“Watching the jump-off, I’ve never been so nervous in my life,” said flying Dutchman Harrie Smolders.
All too well, Smolders knows the feeling of a win just slipping away. First out of ten illustrious combinations to jump off, history was fixing to repeat itself once again.
The familiar top mount of Smolders, 15-year-old gelding Monaco N.O.P., is the sixth best horse in the world today in prize earnings (Jumpr stats). Yet, an elusive win at the 4* or 5* level has all but taunted them throughout their career. They’ve finished second 14 times in 5* 1.60m Grands Prix.
With hopes of breaking the curse during Sunday afternoon’s Rolex Grand Prix of Geneva, the luck of the draw wasn’t exactly on their side.
In classic form, Smolders wasn’t about to hand anything over easily. He turned up the pressure cooker and burned through the second round in 41.74 seconds. This left the remaining nine to battle it out, and they took care of themselves.
Standing ringside with his heartbeat pounding in his ear, one by one, Smolders would release a little bit of his bated breath.
Lorenzo De Luca (ITA) and Denver de Talma missed a distance and De Luca hit the sand. Both Swedes had the same strategy: Henrik Von Eckermann and Peder Fredricson opted for a razor-sharp turn to the Point Alexandre III oxer, and both King Edward and Catch Me Not hit the brakes. Favored to win, Martin Fuchs (SUI) and Leone Jei caught a pair of rails, and Giulia Martinengo Marquet (ITA) and Gilles Thomas (BEL) rode clean yet conservative rounds.
“I think I set the bar quite high straight away and that’s why they took more and more risks and that’s where their mistakes came from,” Smolders explained.
That left the final rider, McLain Ward (USA), aboard 11-year-old gelding Ilex, and for a moment, it looked like they had won. With the fastest time of the evening in 41.48, Ward galloped through the timers only to hear the heartbreak rail hit the ground behind him. Show jumping is nothing without a healthy dose of drama.
“I don’t normally feel relaxed, but the nerves today were something I’ve never felt before,” said Smolders. “I was in a very difficult spot. They’re all watching, they all know how to copy you and where to leave a stride out to go faster, and so I really took my chances. I didn’t know if it was enough…I support the sport, and I always cheer for everybody, but Monaco really deserved this victory. I’m so happy.”
For the second and third podium positions, fortune didn’t favor the bold but the wise.
Giulia Martinengo Marquet was a self-proclaimed wildcard with her 11-year-old gelding Delta Del’isle, as one of the ten riders present in Geneva not by qualification but by invitation. According to the organization, Martinengo Marquet was an easy choice, given her recent consistent top results in Dinard, Brussels, and the German Masters.
“Delta is incredible and also her team earned this day. She says a horse like Delta can really change a career. I’m sure I could have taken more risks but for today I couldn’t ask for better. When I left home, if they told me I was going to be second I would be down on the floor,” laughed Martinengo Marquet.
Gilles Thomas (BEL) also opted to give his 10-year-old Ermitage Kalone a confident experience, and 44.77 was solid enough for third.
“Not too long ago, there was a lot of doubt if we should sell Ermitage or not. Finally, we decided to keep him, the owner took the risk to keep him with me, which feels great because now everything has started to pay off,” said Thomas.
“My horse is still young and we maybe don’t have enough experience to go that fast, but I’m proud of myself that I could give Ermitage this. He deserves it.”
Three happy riders, but none more than Smolders, who is in the sweet spot for his hometown Major, the Dutch Masters in s’Hertogenbosch as the Rolex Grand Slam Live Contender.
“The show where I was inspired as a young kid. Now, we are in the position to inspire the next generations with our horses,” Smolders concluded to the room of journalists.
A tradition in Geneva is that all members of the media bet on the winner of the Rolex Grand Prix, and at the end of the press conference, the Grand Prix winner pulls a journalist’s name out of a hat to win a bottle of champagne.
“Most people bet that I would be second maybe!” laughed Smolders.