BRITAIN’s Scott Brash thrilled his home crowd on Sunday night at the five-star London Olympia Horse Show when winning the Turkish Airlines Olympia Grand Prix with Hello Vincent.

It was horsemanship at its best as Brash, in the very last round of 2019, produced a magical display on Lady Harris and Lady Kirkham’s gelding to snatch the prize from his six rivals in the jump-off.

“Winning my last Grand Prix of the year, in front of a home crowd – it doesn’t get any better than that,” said a visibly thrilled Brash afterwards.

Australia’s Edwina Tops-Alexander, on brand new ride Identity Vitseroel, had given it her all, her 11-year-old bay gelding trying his heart out with prodigious leaps and turns on a sixpence, but Brash was determined, with the crowd screaming him down to the final fence, the clock showed that he had shaved 0.82 off her time.

Britain’s Holly Smith, who has enjoyed a fantastic 2019 and had a great show in London, which helped her win the Leading Rider accolade by an astonishing 28 points, finished third on Hearts Destiny.

No stopping Fuchs

Switzerland’s Martin Fuchs brought his storming year to a close when winning the eighth leg of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup.

The reigning European Champion, fresh from a big win in the Geneva Rolex Grand Prix last weekend, was second to go in a six-horse jump-off and pulled off a brilliantly accurate turn to the wall on The Sinner to achieve a time of 31.99 seconds that no one could match.

Austria’s Max Kühner (Elektric Blue P) and Belgium’s Niels Bruynseels (Delux van T & L) were also clear over the fences, but had to surrender to Fuchs’s speed, taking second and third places respectively.

Irish course-designer Alan Wade set a fair but deceptively testing track. “It was a great course. I wasn’t sure it would be stiff enough, but it had some light questions - and it got the right result!” said Fuchs.

“I had a great round in the jump-off. I knew I would have to take all the risks to put the pressure on the others and it came off exactly as I wanted. I probably couldn’t repeat it if I tried.”

The FEI’s Director of Jumping for three decades, John Roche, who was honoured for his service to the sport during the show, described Olympia as “a shining example to other organisers”, and was echoed by second-time visitor Fuchs, who said: “It’s an amazing show with a beautiful atmosphere and you really feel when you’re in the ring that you’re in a unique place.”

Dressage

Britain’s Charlotte Dujardin produced a superb victory with Mount St John Freestyle before an ecstatic home crowd at the FEI Dressage World Cup qualifier on Wednesday night.

And to put the icing on the British Christmas cake, her compatriots Carl Hester and Charlotte Fry lined up in second and third.