Grand Prix CWD FEI Jumping Ponies' Trophy: a win for the Irish rider Kian Dore

The spectators were on the edge of their seats right up to the end of the Grand Prix CWD FEI Jumping Ponies’ Trophy in the international arena at Longines Equita Lyon, Concours Hippique International on Saturday. Twenty-eight of the world's best pony riders representing 9 different countries took part in this class with 1.35-metre obstacles, ensuring the audience in Lyon were treated to some intense sports action and plenty of excitement. 

Nine riders managed to avoid all the pitfalls of the course designed by Jean-François Gourdin, including Myla Moulin Teste riding d'Zeus des Chesnaies, who started second in the jump-off. The rider from the Loire regions posted a double clear round in a blistering time of 35.29 seconds, which immediately put pressure on the rest of the competitors. Switzerland's Scherbakov, riding Tankardstown Dreamer, tried her best to knock the French rider off the top position, but her time of 36.61 seconds meant she came up just short, despite riding a clear round. One after the other, all the qualifiers in the jump-off tried and failed to better the time of the 14-year-old Myla Moulin Teste... until Kian Dore entered the arena riding his dynamic 10-year-old grey Sparkling Lackaghmore Joey. With his ultra-tight turns and crazy gallops, the Irish rider took plenty of risks, and it worked! With a time of 31.85 seconds, he beat the French rider by almost 4 seconds.  "I was already really happy about my clear round in the first leg. And I knew there were some quick riders in the jump-off. I needed to be careful on the double obstacle, but on the rest I could be quick. He's a pony that's really easy to handle, so I needed to let him 'roll on' and not interfere too much to make sure he crossed the finish line without making a mistake," said the young rider from Eire, who is currently in his final pony season. 

"It's the best competition I've done so far"

Myla Moulin Teste may have been beaten, but she was still happy with her performance: "I wasn't expecting a result like that at all. Everything went perfectly. For me, it was the best I've performed in a competition so far. I met my pony when he was just 5 years old, barely broken in. We trained him with my mum and my coach. I started in the Pony 3 category when I was 8 years old, so, you can't imagine how incredible it feels to be here today. Before starting the jump-off, I looked d'zeus in the eyes and knew he was ready for the challenge. So, when I jumped the last obstacle without making a mistake, I immediately said to myself that I had an incredible pony". And the young French rider has plenty more to be happy about: with her second place on Saturday in the arena at the Longines Equita Lyon, Concours Hippique International, Myla Moulin Teste has moved up to sixth place in the provisional FEI Ponies' Trophy rankings.