Worth the Wait: Devos, Keenan and Swail Take the Weekend’s Five-Star Grands Prix
Pieter Devos turned six podiums into a win at the Pyramids, Lillie Keenan won at home in Washington, and Conor Swail jumped the only double clear in San Miguel de Allende.
Going into the weekend, three horses topped the ratings in their fields: Otello de Guldenboom in Cairo, Major Tom in Washington and Casturano in San Miguel de Allende. On Grand Prix day, the wins went elsewhere.
Pieter Devos and Lillie Keenan won with horses who go clear more often than the courses they jump. Conor Swail won with a horse who had one five-star 1.60m clear before the weekend.
Combination statistics below cover CSI5* 1.60m and major championship results prior to last weekend’s competition.
Cairo: Devos takes the first Grand Prix at the Pyramids
Twelve of the 40 starters went clear in the first round of the first LGCT Grand Prix of Cairo, and seven stayed clear in the jump-off. Devos was fastest of the seven by 0.46 seconds.
| # | Horse / Rider | Jump-off |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Casual DV Z Pieter Devos (BEL) |
0 | 45.85 |
| 2 | Hipster SV Olivier Philippaerts (BEL) |
0 | 46.31 |
| 3 | Point Break Ben Maher (GBR) |
0 | 46.57 |
| 4 | Oaky Flandria Niels Bruynseels (BEL) |
0 | 48.82 |
| 5 | Pikeur Lemar NRW Marco Kutscher (GER) |
0 | 49.83 |
Top five of the 12-horse jump-off.
Six podiums, then the win
Two weeks ago in Rome, Pieter Devos & Casual DV Z were second to Abdel Saïd. In Cairo they went one better. The home-bred mare came in on 763, one point below her best rating, with eight podiums at this level and no wins.
The pair had gone clear in 17 of 35 rounds together, on courses where about one horse in five goes clear. It was the mare’s first win at the five-star Grand Prix level.
The win had been coming all year. Before Cairo, Casual DV Z had six podiums in five-star 1.60m Grands Prix in 2026: third in Basel, third and then second in Doha, third at the Dutch Masters, and second in Valkenswaard and Rome. In August the mare was part of the Belgian team that took silver at the World Championships in Aachen.
A Belgian one-two, and a title for Saïd
Olivier Philippaerts and the 10-year-old Hipster SV were second. Ben Maher jumped last on Point Break and finished third, 0.72 seconds off the win.
Daniel Deusser & Otello de Guldenboom led the Cairo ratings on 776. They had one fence down in the first round and finished joint 22nd with Sophie Hinners and Iron Dames Combella, second on the list at 773. Christian Kukuk and Checker 47, third on the list at 765, made the jump-off and finished tenth on eight faults. Saïd had one fence down in the first round with Wathnan Bonne Amie, but has enough points to be crowned the 2026 LGCT champion with one leg to go.
Washington: Keenan wins at home
Thirteen of the 22 starters went clear in the first round of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Washington, and seven stayed clear in the jump-off. Keenan was the only rider under 37 seconds.
| # | Horse / Rider | Jump-off |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kick On Lillie Keenan (USA) |
0 | 36.69 |
| 2 | Farrel Daniel Coyle (IRL) |
0 | 37.13 |
| 3 | Pia Maria H Shane Sweetnam (IRL) |
0 | 38.09 |
| 4 | Jordan Molga M McLain Ward (USA) |
0 | 38.44 |
| 5 | Genius de Rance Erynn Ballard (CAN) |
0 | 39.50 |
Top five of the 13-horse jump-off.
Kick On comes good in the President’s Cup
Lillie Keenan & Kick On came to Washington on 742, behind Rodrigo Pessoa’s Major Tom at the top of the list. The 12-year-old stallion had won once before at this level and been on the podium twice.
The pair had gone clear in five of 16 rounds together, on courses where about one horse in five goes clear. Washington was their second five-star win. Kick On’s best Elo is 753.
Their 2026 had been steady without a win. They were tenth at the World Cup Final in Fort Worth, sixth at the Dutch Masters and fifth twice at Spruce Meadows in the summer. Two weeks ago in Amenia they went clear in the first round of the Highlands Cup and finished 11th after 12 faults in the jump-off. Washington was their first top-three finish at this level this year.
Coyle second again
Daniel Coyle and Farrel set the target at 37.13 and Daniel finished second in this class for the second year running. Shane Sweetnam was third on Pia Maria H. McLain Ward and Jordan Molga M went first in the jump-off and finished fourth.
Rodrigo Pessoa & Major Tom started the week top of the Washington ratings on 762. They made the jump-off but retired there and shared 12th.
San Miguel de Allende: Swail's only double clear
Three of the 28 starters went clear in the first round, and only Swail stayed clear in the jump-off.
| # | Horse / Rider | Jump-off |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clonterm Obolensky Conor Swail (IRL) |
0 | 43.78 |
| 2 | Brin d’Or de Haute Melen Z Sharn Wordley (NZL) |
4 | 45.08 |
| 3 | Lareusa S John Perez Bohm (COL) |
8 | 45.22 |
One clear in 12, then two
Conor Swail & Clonterm Obolensky came in on 702, second only to Swail’s other mount, Casturano.
In San Miguel they jumped two clears in one afternoon. It was the horse’s first podium and first win at the five-star level. Clonterm Obolensky’s best Elo is 722.
The clear rounds had been close all season. Their best individual result at this level in 2026 came at Spruce Meadows in June, where two time faults left them eighth. Two weeks ago in Coapexpan they finished 11th. In San Miguel, everything came together.
| Winner | Elo | Clear % | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cairo Casual DV Z |
763 | 49% | 0.46s |
| Washington Kick On |
742 | 31% | 0.44s |
| San Miguel Clonterm Obolensky |
702 | 8% | 4 faults |
Two winners came in clearing well above the course average. The third had one clear at this level.
Three Grands Prix, and three winners who had been building to this all season. Rating or form, who are you backing in Rabat and Lyon this week?