Sophie Hinners Conquers Vienna as Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix Delivers a Night Like No Other at Schönbrunn Palace
Mdmar – Vienna
In front of a completely sold-out crowd in Vienna, the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix unfolded against a backdrop unlike anything else in world sport. The palace illuminated behind the arena, packed grandstands lining every side and an atmosphere that built with every clear round created a night of sport and spectacle that Vienna made entirely its own.
And somehow, the finale raised the bar again. As the horses entered through the palace itself for the prize giving, an opera singer stood on the balcony above, his voice carrying across the arena as the top three rode beneath him. It was unmistakably Vienna: horses, history and high-performance sport meeting in one extraordinary scene.
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At the centre of it all was Sophie Hinners, who produced a breathtaking final round aboard Iron Dames Combella to win the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Vienna. Eight combinations returned for a jump-off under the palace lights, and with the sold-out crowd behind them, there was nowhere to hide.
Hinners delivered when it mattered most, taking every risk aboard Iron Dames Combella to stop the clock in 43.13 seconds and claim the biggest prize of the night. Sweden’s Peder Fredricson and Alcapone des Carmille came agonisingly close. A huge risk to the final fence saw them charge through the finish in 43.60 seconds, just 0.47 seconds away from victory.
Belgium’s Olivier Philippaerts and Hipster SV completed the podium in 44.86 seconds, having briefly held the lead during an increasingly fast and furious jump-off. For Hinners, victory also delivered one of the most coveted prizes of the LGCT season: her ticket to the Longines Global Champions Tour Super Grand Prix, where she will return to battle against the season’s other Grand Prix winners at the GC Prague Playoffs.
A beaming Sophie spoke to Rosie Turner of GCTV after her win. She started by saying “It’s unbelievable, I really am so pleased with my mare Combella, she jumped amazing and she really fought the whole course – particularly to the last. The atmosphere here is truly amazing, and being supported by the Iron Dames family I think nothing can be better than this now!”
She went on to add, “I feel very honoured, I feel very thankful to have such an amazing team of horses thanks to Deborah and to be here on top the podium is incredible. It is an amazing venue here, but also the crowd and the atmosphere make it so special.”
As for the Golden Ticket to the Longines Global Champions Tour Super Grand Prix at the GC Riyadh Playoffs? She said, “It means a lot to me as a rider, it is the first time I will be able to compete in the class – it has always been a goal and this year it is time!”
“I don’t think he knew where he was going until the last stride!” Peder exclaimed after a thrilling angle to the last fence, putting full trust in his horse Alcapone. He added, “I was a bit lucky in the first round maybe, he had a few rubs, but the poles stayed up, but I think I got a pretty fast jump off. Sophie was really quick – to beat her I would’ve had to do 5 strides during the second last line.”
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As for the stage 12 of the 2026 Championship race, Peder said: “I think it has been a great show here, the atmosphere has been fantastic, with full stands through the weekend and an incredible crowd.”
Olivier perhaps wasn’t quite expecting a podium place today, but strategy truly paid off. He reflected, “It was a great jump off – I just had a few before me to go and I saw Yuri just before me, and I had a feeling it was possible. I took the option to the last jump and that is where I lost it, but I am super happy with my horse and the result today.”
He went on to add, “I made a plan early and tried to stick to it – hopefully next time I get into the jump off I can give it another try! He is very scopey, very careful, it is just a matter of knowing each other at this level and trying to get the control right but it looks like we’ve got it figured out now… maybe in the coming shows I will have the chance to get the Golden Ticket for the LGCT Super Grand Prix but we will see about that in Rome!”
Championship Race: The Pressure Builds
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With Leg 12 complete, the 2026 Longines Global Champions Tour Championship is entering crunch time. Abdel Saïd remains in control at the top, but Vienna tightened the margins behind him and ensured there is plenty still to play for.
The top five after Vienna are:
1. Abdel Saïd — 219 points
2. Christian Ahlmann — 205 points
3. Edwina Tops-Alexander — 192 points
4. Max Kühner — 191 points
5. Katrin Eckermann — 170.5 points
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Just 28 points separate Saïd from Kühner in fourth, setting up a huge final three stages in Rome, Cairo and Rabat.
The celebrations continued with a fitting presentation party beneath the spectacular backdrop of Schönbrunn Palace. Serena Hamberg, long-time patron and supporter of Austrian and international equestrian sport, together with Sonja Klima, Organizer of LGCT Vienna, Klaus Panholzer, CEO of Schloss Schönbrunn, Patrick Aoun, President and CEO of Longines, presented the Longines timepiece to Grand Prix winner Sophie Hinners, before Jan Tops, President and Founder of the Longines Global Champions Tour, presented the coveted first-place trophy to complete an unforgettable night in Vienna.
The imposing 1.60m first-round track demanded accuracy, scope and concentration, but it was the tight 84-second time allowed that added another layer of pressure. Germany’s Hans-Dieter Dreher and Elysium left every fence standing, only to cross the finish in 84.03 seconds. Just three hundredths over the time allowed handed them a single time fault and brutally denied them a place in the jump-off. Sweden’s Henrik von Eckermann and Minute Man suffered the same fate. The poles stayed untouched, but their 84.64 seconds left them on one time fault and outside the decider.
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Fernando Martinez Sommer and Joep also mastered the fences but couldn’t beat the clock, finishing in 85.17 seconds for two time faults. Then attention turned firmly towards the Championship protagonists. Third-ranked Edwina Tops-Alexander looked on course to put herself right into the fight before a gutting single rail with Caetlin vd Heffinck Z left her on four faults. For Christian Ahlmann, sitting second in the Championship coming into Vienna, one fence down aboard Untouched LB proved equally costly. With championship leader Abdel Saïd safely through to the jump-off, every point mattered, and Ahlmann’s four faults left him unable to capitalise later in the evening.
And then came the moment the Austrian crowd had been waiting for. Max Kühner was last to go. With every seat filled and the home crowd willing him around the arena, Kühner and Vivo de Muze PS set off in pursuit of the clear that would send Vienna into overdrive. But one rail hit the floor. Four faults ended the dream of a home jump-off and left Kühner 13th.
Eight combinations remained. Now, under the lights of Schönbrunn Palace, it was time to race.
First back through the gates was Katharina Rhomberg, carrying Austrian hopes aboard Colestus Cambridge. As pathfinder, the challenge was to find the balance between setting a competitive target and keeping the pressure on those behind. A smooth start came undone at the brown oxer coming away from the out gate, which fell to leave them on four faults in 46.01 seconds. The door was open.
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Next came Gudrun Patteet, and suddenly the benchmark changed completely. Already 0.48 seconds up at the split, Patteet and Sea Coast Qarvalio d’Or kept every pole in place all the way home. 44.99 seconds and clear – the first double clear was on the board.
Fresh from victory in Valkenswaard and already holding his LGCT Super Grand Prix ticket, Yuri Mansur returned on a different horse, QH Alfons Santo Antonio. At the halfway split he was 0.58 seconds down, and although another clear kept the pressure on, 45.74 seconds wasn’t enough to move ahead of Patteet.
Then the pace went up another gear. Olivier Philippaerts and Hipster SV were 0.31 seconds ahead halfway around, and despite choosing the outside route to the final fence, the clock flashed 44.86 seconds. Just 0.13 seconds faster than Patteet – and Philippaerts was the new leader.
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Now came Sophie Hinners. And she meant business. Already 0.52 seconds ahead at the halfway point, Hinners and Iron Dames Combella kept attacking. Then came the move that changed the Grand Prix: an audacious inside turn to the last. There was no backing off, no protecting the clear and no settling for a podium. They flew through the finish in 43.13 seconds – 1.73 seconds faster than Philippaerts.
It was all risk. Now everyone else had to answer. Championship leader Abdel Saïd was next, carrying more than just the Grand Prix into the arena. But the second fence came down early for Saïd and Wathnan Zasou vom Claashof. He kept attacking and his 44.67 seconds would have been quick enough for second place, but the early rail left him off the podium on four faults.
Could Peder Fredricson find the answer? The Swedish star chased Hinners all the way aboard Alcapone des Carmille and took a huge, heart-stopping risk to the final fence. They landed and raced through the timers in 43.60 seconds. Clear – but 0.47 seconds too slow. Hinners still led. One remained.
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Young Irish talent Tom Wachman was the last rider with the power to change the result. But when an early rail fell for Do It Easy, the equation was finally settled. Sophie Hinners had won the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Vienna.
Against the palace. Under the lights. In front of a sold-out crowd. Vienna had its champion.
The Schönbrunn Palace gates may have closed on an unforgettable weekend, but the race for the 2026 Longines Global Champions Tour Championship is only getting tighter. Now the Tour moves from one iconic European capital to another. Next stop: Rome. With three stages remaining, championship points at a premium and the margins at the top shrinking, the fight for the 2026 LGCT title is entering its decisive phase.
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The “Mdmar” website which was Founded by Khaled Makhlouf in 2007 for horse and equestrian races is keen to cover and follow all competitions related to horses, from show jumping, Horseracing, speed and endurance races, and purebred Arabian horse beauty shows, which belong to the Arab Gulf countries at home and abroad in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the State of Qatar, the State of Kuwait, the Sultanate of Oman, and the Kingdom of Bahrain.
