Cédric Hurel savors his gold medal in the French Pro Elite championship in Fontainebleau

Here is a gold medal which has a pleasant taste of revenge. Today in the French Pro Elite championship in Fontainebleau, Cédric Hurel was the best, finally winning what had slipped from his hands in 2023. “Last year, I was off to a good start, before a little mishap happened to me. We can therefore consider this title as revenge”, confirmed the new French Pro Elite champion. Twelve months ago, during the second edition of the Spring of Equestrian Sports, the Ile-de-France native saw his dreams of a podium disappear when his bay Fantasio Floreval Z got stuck at the approach to oxer no. 8. “For this edition, I was keen to be able to get on the podium and rectify the situation. I set up the Hunt as a great speed test and the final as a 4* Grand Prix in two rounds. I actually didn’t really think about last year, I was just hoping to get on the podium.”, exposed the fifty-year-old rider based in Gambais. Seventh after the Hunt yesterday, the duo was able to climb the six places that separated them from the coronation thanks to a remarkable double zero on the courses designed by Xavier Trouilhet. For his faithful bay by Florian de la Vie and with a mother by Clinton, becoming French Pro Elite champion was not initially on the agenda. For good reason, after making his debut with Cédric Hurel, he was only acquired by his rider at nine years old, in order to race in classes up to 1.30m with his wife. “He got much better week after week, to the point of competing at a high level. Fantasio is very endearing and always gives his best. He is so respectful that he is sometimes afraid of many things. He spots everything, which can be a little complicated in the paddock, but everyone has understood it by now. For this reason, I jump very little during the warm-up”. Thanks to their title, the duo of French champions should have easier access to several French 5* hotels, including those of Lyon and La Baule. A level that they have already faced since they have been playing in 5* since 2021. Several times selected to represent the French team in the second division, the pair also participated in the tricolor victory in the CSIO 3* Nations Cup in the European series, in 2023, at Deauville Sotheby’s International Realty, before winning the Grand Prix.

Simon Delestre’s daring but profitable gamble

Simon Delestre dared a gamble that ultimately paid off in this French Pro Elite championship. For good reason, the Lorraine had entered Kinmar Agalux, a formidable twelve-year-old Irish mare with whom he had never… never competed! Tiny but so generous and effective, the chestnut is usually taken to the highest level by the Thai Janakabhorn Karunayadhaj. Having broken her foot in a fall which unfortunately led to the death of Maxwin All Pleasure Hero, the twenty-six-year-old rider entrusted the reins of her mare to the world number seven. “I rode this mare for the first time on the track yesterday. She already has experience, but given her injury, her rider asked me to ride her while waiting for the Olympic Games, for which they are potentially qualified. She is a wonderful mare and her rider had given me all the buttons. Since it is unshod, it will not compete on grass. For the rest, I will adapt my program according to my other horses. Like the three present here, she will go to Windsor next week”revealed the former world number one.
Only twenty-ninth yesterday after the Hunt, Alix Ragot skyrocketed today thanks to her double zero, the gaps being tiny in the leading peloton. On the gray KS Carat, named Qh Sole Mio Santo Antonio in the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) database since his time with the Brazilian Yuri Mansur, the Tricolore thus won bronze. “This horse didn’t arrive at my house very long ago, just a few months. I’m betting a lot on him and he proves today that he is up to all the objectives that I hope to achieve with this season. We acquired it last year, during the Longines Deauville Classic Fences sales. My goal with him is to reach 5* and a few Nations Cups this year”said the thirty-year-old.

Touching gold with their fingertips, Pierre-Marie Friant and his chestnut Urdy d’Astrée, discovered by the general public after their third place in the Grand Prix of the CSIO 5* of La Baule in 2022, finally finished in fifth position after a mistake in the last act. Winners of the Hunt yesterday, Harold Boisset and T’Obetty du Domaine finished at the foot of the podium, penalized with a fault on the entry of the double n°8 in the first round and credited with a clear round afterwards. Bronze medalists in 2022, Philippe Leoni and Miss Marie van’t Winnehof this time took sixth place in the championship. The couple from the South left the number 12 of act one on the ground despite two successful rounds.

The complete ranking

The results of the test