BELGIUM’S Pieter Devos was thrilled with his victory aboard Mom’s Toupie de la Roque at the 10th leg of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Western European League series in Basel, Switzerland, on Sunday.

Moving his points tally up to 54, and now lying third on the league leaderboard, he is well on his way to the Longines 2024 Final in Riyadh (KSA) in April.

“It’s the first show of the year and this gives a lot of confidence. It’s an important year, an Olympic year and I’m going to do everything to be in the team and to have a fantastic year - like it started,” he said.

“My horse did a fantastic job, she jumped three World Cups this season and she has been placed in several Grand Prix lately, but it feels so good that she has now won one - this is her first indoor Grand Prix win,” he said after pinning Switzerland’s Janika Sprunger and Orelie into runner-up spot, while Austria’s Max Kühner finished third with the Irish Sport Horse EIC Cooley Jump the Q.

This 11-year-old gelding by Pacino (BWP) out of Jump The Q (ISH) by O.B.O.S. Quality 004 (OLD) was bred in Co Carlow by Pam Walshe.

Found the key

Just eight of the 40 starters found the key to the 14-fence first-round track presented by Swiss course designers Gerard Lachat and Gregory Bodo, and there were some surprises amongst them, not least the less-well-known Sasha Barthe partnering the aptly-named Essenar High Hopes.

First out against the clock were Denmark’s Andreas Schou and Jerome Guery’s former ride, Napoli vh Nederassenthof, who only established their partnership a month ago. They were clear up to the penultimate double, only to leave the first element on the floor in 37.65 seconds.

Barthe was next and she set off like her tail was on fire, producing a spectacular turn to the vertical at fence six, now the third obstacle on the track, but clipped the big red wall three fences from home and then also lowered the second element of the double for eight faults. But her time of 34.30 seconds around the new course would not be bettered.

Devos was third in, and the man who took team bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games with the great Claire Z set off strong. Aware the distance between the second last and the last would be a very long five strides for his mare, Toupie gave him everything she had and, throwing in a massive leap, cleared the line in 36.94 seconds to take the lead. And she wouldn’t be beaten.

Spain’s Mariano Martinez Bastida and Belano vd Wijnhoeve Z hit the first fence, previously the bogey oxer at fence eight, and then Germany’s Mario Stevens parted company with Starissa FRH when the pair got into a muddle at the oxer, now fifth on the track.

Kühner turned super-tight to the vertical third fence and again to the wall three fences later, but the first element of the double hit the floor before he galloped through the finish with EIC Cooley Jump the Q in 35.59 seconds.

With just two left to go, he was lying second to Devos, but Sprunger left all the timber intact in a careful tour of the track that saw her overtake the Austrian for runner-up spot, and when the final pair into the ring - Germany’s Hans Dieter Dreher and Elysium - hit the second fence, they had to settle for fourth place when breaking the beam in 36.41.

Happy man

“I am a very happy man! I came by car and I have to drive six hours to get home, but it will be very easy drive now!” said Devos.

Max Kühner said he was happy with his third-place finish “but still of course we would have loved to win!”

He was critical of his own performance in the jump-off. “I know my horse is very fast and I tried to go for it, but the riding was not perfect honestly. It was not smooth enough over the first fences, so I got him a bit short in the neck before the combination and I think that’s where the fault happened - but I’m still happy,” he said.

The Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Western European League moves into its final phase, with just four of the 14 legs left to run and with Leipzig (GER) next on the agenda next weekend.