London Knights secure pole position in GCL Stockholm

London Knights have secured their first pole position of the season after Ben Maher with Ginger Blue and Olivier Philippaerts with H&M Extra delivered a flawless and fast double clear at GCL R1 of Stockholm presented by Agria.

On the first day of competition in the Olympic Stadium in the Swedish capital, London Knights have propelled themselves to the lead with the riders keen for redemption after a slow start to the season.

Team manager and rider Ben Maher said:

It feels great, this is the first time this year we have had a start like this and we as a team need to start picking it up like we did two years ago. Olivier gave us a great start today and I was really happy with Ginger Blue.

We have been better on the second day over the last few shows and at least tomorrow we are in it. I would be disappointed if we can’t at least stay on the podium tomorrow, it has been a great start and hopefully, we can have more of the same.”

Ranking leaders Valkenswaard United are breathing down the necks of London Knights, with home hero Peder Fredricson on H&M All In and Edwina Tops-Alexander with Fellow Castlefield also on 0 faults just over two seconds slower heading into Saturday’s showdown. The final team on a double clear are Paris Panthers in prime position for another podium this season after Gregory Wathelet and Nayel Nassar took the third spot today keeping them at the sharp end of the grid.

Commenting on Uliano Vezzani’s twisty course day Maher said:

I am always biased to Uliano, I have had great success over his courses. There is a small slope on this arena which you probably can’t see on the livestream but it makes a difference. The course was a little more twisty than other venues recently, but it was a great course and very careful jumping.”

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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.