Bosty leads all star line-up in 48th Copa S.M El Rey presented by Caser Grupo Helvetia

Taking his second win in the Copa S.M El Rey presented by Caser Grupo Helvetia, Roger Yves Bost aboard Ballerine du Vilpion took top honours in the 48th edition of this prestigious event at the Longines Global Champions Tour of Madrid, having previously lifted the trophy in 2015.

With many previous winners of the historic class at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid to watch the 48th edition of the Copa S.M El Rey unfold, the 2023 winner, Simon Delestre, was joined by stars of the show jumping world such as Nick Skelton, Gilles Thomas, Denis Lynch, Roger Yves Bost, Sergio Moya, Eric Van Der Vleuten, Luis Álvarez de Cervera and Juan Antonio de Wit. An all-star lineup put on a show in the 13-strong jump-off, ensuring those watching from near and far had their hearts pounding and cheers roaring.

Pushing themselves to the limit, the star-studded list of riders taking to the second round had the huge crowd riding every stride with each combination. Roger Yves Bost and Ballerine du Vilpion didn’t hold back, securing the win and proving themselves unbeatable, stopping the clock a staggering 1.34 seconds ahead of their closest rivals.
Talking to fans across the globe, Bosty said: “It’s amazing to be back here in Madrid, and to win the Copa S.M El Rey, I am very happy. I won here nine years ago, and to win with this crowd is just so good.”

He went on to add, “My mare was just unbelievable today, she was so fast, I’m very lucky.”

The All Star Lineup

1st Place - Roger Yves Bost & Ballerine du Vilpion - 37.09s

2nd Place - Katrin Eckermann & Chao Lee - 38.43s

3rd Place - Lorenzo de Luca & Don Vito - 38.44s

4th Place - Pieter Devos & Casual Dv Z - 39.13s

5th Place - Jérôme Guery & Quel Homme de Hus - 39.52s

6th Place - Ben Maher & Exit Romeo - 39.69s

As has been seen all weekend, time was a major player in terms of which combinations qualified for the jump off, with the likes of Duarte Seabra, Manuel Fernandez Saro, Manuel Fernandez Saro succumbing to the time allowed. Falling victim to the final fence on course was Andreas Schou aboard Billy Matador and Nicola Philippaerts riding Derby de Riverland, leaving hearts broken as two of the fan favourites failed to qualify.

First to go in the electric jump-off was young gun Antoine Ermann. An unlucky one down onboard Odin van 't Hanegoor kept them off the podium today but the pair left the area with a good job done. Next to go, the previous winner of this prestigious class, Gilles Thomas couldn’t replicate 2022 as he came home with 12 faults on 9-year-old Puskas de Kalvarie.

Third up, Oliver Lazarus and Miss Paris gave it their all from start to finish but an agonising last fence down wiped their chance of adding their names into the history books.

The first double clear of the day came from Pieter Devos and Casual Dv Z which set the pace from the rest of the world-class combinations to follow. It wasn’t to be for Philipp Weishaupt riding Coby 8 as the usually ultra-consistent pair turned too tight to the Caser Grupo Helvetia double knocking both parts down and opting to retire and save Coby for another day. Great Britain's Ben Maher skilfully piloted Exit Remo through the course. The two put on a master class here in Madrid but were 0.56 behind the time of leader Devos leaving the rest of the field to challenge the time.

Past winner, Roger Yves Bost was on the hunt for another win on Ballerine du Vilpion. He left it all in the arena, taking a huge risk to the Porsche oxer. The French rider delivered a lightning fast clear round with the crowd gasping as he came flying down to the last fence, taking a stride out to stop the clock 2 seconds faster than interim leader Pieter Devos.  

The arena erupted as Spanish rider Mariano Martinez Bastida entered aboard Origi van't Geyzeven. The combination rode clear but were not able to match the pace on their home turf, however, their time was enough for a top 10 finish much to the delight of the packed crowd.  

Katrin Eckermann took no prisoners as she flew over the course with Chao Lee. The German rider was eager to move into the top spot. Katrin kept clear to the finish with her 11-year-old mare but couldn’t quite match the pace of leader Roger Yves Bost. Katrin’s clear round was enough to secure her a second-place finish.

Jérôme Guery, back on tour with Quel Homme de Hus showed just how impressive the combination is. Although the Belgian rider came home on a clean sheet with the 18 year old stallion they lost crucial time over the Porseche oxer to round off the top 5 overall. Italy’s Lorenzo de Luca meant business as he came into the jump-off. A slow start cost the Italian rider but all the fences stayed up stopping the clock in 38.44 with Don Vito going into third place and leaving him waiting to see if his place on the podium was secured with just two to go.  

American show jumping icon Kent Farrington was looking to secure a win for the USA, which would have been the first American win since 1976. Unfortunately, Kent had a miscalculation on the second fence, resulting in a retirement with his 11 year old chestnut, Landon.

In what could of been a fairytale ending, the atmosphere was electric as last to go Spaniard Eduardo Alvarez Aznar entered the arena with the crowd cheering and a sea of Spanish flags waving for him on home turf.

As the hometown hero started the course, the crowd fell silent. Eduardo made quick work of the course with D'Orient Batilly and was on track for a strong finish. Unfortunately the Spaniard fell victim to the final fence, resulting in a gut-wrenching eighth place finish.

And so ends another sensational day at the fifth stage of the 2024 Longines Global Champions Tour. All eyes now look ahead to the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Madrid, set to take place at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid grass arena tomorrow, Sunday, May 19, at 4:45 PM CET. Catch all the action LIVE on GCTV!