MUST WATCH MOMENT: Schou’s Bold Gamble in Shanghai Pays Off

When the margins are tight and the pressure immense, bold decisions define the outcome. In Shanghai, Andreas Schou made one - and it nearly changed everything.

Under the electric lights of the Longines Global Champions Tour of Shanghai, the Danish rider and his talented partner Napoli vh Nederassenthof delivered a heart-racing performance that sent a jolt through the crowd and put them briefly on the brink of victory.

In the jump-off of the €620,000 LGCT Grand Prix, Schou and Napoli were the only pair to attempt four strides between fences 5 and 6 - a daring call down a line that every other rider played safe with five. It was a split-second decision built on trust, instinct, and the horsepower beneath him - and it paid off in speed.

Their time? 46.06 seconds. The first clear of the jump-off and a mark that looked uncatchable as round after round failed to beat it - until the final two riders, Eduardo Álvarez Aznar and Scott Brash, snuck ahead with times of 45.28 and 45.89 respectively. Just like that, Schou was bumped to fourth, narrowly missing the podium, but undeniably delivering the must-watch moment of the weekend.

Yet, for Schou and Napoli, this was about more than a top-four finish - it was a breakthrough.

After a 2024 season full of almosts - clean, confident rounds undone by a single unlucky rail - Schou finished inside the Top 10 of the LGCT Championship standings, remarkably without ever stepping onto a podium. He and Napoli had the talent. They had the form. What they didn’t have was the luck.

“At this level, we all touch poles,” Schou said after Round 1 in Shanghai. “He is a super careful horse,” and he added with a knowing smile, “he’s a big horse with big hooves, and somehow when he touches a rail they fall - but other horses can touch four or five and the poles stay up. Last year we had so many good rounds together, but every time - one down. Now, this year, he has already jumped clear in two Longines Global Champions Tour 5* Grand Prix classes. Last year was our first season together, so things also had to come together from that perspective, and today I think that was proven.”

It certainly was. Schou’s Shanghai result earned him 33 championship points - his first points of the 2025 season - launching him into 21st place overall and setting up what promises to be a compelling charge up the rankings.

This round wasn’t just about boldness - it was a statement. A reminder that Schou and Napoli are ready to fight for every inch, every second, every point.

Relive the moment Schou defied the odds in Shanghai’s jump-off — watch the Must Watch Moment here →