Girl Power Reigns Supreme at the Jumping International de Valence

What a thrill in the audience, for the six-bar class at the Hubside Jumping International de Valence tonight!

14 riders, 11 gentlemen, 3 ladies... including THE champion of the day! With a jump at 2.05m, Britain's Laura Renwick, 1.70m when she is not on horseback, crosses the very symbolic 2m last fence, thus giving her male competitors a hard time! Girl power at Haras des Grillons! Let's give back to Caesar what is Caesar's: her Top Dollar VI horse, 1.70m at the withers too (a "standard" size, neither small but not big for a show jumping horse) crosses the symbolic 2m bar!

Photo: Laura Renwick and Top Dollar (Sportfot)

"It's incredible! We both measure around one meter seventy and we jumped 2.05 meters tonight! Top Dollar jumped perfectly tonight! He is extraordinary. I am coming to the Hubside Jumping international de Valence for the third time and every year the competition gets better and better. The atmosphere and audience tonight were exceptional. I'm just delighted," she commented as she left the arena.

Three other riders tried their hand at this height of 2.05m, after the ten others had failed on the previous tours, with lower fences. Brazilian Junqueira Muylaert, Irish Michael Pender and French Nicolas Bost all turned a fence down... Disappointing, really disappointing in the case of Frznce's Nicolas Bost, son of defending Olympic team champion Roger-Yves Bost. Indeed, Nicolas won the six-bar class last week, crossing 1.96m. And if this week, Bosty Junior did indeed crossed the 2.05m, he unfortunately knocked down a fence on this terrible line, a fence at...1.55m.

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