April 24, 2023 
“The horse already deserved to win last week in Miami, but I made a mistake to the last fence in the jump-off so I am thrilled I made up for it today,” said German rider David Will.
Riding 11-year-old gelding My Prins van Dorperhide, Will had redemption on his mind when he entered the Longines Global Champions Tour of Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon. The win evaded them last weekend when Katrin Eckermann and Cala Mandia jumped to their second Longines Grand Prix of Miami Beach victory, and Will’s error at the final element dropped the pair to fifth place though they had the fastest time on the clock.
In Mexico City, they were able to put together a clear round with the same blistering foot speed. Out of 37 combinations, 12 advanced to the jump-off course. Will finished in 43.16 seconds, a time no other could catch.
Swedish superstar Malin Baryard-Johnsson came the closest with her Olympic and FEI ECCO World Championships gold medal partner H&M Indiana. With the 15-year-old mare, Baryard-Johnsson was just fractions of a second behind Will in 43.57 seconds. H&M Indiana isn’t one to miss out on a victory lap, however. This veteran pair has a 61% top ten finish average and 58% clear round average over 83 rounds at 1.60m, according to Jumpr App.
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Olympic gold medalist Laura Kraut took third with 13-year-old gelding Baloutinue on 44.26 seconds, but was anything but disappointed by the effort.
Her Tokyo Games silver medal partner took his first 5* Grand Prix win during the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) circuit earlier this season, and his results have been consistently on the rise since. The pair jumped from a 40% clear round average over five finished rounds at 1.60m in 2022 to a 67% average at the height over six rounds in 2023 (Jumpr App).
“It was fractions of a second, I know David is always fast and I did everything I could. My horse is a winner to me,” said Kraut.
Equestrian is the only Olympic sport where men and women compete on an equal playing field. For Kraut, the finish was also an example of why.
“I am very happy there were two women on the podium, that’s important to me for people to realize the women are just as strong as the men,” said Kraut.
Even still, this Grand Prix belonged to David Will and My Prins van Dorperhide. It was his first Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix win, which also sealed his spot in the Longines Global Champions Tour Super Grand Prix at the GC Prague Playoffs in November. My Prins van Dorperhide has already accrued over 300,000 euros in prize money throughout his career. With Will in the stirrups since 2022, the gelding has a 62% clear round average and 86% top ten finish rate at 1.60m over eight rounds (Jumpr App).
“My horse made it easy for me today, he jumped unbelievable today in front of this incredible crowd. They were cheering everyone on.. It is just so fun and a pleasure to ride here,” finished Will.
