Nicola and Katanga v/h Dingeshof claimed victory in the Rolex Grand Prix of La Baule on Sunday afternoon. For Philippaerts and Katanga, it was their first win together in a CSIO5* event. Olivier (Le Blue Diamond van 't Ruytershof) completed a flawless round in the initial course but incurred two time faults, finishing in fifteenth place. Last Friday, both brothers were also part of the team that secured second place in the CSIO5* Nations Cup of La Baule.
A remarkable performance is the best way to describe Nicola and Katanga v/h Dingeshof's triumph. Fourteen combinations remained for the decisive jump-off after the first round. Olivier narrowly missed out on qualifying, riding a clear round but being slightly slow, resulting in two timefaults.
Nicola entered the jump-off as the third-to-last competitor, followed by Grégory Whatelet and Jens Fredricson. Philippaerts and Katanga delivered a faultless and speedy round, securing the fastest time. Whatelet finished in tenth place, while Jens Fredricson fell short by 0.32 seconds, settling for second place. Just 0.09 seconds further behind, world champion Henrik Von Eckermann claimed third place.
"Katanga jumped exceptionally," Nicola began his analysis of the Grand Prix. "There's simply no other way to say it. She was already strong during the team competition last Friday. The one rail that fell was a studio mistake, one she couldn't control. We have already had a great journey together and achieved excellent results, such as last year's third place in Aachen. But the victory she deserved so much for all the hard work was still missing. Well, today we can check off our first win in a CSIO5*. A word of thanks to the Adriaensens and Lens families, to my dad who ensured that I get to work with such a fantastic horse day in and day out. And finally, a big thank you to everyone at Team Philippaerts we live Horses. This is a victory for the collective."
Olivier was slightly disappointed after the Grand Prix. "It's simple: I was just two seconds too slow," Olivier said afterwards. "I misjudged the time, and it cost me the jump-off. It's a shame because Le Blue Diamond jumped very well. It had been a while since he competed at this level, but you couldn't tell. He's in good form. That's what makes it so regrettable that I made the mistake myself." During the Nations Cup, Olivier rode H&M Miro. "Miro jumped well in both rounds. It's unfortunate that a rail fell in each round, but winning silver in the team competition is a strong result."
