bigger sets and some seriously tall obstacles promised to wring a lot from the 18 combinations to come back. Belgium’s Jos Verloy was the only rider with four faults to return in the second round. Therefore, the 17-year-old entered the ring first on the second go-round. Riding his mount from the European Championships only weeks ago, Verloy displayed grace under pressure but eight faults on his second tour put him 15th overall.

Switzerland’s very own Pius Schwizer and Niklaus Rutschi were the only two riders from the host nation to qualify through to the second round but neither was able to earn a double clear score. Schwizer jumped an outstanding round aboard the 8-year-old Toulago, but a single rail kept them from the jump off. Pius and Toulago were the fastest of the four faulters however, so they finished in 10th position overall.

One of the round two stars was a rider familiar to Southern California show jumping fans, Brazil’s Eduardo Menezes, who was a major star on the HITS Desert Circuit in Thermal, CA, this winter. Menezes, who made his 2013 GCT debut here in Lausanne, rode two flawless rounds aboard Calavda, and was among nine to return for the jump-off, as did Saudi Arabia’s Bahamdan, Great Britain’s Brash and Mahr, the Frenchmen Staut and Delaveau, Sweden’s Rolf-Goran Bengtsson, Italy’s Juan Carlos Garcia and, of course, Davis.

The Jump off

Maher and Tripple X III were first in for the jump-off and by the time they entered the ring rain had started to fall quite heavily, but that didn’t prevent a clear performance  with a time of 39.11 seconds. Bahamdan and Noblesse des Tess were not so lucky with two rails down.

It was Patrice Delaveau aboard the lovely Carinjo HDC who landed the leading time as third in the ring, with 38.90 seconds. A truly wonderful representation of the dominance of French show jumping. Delaveau, who rides for Haras des Coudrettes, was followed by countryman Staut, who made a noble effort but fell .07 seconds short of overtaking his fellow Gaul.

When Davis and Barron entered as the last to go, the rider’s youth and experience meant that many of the spectators had already accepted the win for Delaveau. Having trained with renowned German team of Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum and Markus Beerbaum for the past few years, she could not be counted out. However, Davis’ June 21 triumph aboard Barron at the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup at CHIO Rotterdam, where they were one of only three to go double-clear, seemed to go unremembered by the Swiss audience. But as she and the 9-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding set their pace and attacked the jumps, heads turned.

Could the young talent from Los Angeles possibly beat not one, but two, French titans of the sport? Their pace and stride were incredible and as they cleared each fence the erider seemed to ask more from her horse. The fact that the entire VIP and grand stands were on their feet halfway through her final round made clear the young Stanford University student was delivering a landmark performance.

Taking a long distance to the last fence, Davis glanced up at the screen to see her time and as the crowd began to jump and scream after they made it over, the blonde beauty took one more glance at the screen just to be sure she had done it; Lucy Davis had taken the win from Delaveau with her time of 38.57 seconds.

As she circled the end of the arena, searching out her family in the crowd, Davis herself could not hide what seemed to be a look of genuine astonishment. She had not only made Longines Global Champions Tour history but had earned her biggest career win yet, in front of her friends and family, and most importantly, in front of her grandfather, the very man who inspired her career in horses aboard a mount she named after him.

“I still can’t believe it,” Davis said. “It’s amazing because my family came over from the States for this show to watch me so it’s great to be able to share that with them.”

Although Barron’s family wasn’t there to see his win, his father was the great Selle Francais stallion Nabab de Reve, one of France’s most successful exports to Belgium. But Barron didn’t let geopolitics get in the way of giving his all for his U.S. rider.

Davis took part in the U.S. show jumping team selection trials for the 2012 Olympics and was awarded the 2012 Lionel Guerrand-Hermès Trophy at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellinngton, FL.

For complete results for the Longines GCT Grand Prix of Lausanne, click here.

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