Two of the best riders in the world will have their names immortalized with the inaugural Global Champions 
Tour, sponsored by CN and CN WorldWide.  Olympic Champion Rodrigo Pessoa 
of Brazil won the final event in the Tour, the €150,000 VDL Groep Grand 
Prix at CSI4* Lanaken (BEL) while another Olympian, Ludo Philippaerts of 
Belgium, rode away with €250,000 in bonus money after topping the overall 
Global Champions Tour rankings.

For Pessoa, the day could not have ended any better.  Having already won 
the €30,000 Silver Masters Final with Cantate Z, Pessoa again emerged 
victorious riding Oasis in the €150,000 VDL Groep Grand Prix, which acted 
as the sixth and final leg of the Global Champions Tour.  In addition to 
taking home a winner´s purse equal to €50,000 - a new Chrysler vehicle and 
€13,300 in prize money, the win also catapulted Pessoa up the Global 
Champions Tour rankings.  Having competed in all six legs of the tour - 
Wellington (USA), Cannes (FRA), Monte-Carlo (MON), Estoril (ESP), 
Valkenswaard (NED) and, finally, Lanaken, Pessoa finished the inaugural 
Global Champions Tour ranked in third place, netting him €75,000 of the 
€600,000 bonus money on offer.

´´It is great to have the opportunity to win the big cheques for our 
owners,`` said Pessoa of his impressions of the inaugural Global Champions 
Tour.  He statement was especially meaningful considering that his winning 
mount, Oasis, is owned by Hunter Harrison, CEO of the title sponsor, CN.  
´´When you do something new, it is difficult to please everyone - some 
will like it, some won´t.  But especially when the Tour consists of top 
Grand Prix events that you would go to anyway, it is a great way for the 
owners to earn more money without jumping their horses any more often.  I 
was really pleased, and I am sure that Ludo was, too!``

The overall winner of the Global Champions Tour, Ludo Philippaerts of
Belgium, knew he could look forward to pocketing a bonus of €250,000 before
the Grand Prix even started.  Having won two events on the Tour, Monte-
Carlo and Estoril, he simply could not be caught.  Still, it did not stop 
him from saddling his big grey stallion, Parco, with whom he eventually 
finished 17th.

``I did all the competitions except for Wellington, and all the facilities
were really good - good footing, good material, good course designers and
even good hotels,´´ commented Philippaerts, who was an especially fitting
champion considering that he is a Rider Ambassador for JustWorld
International, the official charity of the Global Champions Tour. ``The
reality is that money is really important - the horses cost a lot of money,
and you have to earn a little money in order to keep the horses.  I think
that next year, the riders are going to see where the Global Champions Tour
events are, and plan the rest of their schedules around it.  I will aim
Parco at next year´s Global Champions Tour - it obviously suits him very
well!´´

It was a case of always the bridesmaid, never the bride for Austria´s 
Thomas Frühmann.  With a second place finish in the Grand Prix at Lanaken, 
Frühmann also finished second overall in the Global Champions Tour, 
netting him a bonus of €125,000.

The other bonus money recipients in the Global Champions Tour standings 
wereValkenswaard winner Leopold van Asten of the Netherlands, fourth for
€50,000; American Norman Dello Joio, the only rider in the top eight not
present at the Final, who was ranked fifth for €40,000 in bonus money;
Edwina Alexander of Australia who took sixth position for a €30,000 bonus;
Samantha McIntosh of Bulgaria who was seventh for €20,000; and, Ireland´s
Jessica Kurten who pocketed €10,000 for eighth position in the final
rankings.

With the top eight riders in the rankings hailing from eight different
nations, the Global Champions Tour certainly lived up to its name.  The
entire experience was extremely positive according to Anita Ernesaks, 
Global Managing Director of CN WorldWide, who said, ``It has been great to 
be a part of the Global Champions Tour.  It consisted of first-class 
events that we were proud to be a part of.  The riders have shown 
consistent, excellent top sport and we at CN WorldWide, similar to that in 
show jumping, have a team that is always working together to execute a 
plan.  Congratulations to Jan and his team for taking a chance in setting 
up the Global Champion Tour. Our involvement in 2006 exceeded our 
expectations.´´

For Global Champions Tour organizer Jan Tops, the final event at CSI 
Lanaken represented the full realization of his dream.

``First of all, we are very happy to have had CN as a sponsor - they came
forward and believed in the concept of moving our sport forward and
providing top-class events,´´ said the Dutch Olympic Gold medalist.``At all
the shows, you saw top class sport, which is very important, and all of the
riders brought their top horses.  The top three riders in the standings are
all champions, and they proved that it is possible to win a lot of money.
Looking back, I think that we have a very successful Tour.´´

2006 Global Champions Tour Final Ranking

Rank   Prize money (€) Name Rider         Nationality   Bonus   Total

 1      112.500        Ludo Philippaerts      BEL       250.000  362.500
 2       87.500        Thomas Frühmann        AUT       125.000  212.500
 3       62.500        Rodrigo Pessoa         BRA        75.000  137.500
 4       55.000        Leopold van Asten      NED        50.000  105.000
 5       50.000        Norman Dello Joio      USA        40.000   90.000
 6       41.500        Edwina Alexander       AUS        30.000   71.500
 7       40.500        Samantha McIntosh      BUL        20.000   60.500
 8       35.500        Jessica Kürten         IRL        10.000   45.500