34 riders, 22 clear rounds, a triumphant winner: The Irish show-jumper Bertram Allen reached the finish line in the fastest time to win the “Prize of Bitburger Brewery” that is endowed with 30,000 Euros in prize-money at the World Equestrian Festival Aachen 2015. The just 19-year-old aspiring young rider sped around the 510 m-long course comprising of 12 obstacles in a time of 61.16 seconds. He and his eleven-year-old gelding, Quiet Easy 4, were the last pair to start and pipped Mario Stevens from Germany at the post. “I only saw a few rides at the start, but no more after that. However, I don’t think I could have possibly done anything better. So, I simply relied on the speed of my horse,” said Allen explaining his strategy. Quiet Easy 4 is a true all-rounder: He is not only an excellent jumping horse that also competes at Grand Prix level, he is also very fast. For Allen it is the second victory at the World Equestrian Festival Aachen 2015. Together with Boyd Exell, he won the combined jumping and driving competition, the “Tank & Rast Prize – Jump and Drive” yesterday evening.

Mario Stevens, who stood on the top step of the winners’ rostrum on Friday, in the opening jumping competition, the “Sparkassen-Youngsters-Cup”, had to make do with second place. He had saddled his Oldenburg-bred gelding Baloubet and he jumped clear in a time of 61.30 seconds. Pius Schwizer from Switzerland ranked third. He reached the finish line clear with his French mare, Sibell du Gisors, in a time of 62.49.