CSI 2* Prix de la Région Auvergne Rhône-Alpes: a Swiss rocket flies to victory

A little daring, plenty of technique and a lot of talent: that's what it took to keep a clean score sheet during the CSI 2* Prix de la Région Auvergne Rhône-Alpes, on Friday morning in Lyon. 

Twenty-one of the seventy-eight participants managed to complete the course, designed by Gregory Bodo, in under 69 seconds and without making a mistake. The course was made up of 12 obstacles, including two doubles that proved particularly decisive, notably obstacle number 4, a double vertical oxer in one stride, whose line of approach initially posed a few problems of 'arithmetic and geometry' for the riders.

To come through this highly-competitive class successfully, you needed to be quick over the course and capable of making particularly tight turns.

Finally, it was the Swiss rider Agathe Vacher and her 8-year-old mare Coltair's Robin who came out on top. Starting among the first group of riders, she posted a time of 55.59 seconds to immediately put the pressure on the other competitors, none of whom managed to catch her. Lalie Saclier, the rider from the Ain region, who has been performing under the Equita Riders banner since the start of the competition, tried to knock the Swiss rider off first place, but to no avail. Finishing with just an additional 81 hundredths of a second, she still managed to take second place, with Ultra Blue de Jaurand (56.40 sec). Nicolas Bost, riding Hilfiger van T Amaldonk Z, took third place on the podium in 56.47 seconds. 

"I'm lucky because my mare is very fast, and that worked in my favour today on this course", said the happy winner, who admitted she was particularly pleased to win in Lyon, a competition where she feels "extremely welcome".

You will find all the results of the CSI 2* Prix de la Région Auvergne Rhône-Alpes here:

rEsults