Nicola and his horse Katanga van het Dingeshof won the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix in Shanghai on Sunday evening local time, Sunday morning Belgian time. In a jump-off with no fewer than 19 combinations, Nicola and Katanga were the first to go. They stayed clear for a second time and were almost two seconds faster than Marcus Ehning and Coolio 42, who finished second.
After already competing in the Longines Global Champions Tour in Miami earlier this season, Nicola also started in Shanghai, the fourth leg of this prestigious competition. For Katanga van het Dingeshof, it was her first LGCT leg of the season. The mare previously returned to Belgium to get some rest and prepare for this week.
On Friday, Nicola and his 16-year-old mare already jumped clear in the Global Champions League, which resulted in a third place and their first podium of the season. On Sunday, Nicola and Katanga stayed clear twice and went on to win the Grand Prix. “Katanga is in great form and is jumping so well. That is very nice to feel. We have already ridden many jump-offs together, and sometimes it does not work out, but today everything came together and she jumped fantastic. It is great to keep this good form going. She has been great lately. Katanga is just like a good wine: she gets better as she gets older,” says Nicola Philippaerts.
Nicola and Katanga van het Dingeshof have already won many classes together, but never before had they won a Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix. “She has already won in La Baule and in the Rolex Grand Prix, but never before in this competition. The fact that she can do this now, at the age of 16, is fantastic. We planned her schedule very carefully, but of course it still has to work out. After week 12, she returned home from the United States, where she stayed for a month before travelling to Shanghai. And then this happens. Now she will get a little more than two weeks of rest, and then we go to Aachen. That show takes place earlier this year because of the World Championships, which will also be held in Aachen in August,” said Nicola Philippaerts.
For Katanga van het Dingeshof, this is her first victory in the Longines Global Champions Tour. For Nicola, it is his fourth win in the series. Remarkably, he has won these four Grand Prix classes with four different horses. In 2018, he won in Cascais with H&M Harley vd Bisschop. That same year, he also won in Chantilly with H&M Chilli Willi. Six years later, Nicola won in Mexico with H&M Luna van ’t Ruytershof Z. And now, he adds a new victory with Katanga in Shanghai.
