In Saint-Lô, Rik Hemeryck ahead of Pénélope Leprévost
October 28th 2024, author: Adèle Vaupré
Original article: https://www.chevalmag.com/sports/a-saint-lo-rik-hemeryck-devant-penelope-leprevost/
Winner of the Grand Prix of the CSI2* in Saint-Lô on Sunday lunchtime, Pénélope Leprévost came very close to winning the Grand Prix 4* as well, but Rik Hemeryck blocked her path. The Belgian rider won with Inouï du Seigneur.
Last weekend, the Pôle hippique de Saint-Lô organised its traditional Jumping international 4*. Won last year by Julien Anquetin, this competition is a real autumn fixture for show-jumping enthusiasts in the Manche region. The 4* Grand Prix was once again held in front of a full house on Sunday afternoon. In Saint-Lô, this event – with fences reaching 1.55 m – takes place over two rounds. Only the twelve best couples in the first round won their ticket for the second. The second round featured seven French riders (Valentin Besnard, Julien Epaillard, Nicolas Layec, Pénélope Leprévost, Edward Lévy, Régis Bouguennec and Titouan Schumacher), two Belgians (Jérôme Guéry and Rik Hemeryck), Italy’s Lorenzo de Luca, Luxembourg’s Victor Bettendorf and Switzerland’s Romain Duguet.
No double clear rounds.
At the end of the first round, only four couples left the track with a clean score. But none of them managed to repeat the performance. Valentin Besnard and Farfelue de Beaufour got eight points (tenth), while Jérôme Guéry/Careca LS Elite, Régis Bouguennec/Firefox GEM and Titouan Schumacher/Illusion all managed a second run with four points ranking respectively fourth, fifth and sixth. Lorenzo de Luca, riding Violino Il Palazetto, managed to hold on to his four points from the first round. In the end, he finished on the third step of the podium.
With a time difference of just 1 point, Rik Hemeryck achieved the best performance in the 4* Grand Prix. © Jumping international de Saint-Lô/Pixels Events
Two other couples also left the track without penalty, and it was between them that victory was decided. Although neither Inouï du Seigneur nor Ehning Flamingo touched a bar in this Grand Prix, it was the stopwatch that decided the outcome… in favour of Belgian Rik Hemeryck. In the first round, Inouï du Seigneur crossed the line with one point only over the time allowed, compared with two points for Pénélope Leprévost’s grey. So it was the Brabançonne that rang out in the arena at the Pôle hippique de Saint-Lô.
With his performance, Rik Hemeryck prevented the French rider from getting her hands on the two Sunday Grand Prix.
