The road to Sunday’s Rolex Grand Prix presented by Audi officially began on Thursday at the Brussels Stephex Masters, with the CSI5* presented by Equihome, a 1.50m Table A against the clock and the first qualifying competition for Sunday’s highlight at 2:30 p.m.

A field of 55 horse-and-rider combinations took to the Grand Place Arena, with a time allowed of 83 seconds and valuable qualification places at stake.

First into the arena, Abdel Saïd immediately showed the way aboard Wathnan Max. The Belgian rider produced a smooth clear round in 72.55 seconds, setting the first benchmark of the competition.

Next to go, Marlon Modolo Zanotelli and Dorette OLD also kept every fence standing, stopping the clock in 73.33 seconds. Cian O’Connor followed with another clear aboard Kentucky TN in 77.89 seconds, meaning the opening three combinations had all successfully negotiated the course.

The first French rider to enter the arena, Simon Delestre, looked set to challenge Saïd’s leading time. A fault at the very last fence, however, left him on four faults and out of contention for the top places. Without that final mistake, his time would have been quick enough to move ahead of the Belgian.

The lead eventually changed hands when Eduardo Pereira de Menezes and H5 Knockando delivered a fast and precise clear round. Crossing the finish line in 71.03 seconds, the Brazilian moved straight to the top of the provisional standings.

Clear rounds continued to follow. Pieter Devos completed the course without fault, while Christian Ahlmann produced a particularly competitive performance to move into provisional second place.

After a short interruption due to rain, competition resumed in better conditions. Nicolas Pizarro, Petronella Andersson and Annelies Vorsselmans were among those adding their names to the list of clear rounds. Stephex Stables home rider Emilie Conter also delivered a fault-free performance, temporarily moving into fifth place, just ahead of Andersson.

Fresh from his individual and team silver medals at the World Championships in Aachen, Thibeau Spits entered the arena hoping to challenge the leaders, but two faults kept him out of the battle at the top of the standings.

Then came Kendra Claricia Brinkop and Gatsby Le Magnific. The Stephex Stables rider attacked the course with speed and precision, producing a brilliant clear in 71.30 seconds to move into second place, just 0.27 seconds behind Pereira de Menezes.

Antoine Ermann also delivered a clear round to move into the provisional top five, while Niels Bruynseels, Lara Tryba, Martin Fuchs and Andres Azcarraga were among the other combinations to finish without fault.

Newly crowned World Champion Steve Guerdat was another highly anticipated name to enter the Grand Place Arena. The Swiss rider finished with two faults, keeping him outside the clear-round contingent on this occasion.

In total, 20 combinations completed the course without fault, but nobody could better the early benchmark set by Eduardo Pereira de Menezes and H5 Knockando.

PEREIRA DE MENEZES TAKES THE WIN

With a faultless round in 71.03 seconds, Eduardo Pereira de Menezes and H5 Knockando claimed victory in the CSI5* presented by Equihome, ahead of Kendra Claricia Brinkop and Gatsby Le Magnific, who finished just 0.27 seconds behind in 71.30 seconds.

Christian Ahlmann and Vivario JL Z completed the podium after their clear round in 72.18 seconds.

Top three:

🇧🇷 Eduardo Pereira de Menezes & H5 Knockando : 71.03 sec

🇩🇪 Kendra Claricia Brinkop & Gatsby Le Magnific : 71.30 sec

🇩🇪 Christian Ahlmann & Vivario JL Z : 72.18 sec

With the first qualifying competition complete, attention now turns to Friday’s second qualifier, as the field for the Rolex Grand Prix presented by Audi on Sunday, 30 August at 2:30 p.m. continues to take shape.