CSIO Schweiz (St. Gallen, Switzerland)

June 4 - 7, 2009

The CSIO Schweiz, held last weekend in St Gallen, lived up to all expectations, particularly those of Longines, the event’s official partner and timekeeper. Not even the somewhat inclement weather failed to dampen the participants’ spirits or the spectators’ enthusiasm.

Saturday evening marked the end of an era for Swiss equestrian sport: the final appearance of Markus Fuchs in a professional competition. Fuchs ended his 40-year long career in style, putting in a masterful performance which saw him not only finish fourth in the individual jumping event but also win the hearts of the public once again. To honour his superlative sporting achievements, Ms Nayla Hayek (member of the board of Swatch Group) and Mr. Charles Villoz (Vice-President Sales, Longines) presented Markus Fuchs with a special horse sculpture and an 18-carat rose gold Longines Master Collection Retrograde watch. Both in his professional and private life, this outstanding Swiss equestrian and Longines Ambassador has been the perfect embodiment of Longines’ slogan "Elegance is an attitude".

The prestigious Grand Prix Longines was won by Billy Twomey (Ireland) on Je t'aime Flamenco. The runner-up was Christina Liebherr (Switzerland) on L.B. No Mercy, followed by Angelique Hoorn (Netherlands) on Blauwendraad's O'Brien in third place.

The Longines Trophy, which is awarded to the best rider in the CSIO Schweiz events, was won by Irishman Denis Lynch.

At the end of the third stage of the Longines Press Award for Elegance, Nathalie VAN DER MEI (Netherlands) was named best female equestrian at St. Gallen, while Roger-Yves BOST (France) took the men’s prize.

In doing so, both have earned valuable points for the final Longines Press Award for Elegance, to be presented later at the CSIO in Dublin. Laura Kraut (USA) and Richard Spooner (USA) currently lead the Longines Press Award for Elegance overall rankings.