Verlooy and Meyer share Olympia Puissance

It has been a thrilling night at the London International Horse Show at Olympia, with the famous red Puissance wall reaching a dizzy height of2.15m (7ft) andJos Veerloy and Hilmar Meyer sharing the top prize.

Pretty easy

The Alltech Christmas Puissance went to five rounds, with both Jos’s ride Sunshine and Hilmar’s horse Continuo clearing the massive wall in style. Aged just 20, Jos admitted to H&C that he found the whole thing straightforward, thanks to his super-talented horse Sunshine.

“He made my job every easy, to be honest it was quite easy… not to be rude,” said Jos, who is Dutch but has a Scottish mother.

It was Hilmar’s first time competing at Olympia. The last time he came here was 30 years ago as a groom,and he said there is no other show like it.

Living the dream

“It was always my dream to compete here, the astmosphere is like nowhere else in the world ” said the 52-year-old German rider.

In joint third place was Trevor Breen on his Derby winnerLoughnatousa WB; HOYS Puissance winnersVictoriaGulliksen and Grand Balou;KarlineDe Brabander onFantomas de Muze; and PiusSchwizer withLeonard de la Ferme CH –who all jumped the wall at 2m.

Horse & Country’s coverage of Olympia is brought to you in association with Blue Chip