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Epaillard wins again on Day 2 of Commercial Bank CHI AL SHAQAB Presented by Longines

Excitement and action combined to keep fans on the edge of their seats on the second day of Commercial Bank CHI AL SHAQAB Presented by Longines, at the Longines Arena at Al Shaqab.

The international equestrian event, which Al Shaqab is organizing for the seventh time, sees 88 riders from 23 countries competing in the Olympic disciplines of showjumping, dressage, and para dressage. The final day of the competiton takes place tomorrow.

France’s Julian Epaillard, astride Virtuose Champeix, put in a masterful round to finish first in the CSI 5* 1.55m/1.60m event with Jump-off. The successful pair cleared their obstacles in 33.41secs. Austrian Max Kuhner, on Elektric Blue P, placed second with a time of 33.81 secs and Great Britan’s Scott Brash, riding Hello Shelby, finished third in 34.11 secs.

This was the third victory in two days for the Frenchman, after his double triumph yesterday.

Jane Richard Philips of Switzerland and her horse Kenia van ’T Laerhof blasted their way to victory in the CSI5* 1.5m Against the clock Showjumping class, beating the rest of the field with a time of 59.72 sec. Roger Yves Bost of France, on Castleforbes Talitha, finished second with 61.21 sec, while Filippo Marco Bologni, of Italy, astride Diplomat, came a close third in a time of 61.23 secs.

The Dressage CDI 5* Grand Prix Test offered spectators a display of style and elegance. Patrik Kittel, of Sweden, riding Delaunay Old,claimed victory with a total points haul of 74.413. The performances of Morgan Barbançon, of France, on Sir Donnerhall II Old, with 72.326 points, and Matthias Alexander Rath, of Germany, astride Foundation, with 72.304 points, earned them second and third position respectively.

In the Para Dressage CPEDI3* the Day 1 winners in the different grades continued to their successful performances. Having aced the Team Test the previous day, they topped the points chart in the Individual Test on Day 2 to seal their victory. Jens Lasse Dokkan of Norway (Grade I - 75.236 points), Pepo Puch of Austria (Grade II - 75.039 points), Rixt van der Horst of Netherlands (Grade III - 70.980 points), Rodolpho Riskalla of Brazil (Grade IV - 74.959 points) and Ciska Vermeulen of Belgium (Grade V - 71.667 points) were declared the winners.

Tickets for the final day of Commercial Bank CHI AL SHAQAB Presented by Longines, are available online at https://www.q-tickets.com/ or through the Al Shaqab website (www.alshaqab.com).

For the convenience of spectators attending the event, Al Shaqab is providing a shuttle service from the Al Shaqab metro station on the Green Line to the Longines Arena at Shaqab. The service will run at 10-minute intervals during the competition.

Al Shaqab – A World-Class Facility

Since its establishment in 1992, Al Shaqab’s vision was to build on Qatar’s Arabianhorse heritage and be a leading global center for equine professionals, whileproviding an engaging experience for the community. Global leadership has not onlymeant preserving, improving, and promoting the Arabian horse breed, but alsoencouraging the community in this unique, traditional cultural sport. 

Today, Al Shaqab’s impressive facilities, which are distinctivelydesigned in theshape of a horseshoe, cover 980,000 square meters. With a state-of-the-art MainArena comprising both an indoor and outdoor venue capable of holding over 5000spectators, Al Shaqab is part of Qatar’s growing reputation on the world stage thatshowcases its ability to host major international sports event at the highest level.