Victor Bettendorf (LUX) and the 12-year-old mare Encore Toi du Linon (Kannan x Desir du Chateau) won Sunday’s CSI3* 1.50m Grand Prix presented by Oliva Nova Beach & Golf Resort at Centro Ecuestre Oliva Nova, Spain, where the second week of Spring MET I 2026 concluded on Sunday.
 
Only three horse-and-rider combinations from the 53 at start cleared the first-round track set by the French Olympic course designer Gregory Bodo. Delivering a double clear and stopping the clock on 38.86 seconds in the jump-off, Bettendorf took the top honours ahead of Lorenzo de Luca (ITA) and Calitizia PS (Caligula x Centadel) who had to settle for the second place with their time of 39.81. Jérôme Guery (BEL) and Careca LS Elite (Carusso LS La Silla x Rebozo La Silla) finished third with a fence down in 39.35, followed by Jeanne Sadran (FRA) on Dexter de Kerglenn (Mylord Carthago x Diamant de Semilly) and Laura Rayjasse (FRA) aboard Crapule Verdoso (Kannan x Urbain du Monnai) in fifth – both carrying only time penalties from round one.
 
“I think it was quite a tough course,” Bettendorf said afterwards. “It was a very fair course for the horses and riders, but the time allowed was quite short and the triple produced many mistakes because you could do seven or eight strides there. I think it was better to get in on eight, because many that did seven made a mistake at the entry or in the middle. It was a challenging course, but very nice to ride – and when you are in the jump-off, you are happy there are not so many, so for me, it was great!”

“I think I was in a lucky position to go just after Jérôme,” Bettendorf said about his winning strategy for the jump-off. “He had to put pressure on, and I was lucky he had one rail. I did not take too many risks – just enough to be quicker than Jérôme with one down, and I was hoping for Lorenzo to be slower.”

“Encore is really starting to develop very well. In the last six months, she has been on the podium almost every week that she has jumped. Her last show was in London, where she won a 1.55m class and was placed in two other classes, and she won the ranking class here on Friday, and now again today. She is starting to be consistent and confident, and she trusts me – it is getting easy. When I ride her, I can just enjoy; if I don’t make a big mistake, she is normally clear. I hope she will be able to jump the big Grand Prix classes this year.”

“It is a great place to produce horses,” Bettendorf – a regular at Oliva Nova – said about the venue. “They do a great job with constant improvements. They have good course builders, it is a nice atmosphere… it is work, but it is work under the sun, and I really enjoy coming here.”

The Spring MET I 2026 continues next week, followed by Spring MET II in February, Spring MET III in March and Spring MET IV in April. 

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