Overnight showers pleasantly cooled the atmosphere at the Haras National du Pin, creating the perfect conditions for this final session of the Concours d’Attelage International. At 8:30 am, competitors took to the track for their final test, the maneuverability, a blend of skill and speed.

Photo: Mélanie Guillamot.

CAI Le Pin au Haras 2023 Final Results A+B+C

Kelly Houtappels-Bruder (CAN) and Franck Grimonprez (FRA) were the big winners of this 2023 edition. The latter was also crowned French Amateur Elite Grand Prix Driving Champion in pairs, a promising 5th national title ahead of the World Championship scheduled from September 26 to October 1. This first major event to be held at the brand-new Pôle International de Sports Equestres (PISE) showcased the fabulous facilities, hailed by the entire international driving world. This very positive outcome offers excellent prospects for the rest of the sporting season.

CAI3* 1 horse: Canada / Switzerland Match

In 1-horse driving, Canadian Kelly Houtappels-Bruder, winner of the dressage, retains first place by a very narrow margin. Whereas yesterday she had a comfortable 5-point lead over her nearest challenger, the smiling forty-something now had just one this time over the world number 1, Switzerland’s Mario Gandolfo.

With his horse Favela, the latter, already a winner in Windsor (GBR) this season, is clearly putting the pressure on his opponent. A single ball on the ground in tomorrow’s final cones test and the rankings will be reversed. Behind this duo, we find four French drivers, starting with Tony Ecalle. He put in the best French performance of the marathon, accompanied by Anthony Gohier as groom. This put him in 3rd place in the provisional rankings, less than four points off the lead. Behind him, Anne-Violaine Brisou held on to 4th and 6th place with her two carriages. Clément Deschamps is in 5th place.

CAI3* 1 horse: Kelly Houtappels-Bruder (CAN) Held Her Nerves to Win Le Pin

The Canadian held her nerves right up to the final gate of the cones test. However, only six riders managed to complete the course without any penalties, as time was relatively tight. The first to do so was Belgium’s Etienne Lejeune, who was out of the competition after being eliminated yesterday in the marathon. Linnea Kristianssen (SWE) and Magalie Aillaud (FRA) followed, climbing from 12th to 8th and 14th to 7th respectively. Anne-Violaine Brisou (FRA) skilfully slalomed between the cones and positioned herself for a potential podium finish.

The duel at the summit pitted Swiss world n°1 Mario Gandolfo against world n°5 Kelly Houtappels-Bruder (CAN). After his perfect round, the Jurassien, who lives in Cornol, a stone’s throw from the French border, clearly put the pressure on his rival. The latter rose to the challenge and maintained her tiny lead of 1.20 points to claim her first ever victory in Le Pin (the forty-something placed 2nd here in 2017 with the same horse, Flip, last year’s World Championship bronze medallist).

The reaction of Mario Gandolfo (SUI), 2nd category 1 horse

Mario Gandolfo; Every month, you have to score points to maintain your world ranking. We also want to take part in competitions where there are top competitors. That’s the case here and we’re very happy to be coming to Le Pin. It was a challenge to try and catch Kelly (Houtappels-Bruder, winner of the event, editor’s note). Of course, you always want to win. But I’m used to running up places after dressage (laughs). On the marathon, we saw some very nice, well-built obstacles, with ideal ground, so we knew we could step on the gas. The mare behaved well and in the end, it paid off. We know the site, it’s a good marathon on grass with a homogeneous quality ground.

When I left the arena after the cones, I told myself that nobody would pass me on this test, but there it was, something missing. You never expect competitors to make mistakes, but you always give it your best shot.

The department and the region have made major investments and we’re already looking forward to coming back next year for the world championships. My mare’s season is over. I’ll probably take part in a few national competitions in Switzerland.

Anne-Violaine Brisou (FRA) 3rd category 1 horse and best French driver

How do you deal with showing two horses?

Anne-Violaine Brisou (FRA) The first one was the best on paper. I had no information on how it went. We saw that there weren’t many balls, but that the real problem was the time. We didn’t have a view of the arena. So we had to trust the team to give us information and pointers. My husband Jean Pierre is very good at calculating all this. Then we have to manage the horse change in a fairly comfortable time frame today, thanks to the large number of starters in the class. Then we have to concentrate again, with a very different second horse. Unfortunately, I wasn’t very brilliant with him.

Is leading two horses added difficulty after all?

Anne-Violaine Brisou (FRA) It’s a real difficult, yes. First of all, physically. In dressage, for example, you’re among the first and you know that the judges are more relaxed in the afternoon. Secondly, it takes longer to garnish and harness, when you could be walking the marathon and maneuverability. But it’s nice all the same, the more we train the horses, the more we get them out, especially in facilities like this, it’s great.

Is it motivating to have two good horses back?

Anne-Violaine Brisou (FRA) It’s not a surprise because it’s the result of hard work. These results validate the energy spent, the time spent, the training courses and so on. It’s also reassuring for the whole team, who put in a lot of hard work. Two horses put in a lot of hard work and it’s only natural that we want them to be rewarded with results.

How did you manage the weather on the marathon?

At times, the weather was a bit strange, very heavy. It was very physical. Now, in other countries, we have technical marathons in the obstacles, small, tight, but much softer. Here, we’re closer to the marathons we used to have. In fact, that’s what we’ll find at the World Championships, albeit with one more obstacle (the course had 7 compared with 8 at the World Championship, editor’s note). It’s a real shame that other competitions are limited to six or seven obstacles.

How will the end of your season work out?

Anne-Violaine Brisou (FRA) The problem with one-horse driving is that Le Pin is the last really accessible competition. Of course, we could drive 2000km and find others. For us, it’s the last one for 2023 and it’s a real shame we’ll have to stop. So we’re going to take part in elite national competitions such as Gruchet-le-Valasse, Compiègne with its beautiful grounds, and Le Touquet. This will enable us to validate our achievements with a little less pressure.

CAI Le Pin au Haras 2023 Final Results A+B+C