Spotlight feature: Vancouver de Lanlore
No horse has had a more consistent start to the 2023 season than Vancouver de Lanlore (721).
It's been barely a year since this bay stallion has formed a combination with Pius Schwizer and while their start together may have been rocky, they are on a roll to make waves this year.
With four starts at 160 in 4* and 5* events this season, and a 100% clear rate retained, Vancouver de Lanlore and Pius Schwizer have shown they are a force to be reckoned with in 2023. The pair have produced more clears than what is considered average for those courses and therefore currently sport a CAS value of 3.1 at 160, unmatched by any other horse so far into the year.
This pair finished third in the Leipzig World Cup ahead of the in-form Solid Gold Z (764) and the hugely consistent Messi van ‘t Ruytershof (729). In his most recent outing for the Göteborg World Cup, they beat major rivals such as King Edward (798) and Monaco N.O.P. (765) by claiming second place.
Their consistency on the World Cup circuit has earned them a spot in the Longines FEI World Cup Finals in Omaha in April. However, it hasn’t always come easy for this combination. They have only formed a pair since March 2022 as the stallion had previously been campaigned by Penelope Leprevost. It was under the French rider that Vancouver de Lanlore reached his highest Elo-rating to date. In November of 2019, the stallion came out of the CSI5*-W Grand Prix of Lyon on an Elo of 754 after finishing 12th in that competition.
Soon after Schwizer took over the ride, Vancouver de Lanlore’s Elo dropped as low as 583 in May 2022. It took a while for horse and rider to get to know each other but ever since then they have been on an upward trajectory. Currently Vancouver de Lanlore sports an Elo of 721. With the way this pair have started 2023, and with their participation in the World Cup Finals secured, we expect to see this Elo evolve further as the year continues.