The entry list of the 4* 1.45m competition featured no less than fifty combinations. It was Great Britain’s Robert Murphy who led the victory lap aboard Hulde G. 

The pair steadily climbed the rankings throughout the weekend. The 11-year-old mare performed a clear round on Friday, placed second on Saturday to then top it off with a victory on Sunday. Robert Murphy is full of praise about his equine partner: “Hulde G is quite an experienced horse, she already jumped nations cups with other riders. It feels like she is getting better as the show progresses. This mare really rises to the occasion. I took over the reins not too long ago and she has just made her comeback from a 3-month break. We took our time to build her up and she felt great this week. She is so careful and quick, courses like these suit her well. She develops even more scope when she is going at it with a bit more pace.”

For Robert Murphy it’s the first coming to Jumping Indoor Maastricht: “It’s all quite new to me, since I’m from England. The atmosphere is fantastic. I feel very fortunate to be at a show like this and I am grateful I am allowed to jump here. To get this win, well, it could have hardly gone any better. Hopefully I will be here again next year. For now, our goal is to build Hulde G up for bigger things next year. As long as she is happy with me, we could have a good partnership together”, concludes the 22-year-old rider. 

Murphy bested his biggest rival Harrie Smolders and his stallion Escape Z by nearly three seconds. Kim Emmen placed third with Macho V, ahead of Marc Houtzager and Klasse EB. Irish rider Jack Ryan completed the top five with Kannem J.A. Z. 

Find the timetable and results here. 

Foto's door digishots