The battle for a place in Sunday’s Rolex Grand Prix presented by Audi continued on Friday at the Brussels Stephex Masters with the CSI5* presented by STX Finance, a 1.55m Table A with Jump-Off.

For this second qualifying competition, 58 horse-and-rider combinations took on a demanding course featuring 13 obstacles and 16 efforts, with the remaining places in Sunday’s Rolex Grand Prix at stake.

First into the Grand Place Arena, Rodrigo Pessoa and Prins van ’t Eigenlo finished with three faults, while Nadja Peter Steiner and Quarantinette VT Hazelarenhoekje also encountered difficulties around the course.

The first clear came courtesy of home rider Pieter Devos, who produced a smooth and controlled round to set the first benchmark of the competition. Harrie Smolders soon joined him with another faultless performance, ensuring there would be a jump-off.

Stephex Stables rider Petronella Andersson then delivered an impressive clear, before recently crowned team World Champion Richard Vogel added his name to the growing list of combinations qualified for the jump-off. His German teammate and fellow team World Champion Daniel Deusser followed with another clear.

The course continued to test some of the biggest names in the field. Former World Champion Henrik von Eckermann finished on four faults, while newly crowned individual and team World Championship silver medallist Thibeau Spits also left one fence on the ground.

After 20 combinations, only five riders had managed to complete the course without fault. The final line proved particularly influential throughout the competition, ending the hopes of several combinations.

Cian O’Connor eventually produced the sixth clear of the class, while Ben Maher kept every fence standing but collected two time penalties. Kristen Vanderveen then became the seventh rider to secure her place in the jump-off.

Giampiero Garofalo and Frederic Vernaet completed the group, leaving nine combinations to return for the decisive jump-off.

Nine combinations, one victory

First to return, Pieter Devos finished on four faults, leaving the door open for those who followed. Harrie Smolders then delivered the first double clear, stopping the clock in 43.17 seconds.

Next came Petronella Andersson. The Stephex Stables rider raised the pace considerably, producing a superb clear in 38.60 seconds to take over the lead.

But the times continued to fall. Richard Vogel attacked the shortened course and crossed the finish line clear in 37.83 seconds, moving ahead of Andersson.

Stephex Stables’ Daniel Deusser was even faster, stopping the clock in 37.04 seconds, but a four-fault score kept him out of contention for the victory.

Cian O’Connor and Kentucky TN then found another gear. Clear in 37.33 seconds, the Irish rider moved into provisional first place ahead of Vogel.

Then came Kristen Vanderveen and Bull Run’s Jireh.

The American rider produced the fastest performance of the afternoon, completing the jump-off clear in an impressive 35.02 seconds more than two seconds faster than O’Connor to take a commanding lead that nobody could catch.

Last to go, Frederic Vernaet completed another clear round, but his time was not enough to challenge the top three.

Vanderveen claims the second qualifier

With an outstanding double clear and a winning time of 35.02 seconds, Kristen Vanderveen and Bull Run’s Jireh claimed victory in the CSI5* presented by STX Finance.

Cian O’Connor and Kentucky TN finished second in 37.33 seconds, while newly crowned team World Champion Richard Vogel and Gangster Montdesir completed the podium in 37.83 seconds.

🇺🇸 Kristen Vanderveen & Bull Run’s Jireh : 35.02 sec

🇮🇪 Cian O’Connor & Kentucky TN : 37.33 sec

🇩🇪 Richard Vogel & Gangster Montdesir : 37.83 sec

With the two qualifying competitions now complete, the field is taking shape for the highlight of the Brussels Stephex Masters: the Rolex Grand Prix presented by Audi, which will bring together 50 combinations on Sunday, 30 August at 2:30 p.m. over a 1.60m course.