The Allianz-Prize on Saturday afternoon is the small Grand Prix of the CHIO Aachen. The field of competitors was correspondingly high-class. An aspiring young French show-jumper rode to victory and fulfilled her lifetime dream.

As the last to go in the winning round of the Allianz-Prize, the 25-year-old Nina Mallevaey had already examined the rides of her fellow competitors and left them trailing behind. She jumped to victory with her ten-year-old Irish mare, My Clementine, in a speedy time of 50.59 seconds. Second place went to the Irish Olympic rider, Shane Sweetnam with his nine-year-old Zangersheide-bred gelding, Coriaan van Klapscheut Z, (51.25 seconds). The Mercedes-Benz Nations Cup winner of Thursday, McLain Ward, was delighted to come third with High Star Hero (0/53.02). René Dittmer and Cody auf Platz were the best German pair in fourth place (55.02 seconds)

“Winning this was fantastic,” beamed Nina Mallevaey. She thanked first and foremost her mare: “She is super-fast, super-careful and so smart! She did everything right today.” It is the first time she is competing at the CHIO Aachen. She said: “It has been my dream for ages to compete here. I really like the atmosphere. I love it here, I love it when you feel all the people so close. It makes me want to ride even better. It is just so amazing.“

Nina Mallevaey may only be 25 years old, but even her elder fellow competitors obviously know what to expect from her. Asked if he was a little disappointed at coming second, Shane Sweetnam answered: “I knew with Nina coming up, it would be hard. Nina has a very fast horse. They have won a lot of classes. It is an Irish horse too, so that makes it easier for me to take.“ Then, he explained, “My horse is still quite green at this level He has learnt a lot and this is the pinnacle of the sport, so I am very pleased with my ride. He is a very quick horse so I think his day will come!” McLain Ward confirmed Sweetnam’s assessment of the winning pair. “Nina was difficult to beat today!”

CHIO Aachen Head of Sport, Birgit Rosenberg, is happy to see so many new faces in the top rankings of the big classes. “It is the day of the newcomers! It is great to see young riders coming up and making it to the top!” she emphasised and thanked everyone once again for the excellent sport.