Scott Brash seals sensational victory in London GCT
Scott Brash has triumphed in a terrific grand prix at the Longines Global Champions Tour of London.
Riding the 11-year-old Hello Forever, Scott beat his team-mate Ben Maher on new ride MTF Madame X by just six hundredths of a second, with Ireland’s Denis Lynch third on the podium with the big-jumping “but not the fastest” All Star 5.
Scott’s victory — his second in London after he won the 2014 leg at Horse Guards with Hello Sanctos — came on the back of his team success with Miami Glory in the Global Champions League earlier in the afternoon.
“I’m very happy with the day — obviously our thoughts are all with John [Whitaker, who was taken to hospital after a fall in the first round] but it sounds as if it’s good news going forward, so it was even more important then to try to get a British win and it’s great to get a British one-two in the home leg,” said Scott, who had missed the first day of the show to attend his friend’s wedding in Scotland in the role of best man.
“It was great to see the support from the crowd, this is an amazing venue — and congratulations to Scott,” added Ben. “I’m not sure what more I could have done in the jump-off to beat him.”
Dutch rider Harrie Smolders took fourth on Emerald NOP and that was enough to retain his lead at the top of the series ranking, with two more legs — Valkenswaard and Rome — before the final in Doha, Qatar, in November.
“We had a very smooth jump-off but with 11 in the jump-off and nine coming behind me I knew these guys wouldn’t be sleeping!” said Harrie.
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Don’t miss the full report on all the action from the Longines Global Champions Tour of London in next week’s issue of Horse & Hound (out 10 August) with exclusive comment from Nick Skelton.
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Jennifer is passionate at showjumping and her role as H&H’s showjumping editor has taken her around the world reporting from shows and interviewing riders, connections and those involved behind the scenes. Since joining H&H from BBC Sport in 2005, she has written on every subject across the equestrian sphere — from turnout rugs to stable management — and has interviewed gold medallists, world champions and winners galore. She also has first-hand experience of working in the equestrian industry as a riding instructor and yard manager.