Simon Delestre emerged victorious in the King's Cup, Caser Grupo Helvetia Trophy 2023.

The King's Cup, Caser Grupo Helvetia Trophy, was decided in a tie-breaker that only four out of the 45 participants in the event accessed, contested over 1.50 meter obstacles.

It seemed like it was going to be an attainable challenge, as the first two participants, Frenchman Simon Delestre and Spaniard Manuel Fernández Saro, both went clear. However, in the end, only four pairs managed to clear the 13 obstacles and 16 efforts without incurring any penalties.

In addition to the aforementioned, German Christian Kukuk and Portuguese Rodrigo Giesteira Almeida joined the tie-breaker, all facing a course of 7 obstacles, including a double.

In the tie-break, Simon Delestre again achieved a clear round with the 10-year-old bay "I Amelusina R 51", a KWPN offspring of "Dexter R", setting a time of 38.46 seconds that no one could surpass.

Delestre is a very fast rider and today he once again demonstrated it at the Club de Campo-Villa de Madrid.

Rodrigo Giesteira with "Pegasus Jataki" and Christian Kukuk with "Just Be Gentle" also repeated the clear round, with the Portuguese securing second place with a time of 39.94, while the Team Beerbaum rider stopped the clock at 40.15.

Manuel Fernández Saro, after a magnificent performance, had to settle for fourth place. Speed is not "Jarlín de Torres'" best virtue and despite everything, the Sevillian didn't shy away from risk, encountering a knockdown in the third obstacle.

The winner of the competition, Simon Delestre, received the King's Cup from Javier Revuelta, president of the Royal Spanish Equestrian Federation. José Manuel Nieto, Business Director of Caser Grupo Helvetia, accompanied by Marta Carmona, Exclusive Agent of the Development Network, and Inés Navas, Exclusive Agent of the Professional Network, presented the French Olympic rider with the Caser Grupo Helvetia Trophy.

Turkish Triumph in the Grupo EULEN Trophy

The first of the two CSI5* events held on Saturday was the Grupo EULEN Trophy, with obstacles measuring 1.45 meters in height and judged under the Two Phases format.

There were 25 pairs competing, and only eight managed to complete both courses, after a first phase where a triple combination and especially a double of verticals posed challenges to the participants.

Clear rounds were only achieved by four pairs, with the fastest being Derin Demirsoy and "Elzas". The Turkish rider and the offspring of "Diamant de Semilly" completed the second phase in a time of 24.44 seconds, securing the victory ahead of Belgian Olivier Philippaerts with "Mr.Idol S". The Belgian's time was 24.94 seconds, while Eoin McMahon took "Christa 27" to third place, with a time of 25.96 seconds.

Derin Demirsoy received the trophy from María José Álvarez, Executive President of Grupo EULEN.