Lanaken (BEL), September 24, 2006 - Two of the best riders in the world will have their names immortalized with the inaugural Global Champions Tour, sponsored by CN and CN WorldWide. Olympic Champion Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil won the final event in the Tour, the €150,000 VDL Groep Grand Prix at CSI4* Lanaken (BEL) while another Olympian, Ludo Philippaerts of Belgium, rode away with €250,000 in bonus money after topping the overall Global Champions Tour rankings.

For Pessoa, the day could not have ended any better. Having already won the €30,000 Silver Masters Final with Cantate Z, Pessoa again emerged victorious riding Oasis in the €150,000 VDL Groep Grand Prix, which acted as the sixth and final leg of the Global Champions Tour. In addition to taking home a winner's purse equal to €50,000 - a new Chrysler vehicle and €13,300 in prize money, the win also catapulted Pessoa up the Global Champions Tour rankings. Having competed in all six legs of the tour - Wellington (USA), Cannes (FRA), Monte-Carlo (MON), Estoril (ESP), Valkenswaard (NED) and, finally, Lanaken, Pessoa finished the inaugural Global Champions Tour ranked in third place, netting him €75,000 of the €600,000 bonus money on offer.

"It is great to have the opportunity to win the big cheques for our owners," said Pessoa of his impressions of the inaugural Global Champions Tour. He statement was especially meaningful considering that his winning mount, Oasis, is owned by Hunter Harrison, CEO of the title sponsor, CN. "When you do something new, it is difficult to please everyone - some will like it, some won't. But especially when the Tour consists of top Grand Prix events that you would go to anyway, it is a great way for the owners to earn more money without jumping their horses any more often. I was really pleased, and I am sure that Ludo was, too!"

The overall winner of the Global Champions Tour, Ludo Philippaerts of Belgium, knew he could look forward to pocketing a bonus of €250,000 before the Grand Prix even started. Having won two events on the Tour, Monte-Carlo and Estoril, he simply could not be caught. Still, it did not stop him from saddling his big grey stallion, Parco, with whom he eventually finished 17th.

"I did all the competitions except for Wellington, and all the facilities were really good - good footing, good material, good course designers and even good hotels," commented Philippaerts, who was an especially fitting champion considering that he is a Rider Ambassador for JustWorld International, the official charity of the Global Champions Tour. "The reality is that money is really important - the horses cost a lot of money, and you have to earn a little money in order to keep the horses. I think that next year, the riders are going to see where the Global Champions Tour events are, and plan the rest of their schedules around it. I will aim Parco at next year's Global Champions Tour - it obviously suits him very well!"

It was a case of always the bridesmaid, never the bride for Austria's Thomas Fruhmann. With a second place finish in the Grand Prix at Lanaken, Fruhmann also finished second overall in the Global Champions Tour, netting him a bonus of €125,000.

The other bonus money recipients in the Global Champions Tour standings were Valkenswaard winner Leopold van Asten of the Netherlands, fourth for €50,000; American Norman Dello Joio, the only rider in the top eight not present at the Final, who was ranked fifth for €40,000 in bonus money; Edwina Alexander of Australia who took sixth position for a €30,000 bonus; Samantha McIntosh of Bulgaria who was seventh for €20,000: and, Ireland's Jessica Kurten who pocketed €10,000 for eighth position in the final rankings.

With the top eight riders in the rankings hailing from eight different nations, the Global Champions Tour certainly lived up to its name. The entire experience was extremely positive according to Anita Ernesaks, Global Managing Director of CN WorldWide, who said, "It has been great to be a part of the Global Champions Tour. It consisted of first-class events that we were proud to be a part of. The riders have shown consistent, excellent top sport and we at CN WorldWide, similar to that in show jumping, have a team that is always working together to execute a plan. Congratulations to Jan and his team for taking a chance in setting up the Global Champion Tour. Our involvement in 2006 exceeded our expectations."

For Global Champions Tour organizer Jan Tops, the final event at CSI Lanaken represented the full realization of his dream.

"First of all, we are very happy to have had CN as a sponsor - they came forward and believed in the concept of moving our sport forward and providing top-class events," said the Dutch Olympic Gold medalist. "At all the shows, you saw top class sport, which is very important, and all of the riders brought their top horses. The top three riders in the standings are all champions, and they proved that it is possible to win a lot of money. Looking back, I think that we have a very successful Tour."