WELLINGTON, Fla.--Philipp Weishaupt of Germany riding Coby 8 won the $406,000 Grand Prix CSI5* as part of “Saturday Night Lights” on Feb. 12, beating Conor Swail and Brian Moggre.

Brian Moggre on Balou du Reventon (Photo by Sportfot)Forty of the world’s best riders including 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games medalists Ben Maher, McLain Ward, Laura Kraut, and Jessica Springsteen competed over Kelvin Bywater’s course, with eight riders from seven different countries going clean.

As the third to return in the jump-off, Mario Deslauriers on Bardolina 2 was the first to go clean.

The lead continued to change hands in quick succession, and just when it seemed Conor Swail of Ireland would add another victory to his growing collection, Weishaupt, the last to go, on Coby 8 was clean in 40.96 seconds.

“I know how fast my horse is, and after many years of experience I know how quick I have to go to beat the time,” said Weishaupt. “That being said, I think all of us are very lucky that Daniel Deusser had the last jump down, because otherwise it would’ve been game over for all of us.”

While this is Weishaupt’s first five-star competition at WEF, he and Coby 8 have previously scored wins at this level, including a recent win in the $510,000 SAOC Grand Prix of Riyadh CSI5*-W in December of 2021.

 

“COMPETING HERE feels a bit like being at home in Europe actually,” said Weishaupt. “I feel like all of my colleagues from there are here now as well, and it is definitely not easier to win here than it is back home. We saw incredible sport tonight, and the atmosphere here is stunning. You feel the whole crowd behind you, and what makes that crowd here special is that they’re all really close with horses.They sometimes call out, ‘Whoa, whoa’ because they see a distance before you even see it. So it’s fun to jump in here and have such a crowd behind you.”

Swail’ was second on Count Me In, clean 41.42 seconds.

“This was his first start of 2022, so I was a bit unsure about him going straight into the five-star,” said Swail. “He jumped incredibly well, and as far as the jump-off goes, I think if I had to do it again I would’ve done a better job. I am delighted with the horse, and obviously it was a fantastic result. Kelvin built quite a nice course today. He asked enough questions without making it super difficult.”

Brian Moggre on 2021 US Equestrian International Horse of the Year, Balou Du Reventon,was third, clean in 41.58 seconds.

“What a great way to start out the season for Balou as well as myself,” said Moggre. “This was our first five-star competition since last fall, so it was really an eye opener. As soon as I jumped the first jump, I kind of kicked myself into gear and I was like, ‘Oh here we go.’”

“I was very nervous when I partnered with him in the beginning, but now I trust him so much and I like to think he has that same trust in me,” said the 20-year-old rider. “I know him so much better now; I wasn’t sure where he would be tonight after having a long break but he felt fantastic, and so I figured I might as well just give it a go in the jump-off.”