Thursday 9 May belonged to the show jumping when the IPPOS SPRING TOUR 2024 in Thessaloniki started with the first six categories.
The main competition of the day 1 was the CSI Class 2 – 140cm sponsored by Vendavel with the prize money of 3000 EUR. Italian star runner Roberto Previtali managed to win two places on the podium when he dominated in the field with his gelding Hachiko beating the Greek Ilias Baliousis on Casper D´Argouges with half a second. Prvitali´s Come on Semilly took bronze position.
“We started very well and my horses are in great shape. I am very glad to be here, this place is fantastic and we will see in the following days,” said Previtali. “I did a really good run with Come on Semilly but it was not really a fast one. So in the end, I saw I was second and I saw the other guy. I just tried it because I know that Hachiko is really fast and it turned out very well. The goal is always to stay on the top. Now, we are here for two weeks and then, we will see what is coming,” the winner added.
The home rider Illias Baliousis was satisfied also with silver position with his stallion Casper D´Argouges.
“The first event turned out to be quite satisfying for me. Both my horses performed really well. Previtali was the last to compete so he knew he had to push a little harder to win and he succeeded.
The facilities are fantastic, one of the best in Europe” said Baliousis.
The second CSI 2* – Class 3 – 130cm competition in Thessaloniki supported by Siafaras was led by the home rider Alexandros Fourlis with Cinnamon. Silver position for the local host Anna Maria Papageorgiou and her Flying Spur. Benjamin Plantade of France jumped for the third position with his Ginger de la Roche.
The first winner of the day came from Greece as Dimitri Natsis managed to win the Tjebert van de Marsweg in the CSIYH Class 1a for the 5-year-old horses on 110cm. The next trophy followed to Bulgaria to Apostol Tenev with Dicaprio in the Class 1b for the 6-year-old on 1.25m obstacles. The Greek Dimitri Natsis continued the winning stream with the 7-year-old Corrie Z on the 1.30m obstacles in the Class 1c.
The last event bringing the CSI1 with 115cm obstacles welcomed large field of 51 competitors. The winner was Anna Irene Goset of Cyprus with Cindy.
The competition will continue on Friday and the weekend with more categories finishing with the LR Grand Prix on Sunday. For more information about the event and the detailed competition schedule for the four-day periods of 9-12 May and 16-19 May, you can visit the website https://ipposclub.com/.