Benoit Cernin scores at double at Hubside Jumping

Friday was a day that the Frenchman Benoit Cernin will certainly remember! Together with Vitalhorse Cekanane de Ushara and Uitlanders du Ter he won, successively, the CSI 2* 1.45m Grand Prix and the CSI 5* 1.55m Grand Prix. However in the 5* speed class, it was the Brazilian national anthem that was heard in Grimaud, thanks to great performance of Eduardo Pereira De Menezes, already 2nd in the previous class.

In preparation for Sunday’s big class, the World’s best riders were in the starting blocks of this important class, the CSI 5* 1.55m Grand Prix. Among them, the World n° 3 and 6, the Swiss Martin Fuchs and Steve Guerdat, the Belgians Jos Verlooy and François Mathy Jr, the Irish Mark McAuley, the Colombians Carlos and René Lopez but also the French Nicolas Delmotte, Simon Delestre, Julien Epaillard, Mégane Moissonnier, Laurent Goffinet and Benoit Cernin, the winner of the day!

Riding Uitlanders du Ter, with whom he was crowned French Pro Élite Champion in 2019 at Fontainebleau, Benoit Cernin offered himself victory in the day’s Grand Prix that carried 65,000 euros in prize-money. Seven made it through to the jump-off, Brazil’s Eduardo Pereira De Menezes held the lead for a while, however it was finally the Frenchman for whom the victory jingle sounded, triggering the applause of the public after a brilliant second round!

“Uitlanders arrived in my yard as a 5 year old and we’ve been competing together for 8 years now,”explained the rider from Saône-et-Loire region of France. “He’s a stallion with a huge temperament, which sometimes causes us problems. Here at Hubside we’ve had to change stables several times in the last two weeks because he was breaking everything (laughs). I have to admit that I was a bit lucky in this jump-off, we came rather close to the poles several times… We had a good round, the last line was really technical, as was the treble as n°5 – oxer as n°6, it’s a good preparation for the Grand Prix.” The podium was completed by Eduardo Pereira De Menezes riding H5 Chaganus and Belgian Sophie Hinners on Galanda Mara TH.

Second a few minutes earlier, the Brazilian Eduardo Pereira De Menezes enjoyed the satisfaction of a win and indeed, even did a double in the 1.50m 5* speed class! Riding two other of his horses, H.Big Action and Calypso des Matis, he took the 1st and 3rd places. “I can only be pleased”, exclaimed the rider at the end of the prize-giving ceremony. “I often come to the Hubside, I was at Valence and truly appreciate the work of the course designer (Cédric Longis). Over his tracks faults can happen anywhere but without putting the horses into difficulty”. Belgium slipped into second place thanks to Wilm Vermeir and Hotshot.

A little earlier, France’s Benoit Cernin riding Vitalhorse Cekanane de Ushara, a mare who’s only 9 years old, had emerged victorious in the CSI 2* big class, the 1.45m Grand Prix. Out of 52 starters, 13 went through to the jump-off. Third to start in this 2nd stage of the class, the young Eden Leprevost Blin-lebreton who set the tone and temporarily held the lead… until the last competitor, Benoit Cernin, snatched victory from her by 2”6s. “Cekanane has a completely over the top willingness in the ring”, said the Frenchman. “She always wants to win and go fast, but she can be complicated to channel and then have a fence down. Indeed, just last week we had the last fence down when we had the best time. Today is a little bit of a revenge! Even if Eden (Leprévost Blin-lebreton) wasn’t easy to dislodge from the top slot, I knew that by tightening the turns a little combined with the speed of my mare, it was feasible”. A podium 100% French as Eden Leprévost Blin-lebreton finished in 2nd place with Une Étoile Landaise and Nicolas Delmotte was 3rd on Denerys du Montceau.

Second round and two victories for Nicolas Bost. After victory in the CSI 2* 1.30m speed class yesterday, he took the 1.35m one today. Again partnering Castleforbes Besty, his grey mare by Quick Star, the Frenchman performed the fastest round of the 54 couples on the start-list. “She’s back to her former level,” smiled the winner. “She jumps well and enjoys being in the ring, which is the main thing.” Behind him, the two French riders, Fanny Skalli with Amitié des Douces and Mélanie Cloarec riding Chidame Z were respectively 2nd and 3rd.

In the CSI 1*, the 1.30m – 1.15m and 1.00m speed classes were respectively won by France’s Noa Verel and Urbane de la Ribaudière, Alice Weil and Bakara Barbotière then Jean Pierre Frei riding Merlot de Muze.

On Saturday, from 8.30 am, the horses will be back in the Grimaud arena with, as a highlight, the CSI 5* 1.50m Grand Prix.

The health pass will be requested at the entrance.

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Suzanne Ashton

Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.