Andalucía Sunshine Tour: Michael Pender and HHS Calais win the Suzuki Grand Prix for Ireland

Brazilian Felipe Amaral with Androide 3K win the Medium Tour GP and Irish Ciaran Nallon with Fifty Shades of Grey win the Small Tour GP.

Ireland was back on the top of the podium in two of the GP classes yesterday at the Andalucía Sunshine Tour. In the Longines Ranking, European 2023 and Olympic 2024 qualifier class, the Big Tour GP; our winner was Michael Pender with the talented HHS Calais. The top 50 combinations of the week jumped in this extremely testing event and, in the end, the quality of the top competitors really stood out. HHS Calais is really a 5* horse and has been competing with Michael Pender since 2018 in the Young Horse classes. This partnership was evident as they were the only combination to go clear within the time in the first round, in this 4* 1.55 Grand Prix class, sponsored by Suzuki and designed by the Venezuelan, Leopoldo Palacios Jugo. This 12 year old Irish bay gelding is by the very famous sire, ‘Cavalier Royale’ and the dam sire is ‘Obos Quality 004’, from another amazing stallion, ‘Quick Star. HHS Calais has many impressive results already with Pender, including a win in the FEI Nations Cup Final CSIO5* in Barcelona in 2022.In second place was German rider, Michael Viehweg with the talented Contario and in third, with just two time faults was Spanish rider, Santiago Nuñez Riva with Chakira Z. In fourth was another Irish rider, Jason Foley with Rockwell RC and in fifth was the British rider, William Fletcher, with Valento.The prizes were handed out by the representative of Suzuki Ibérica, Juan López Frade. In the Medium Tour Grand Prix class there was a Brazilian top two on the podium, with a win for win for Felipe Amaral who was riding Androide 3K in this very demanding class that was held in the Hickstead arena. Only eight got through to the jump off in the class designed by Irish Colm Quinn, from a field of 56, and Felipe stopped the clock in 38.21s, followed by his compatriot, Luiz Felipe de Azevedo Filho with Sierra du Piedroux Z who was over a second slower. Austrian rider, Alessandra Reich with Anyway van het Kervijnhof Z was third; French rider, Aurelien Leroy with Enjoy Blue, was fourth and in fifth was  Michael Viehweg this time with  Comanche 29.So the Small Tour GP was the other class won by Irish Ciaran Nallon with Fifty Shades of Grey, and he was well ahead of the Spanish rider, Leticia Riva Gil with Cadum de Champloue who came in second. Third was Dutch rider, Rogier Linssen with Dancing Nini Z; fourth German, Nicola Pohl with Fiona des Hayettes and in fifth another Irish rider, Nicholas Connors with Fornett d’Emeraude.
Classifiche qui: https://www.longinestiming.com/equestrian/2023/andalucia-sunshine-tour-week-6-vejer-de-la-frontera/#area6
HSJ
Fonte press release Andalucía Sunshine TourFoto di Moisés Basallote