Tipperary's Tom Wachman waltzes to success in Vienna
Five-star win for Goolds Cross rider
There were five-star wins at the Longines Global Champions Tour of Vienna for two Irish riders, as Tom Wachman, with Do It Easy (Coolmore Showjumping) and Ciarán Nallon, with Little Special In Red M (Beerbaum Stables), prevailed over elite fields.
Tipperary’s Tom Wachman and Do It Easy bagged another top-flight triumph when winning the first individual speed class of the Longines Global Champions League team event.
The 21-year-old from Goolds Cross, near Cashel, who is the number four-ranked Under 25 athlete in the world, won silver team and individual medals at the European Young Rider Championships with the 13-year-old gelding this year.
In the past, the duo have enjoyed five-star success in Rome, London and Dublin and they added Vienna to their list of conquered capital cities when proving accurate and fastest in the 1.60m competition.
Philipp Weishaupt (GER), with Oreo D.R., had held the lead a long while as the third pairing into the arena, setting a target of clear in 73.97 that proved beyond combination after combination.
It looked like it might be enough to secure ultimate honours until the arrival of Wachman and Do It Easy, as the third-last duo to have a go. Do It Easy lived up to his name, displaying that wonderful athleticism as he glided around the half-kilometre track, taking out tenths without any apparent effort.
Apart from one little rub, which did not dislodge a pole, he was foot-perfect over the 15 jumps from a dozen obstacles, and with the man on his back guiding him expertly, they took more than a second off Weishaupt’s mark, clocking a lightning 72.93 for a commanding triumph.
The pair concluded the week with an eighth-place return from the LGCT Grand Prix of Vienna on Sunday, qualifying for the jump-off with another opening round clear but perhaps the exertions of the week took their toll and they had two rails down in the tiebreaker.