Shane Sweetnam’s status as one of the very best showjumpers in the world was highlighted once again, as was the Castlemagner native’s belief that in ‘Coriaan Van Klapscheut Z’ he has another horse of championship standard, as the duo beat off 59 other contestants to claim five-star honours in the final week of the Winter Equestrian Festival, at Wellington, early on Friday morning.
Sweetnam and his 10-year-old held off none other than the red-hot Richard Vogel from Germany, riding ‘Claudio’, to garner a second Adequan WEF Challenge Cup of the WEF season, registering a time of 39.71 seconds compared to 40.53 from the only other pairing to go clear twice.
Six of the world’s top ten were in the field but only seven survived the initial examination. The pursuit of speed took its casualties also but, when the dust cleared, it was Sweetnam and his exciting Zangersheide gelding standing tallest. With Vogel, last into the International Ring, Sweetnam was made to sweat but, in the end, the standard he and Coriaan had set was too high even for the European champion.
“Any win in the WEF is a big deal,” said Sweetnam. “There were two plans for him this week—one, to qualify (for the Rolex Grand Prix), and two, to win the class.
“He’s brilliant, so consistent, especially now in the last six weeks. We’ve figured each other out, and we’re in contention for most classes.”