Consistency is key and Saïd is spot on

30 is the number of points that come with a 7th place finish in a Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix. 30 is also the needed average points per stage for rider to finish in the Top 3 of the Longines Global Champions Tour standing at the end of the season. 

With 15 stages on the calendar, theoretically 8 Grand Prix ended in 7 place land you in the Top 3 and who knows even higher.

Belgium’s Abdel Said is living by that theory. He finished 7th in Miami at stage 2, 7th in Mexico City at stage 3 and 7th in St. Tropez at stage 5. Not competing in Madrid and picking up just 19 points for 18th place in Doha at the first stage, Saïd currently sits in 2nd place on the overall standings, behind Maikel van der Vleuten. 

The consistency of his results is remarkable as these are 3 back to back 7th place finishes. But the way he recorded the might be even more impressive, as all are performed on the same horse, Bonne Amie. 

The 10-year-old mare was bred in Estonia by Trooja Hobune Oü and sired by Rein Pill’s stallion A Big Boy out of Tiit Kivisild’s Nations Cup mare Lara II by Landfriese. It was Katrin Pill who produced the mare before she moved to Belgium to join the stables of Tim Prouvé, a son of Belgium’s senior rider Bert Prouvé. It was there that Saïd spotted the very tall bay.

Since the beginning of 2022 she has been a part of his string of horse but when Saïd had other duties, Bonnie Amie jumped under Sam Hutton. It was actually with the Brit that she made the headlines for the first time when in Monaco she and Hutton lived an incredible GCL debut with the London Knights, finishing 2nd thanks to a clear of Bonne Amie in Round 2. She was just 9 at the time.

Now, at the age of 10, Bonne Amie has jumped 3 Grand Prix in the 2023 season and all 3 without a single rail, making her an exception in LGCT history. The time penalty she collected in St Tropez landed her in 7th place again. Under Saïd she is still to have more than 1 fence down in a 5* Grand Prix and according to the Belgian rider she has not fully developed yet.

It’s clear that Bonne Amie is the spearhead in Saïd’s Longines Global Champions Tour campaign and maybe the show jumping nation of Belgium can start dreaming of a the first LGCT champion since Ludo Philippaerts who won the inaugural 2006 series.