Emeric George claimed the first win of the week at CSIO Rome - Master d’Inzeo 2024 at Piazza di Siena this morning when galloping to victory in the Safe Riding Winning Round partnering the young mare Gloria Mercoeur.

The 35-year-old Frenchman pinned Olympic champion Ben Maher and Enjeu de Grisien into runner-up spot while Tokyo Olympic team gold medallist Peder Fredricson from Sweden slotted into third with H&M Bahia.

George was thrilled with his result. “It’s my first time to ride here in Rome and my first 5* class with Gloria so I am very happy!”, he said. A veteran of Junior and Young Rider European Championships and twice a medallist at Junior level,  George studied for a career as an urban planning and environmental engineer and is now realising his equestrian ambitions.

His eight-year-old bay mare, Gloria Mercoeur (Windows vh Costerveld/Jarnac), who finished third in the CSI2* Grand Prix in St Tropez, France in March showed an amazing turn of foot to beat the other 11 horse-and-rider combinations in the second-round jump-off against the clock today. And when she set off to celebrate with her rider after the prize-giving she had plenty of energy left as she towed him around the arena.

Deciding round

In the 12-horse jump-off just six jumped clear once again including US-based Austrian Peter Petschenig who clocked up a time of 40.43 seconds for sixth place with Its The Senator lll. Fifth spot went to Mexico’s Jose Antonio Chedrauui Eguia and Good Limit in 39.41 while Germany’s Mario Stevens and Cornet de Semilly snatched fourth in 38.93.

The top three really had the handbrake off from start to finish, and Fredricson looked super-fast when clearing the line in 37.83 with H&M Bahia while Britain’s Maher took all the tight turns to stop the clock on 36.50. But George had it in the bag after breaking the beam in 36.40 seconds to ensure it was La Marseillaise that would be the first national anthem to ring out across the arena as the action at Piazza di Siena 2024 got underway.