French show jumper Julien Epaillard won the prestigious jumping competition at the German Masters in Stuttgart. The 48-year-old rode faultlessly on Donatello d’Auge in the jump-off to edge out strong rivals. In dressage, German Olympic champion Jessica von Bredow-Werndl took the lead.
At the German Masters equestrian tournament in Stuttgart's Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle, French rider Julien Epaillard dominated the jumping competition endowed with 105,500 euros. The 48-year-old won on the 12-year-old Donatello d’Auge, going faultless in the jump-off in 31.39 seconds. European champion Richard Vogel from Pfungstadt went first among the six jump-off riders on Cloudio but clocked 32.96 seconds to finish second.
Third place went to Dutch rider Bas Moerings on Kivinia with a time of 34.05 seconds. German Sophie Hinners from Pfungstadt placed fifth on Lommers, while Daniel Deusser, who lives in Belgium, took sixth on Pepita.
Earlier, Philipp Schulze Topphoff won the second qualification round. The 27-year-old from Westbevern rode faultlessly on the 12-year-old Westfalen mare Carla in the 30,000-euro class in 68.47 seconds. Epaillard was second on Fringan (68.71 seconds), with Roger Yves Bost third on Ballerine (69.05 seconds).
In dressage, double Olympic champion Jessica von Bredow-Werndl from Tuntenhausen won the Grand Prix with 73.261 percent. On the 10-year-old gelding Diallo, she delivered highlights in passage and piaffe after a flawed opening salute. Sweden's Patrick Kittel finished second on Touchdown, with Raphael Netz from Moosburg third on Camelot. The Grand Prix qualifies for Saturday's World Cup round.