Kim Emmen and Kaiser DMH take gold at the Sires of the World

Following yesterday’s warm-up, 54 rider-horse pairs took to the start today and were presented with a challenging course mapped out by the team led by the Belgian course designer Bernard Mathy. Faults were scattered throughout the entire course, although the Liverpool (obstacle 12) in particular proved to be a stumbling block for many riders and horses. Ultimately, seven pairs managed to keep their cool and qualify for the jump-off. Dutch rider Kim Emmen ultimately came out on top with the 11-year-old KWPN horse Kaiser DMH, a son of Cardento VDL and Concerto II, bred by Eric Berkhof. As the fourth pair to return to the arena, Emmen and Kaiser DMH produced a masterful round. With a convincing finishing time of 40.94 seconds, they took the lead and, with great flair, added this Sires Of The World title to their list of achievements.

Adding extra shine to the victory
A fantastic team, a fantastic horse and a fantastic result – that’s how Kim Emmen summed up the win. “It was a very strong field of competitors and the course was also quite technically challenging. But I knew my horse was in good form and even in the jump-off I didn’t feel I had to work too hard. We even had an extra stride at one point, but the result was still good enough for the fastest time. Kaiser DMH certainly deserves a title like this; he’s an absolute rock star. He comes from our own breeding programme, so that adds extra shine to this victory – for his owner and breeder Erik Berkhof, my trainer Sören Kühl, my grooms and the rest of the team.”

The silver therefore went to the Ukrainian rider Mykola Pylypeiko, who had certainly given it his all on the 9-year-old Holsteiner Money Time. Money Time, a fine son of Million Dollar and Clearway, was bred by ZG Stegemann. Pylypeiko was the first to ride in the jump-off and did so with a first-class performance. A daring round featuring plenty of forward-moving strides resulted in a finishing time of 41.70 seconds, immediately a tough time to beat. “There was nothing more this horse could have given at this point in his career; he (and I) gave it our all. I therefore think that, even though we didn’t win, it was still a fantastic performance, at such a venue, with such a challenging course and a strong field of competitors,” said the runner-up.

Third place on the podium went to Egor Shchibrik, who competed under the Palestinian flag. He rode the 11-year-old Holsteiner Crack HV, a son of Cornet Obolensky and Candillo, bred by Campos Cria De Deporte. As the very last pair to start, Shchibrik and Crack HV made one final attempt to clinch victory, but their finishing time of 42.43 seconds was ultimately not fast enough to claim the top prize.