Simon Delestre's Double Stroke of Genius With Cayman Jolly Jumper

“I’m struggling to get my head around it. Maybe that will come tomorrow. To win two Grand Prix of this standard in the span of two weeks has never happened to me before,” said Simon Delestre.

Delestre was already riding on cloud nine after winning last week’s Rolex Grand Prix of S-Hertogenbosch, where he also became the first French rider to bring home a major. On Sunday afternoon in Paris, France at Saut Hermès, Delestre kept on his winning streak during the Grand Prix Hermès 1.60m, and with the same partner, the fiery 13-year-old Selle Français gelding, Cayman Jolly Jumper.

“I’ve always believed that Cayman was a legendary horse and he demonstrated that again in this Grand Prix. He had a few issues before the Olympic Games but today he’s fully recovered. He is exceptional, really a cut above the rest,” gushed Delestre.

The cut above the rest on Sunday was razor-thin, with nine horses returning for the jump-off under the famous glass sky of the Grand Palais. Robert Whitaker, first to go with 12-year-old gelding Vermento, opened the field with a blistering time of 41.70 seconds, taking a route of such bold and tight turns that Vermento’s hooves clipped the start sign on the way to the final vertical.

Whitaker valiantly held onto that lead, as the following riders were already forced to chase his time. With risk comes reward, but also often faults. Max Kühner came the closest with 42.26 aboard EIC Julius Ceasar, but it was just shy of the time and he would ultimately be slated third.

For a while, it seemed like nobody would knock Whitaker from the top of the leaderboard. That is, until Delestre strode into the ring, already eliciting a thunderous applause from the crowd. Delestre has won the Grand Prix Hermès twice before with Hermès Ryan in 2018 and 2019. Being in front of a hometown audience, as an Hermès partnered rider, and following his protégé Jeanne Sadran’s win on Saturday night, you could say he was the favorite to win.

In a blaze of glory, he managed to strike down Whitaker’s time just enough, galloping through the timers at 41.21 seconds, and the crowd erupted. While Delestre had to wait for a few more combinations to take a crack at the course before he knew for sure he’d won it, there was no imagining that he could be caught. Not with Cayman Jolly Jumper.

“I’ve ridden some great horses but this one is something else. I’m incredibly lucky to get to ride a horse like this. If I were to compare him to Hermès Ryan, he is capable of even more. You just need to channel it because if you leave him to his own devices a bit, he flies,” Delestre explained.

“I had a choice when I entered the arena for the jump-off. I could go steady… but I’d have finished fifth. Or I could take risks for the win. On the turn before the upright, I was in a sticky situation but once again Cayman found a solution. When I’m in a mess, he gets me out of it with a stroke of genius.”