JUST as it looked as though Scott Brash was about to add yet another major Grand Prix title to his collection, Germany’s rider Marco Kutscher piped the World No1, to win the 1.60m Longines Masters Grand Prix last Sunday in Los Angeles.

Thirty-six of the world’s best riders competed in the grand finale of the American leg of the Longines Masters series, with $450,000 in prize money up for grabs, making it the largest purse in any United States indoor competition. Ireland’s Bertram Allen missed out on a place in the jump-off after he knocked a single fence with Romanov, while Kevin Babington also finished with four faults aboard Shorapur.