Menezes And H5 Messentus PS Win At Valkenswaard
Menezes Beats Jochems By 0.28 Seconds
Eduardo Pereira de Menezes and H5 Messentus PS produced the fastest round of a tightly contested jump-off to win the 1.50m five-star class sponsored by Roelofsen Horse Trucks at the Longines Tops International Arena, Valkenswaard.
Nine combinations came through the first round without fault to reach the jump-off, setting up a fast-paced deciding round in which the margins between the leading riders proved extremely tight. Several established names missed out on a place in that round after picking up faults first time out, including Emanuele Camilli aboard Chacarano PS, Abdel Saïd on Wathnan Bonne Amie and Daniel Deusser riding Bingo Ste Hermelle.
Nine Combinations Reach The Jump-Off
Ireland’s Mark McAuley set an early marker in the jump-off aboard the nine-year-old Rossi vd Heffinck, going clear in 39.68 seconds to give the remaining combinations a target to chase. Italy’s Clara Pezzoli kept the fences standing aboard Hadewyn van’t Ravennest, crossing the line in 42.19 seconds, while Jérôme Guéry, despite a strong first round, picked up two rails in the jump-off and dropped out of contention. Sandra Auffarth then produced a second double-clear round of the class with Comcador OLD, stopping the clock in 40.85 seconds.
The pace increased sharply when Kevin Jochems entered the arena aboard Casquetto van de Helle. The Dutch rider found the fastest way around the shortened course to take over the lead in 37.71 seconds. Menezes followed soon after aboard the 13-year-old H5 Messentus PS and immediately went quicker still, crossing the finish in 37.43 seconds to take 0.28 seconds off Jochems’s time and move to the top of the leaderboard.
With riders still to come, the class remained open, but no one was able to improve on Menezes’s time. His round held up through to the final combination, confirming him and H5 Messentus PS as winners by the narrowest of margins over Jochems and Casquetto van de Helle, with McAuley and Rossi vd Heffinck completing the podium in third.
The top five in the class finished as follows: Eduardo Pereira de Menezes (BRA) and H5 Messentus PS, clear in 37.43 seconds; Kevin Jochems (NED) and Casquetto van de Helle, clear in 37.71 seconds; Mark McAuley (IRL) and Rossi vd Heffinck, clear in 39.68 seconds; Sandra Auffarth (GER) and Comcador OLD, clear in 40.85 seconds; and Clara Pezzoli (ITA) and Hadewyn van’t Ravennest, clear in 42.19 seconds.
Speaking after his win, Menezes credited the form his horses have shown at the venue. “To have my horses performing like they are at this beautiful grass arena is something special. It takes a lot of hard work behind wins like this and I couldn’t be more thankful to the team behind me including my family and everyone at H5 Stables,” he said. He also looked ahead to the following day’s feature event: “I’m now fully focussed on tomorrow’s LGCT Grand Prix. There is a strong field here and it’s going to be a big day of top sport.”
Veteran Gelding Matches Younger Rivals
The result added to a first round that had already produced its share of upsets, with rails costing several major names their place in the jump-off despite strong overall form through the week. For Menezes, the win extended a strong run of form aboard H5 Messentus PS and set him up heading into the following day’s Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Valkenswaard, one of the season’s most significant individual contests.
The narrowness of the finish underlined the strength of the field across the class. Just 0.28 seconds separated Menezes from second-placed Jochems, and less than five seconds covered the entire top five, from Menezes’s winning time down to Pezzoli’s clear in fifth. That level of consistency across the top of the leaderboard reflected the standard of both horses and riders drawn to the five-star fixture at Valkenswaard.
H5 Messentus PS’s role in the win was notable given the horse’s age. At 13 years old, he matched the pace of considerably younger combinations in the jump-off, delivering the fastest clear round of the class against opposition that included several riders and horses with strong recent form on the international five-star circuit.
With five-star competition now fully underway at what organisers describe as the Home of Show Jumping, the win for Menezes and H5 Messentus PS provided an early highlight of the Valkenswaard weekend, ahead of the Grand Prix taking centre stage the following afternoon at the Longines Tops International Arena.