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It was full steam ahead at the Mustang FEI Vaulting World Championships today in Herning (DEN). French vaulters Manon Moutinho and Lambert Leclezio powered ahead in the individual competition while Pas de Deux Chiara Congia and Justin van Gerven brought back hope of a gold medal for Germany.
Starting the day with the female technical program, Kimberly Palmer of the USA posted the first massive score of the competition, 8.329 for the Technical test, jumping up to sixth place in the overall standings. However, the nerve tingling performance from Canada’s Averill Saunders left everyone with their jaws on the floor. The eighteen-year-old showed the second-best test of the day and lies in fourth place ahead of tomorrow’s final (8.198). Meanwhile, strong performances from Julia Sophie Wagner and Kathrin Meyer of Germany have them spending the night in second and third position with 8.310 and 8.265 respectively after round one. As for the top spot, it remains firmly in the hands of France’s Manon Moutinho, posting the best score of the day at 8.815 and increasing her lead over the field with a stunning performance.
There was heartbreak for Eva Nagiller (AUT), with her horse Lavalino unable to settle in the Boxen arena despite her best efforts while Denmark’s favourite Sheena Bendixen, will have some work to do in tomorrow’s freestyle, after a fall in her dismount leaves her in fifth. And, with the Free test counting for 50% of the total score, any of the top six could make the podium…
In the men’s competition, Germany’s Jannik Heiland came back like a true professional after a disappointing start yesterday. His score, 8.713, was second-best in the Technical test and he now sits 5th after round one. Compatriot Thomas Brüsewitz lies just behind in 6th (8.549). With a slightly unsettled Rosenstolz beneath him, fourth place was the best Italian Lorenzo Lupacchini could manage today leaving him in seventh overall (8.533). Dutch vaulter Sam dos Santos continued to surprise the rest of the competition, holding on to his bronze medal position (8.585), as Julian Wilfling (GER) completed the round in 4th (8.577).
Red, white and blue finished the Male technical test. Quentin Jabet of France held on to the second place overall (8.642), and Lambert Leclezio impressed! A small loss of balance in the final exercise gave the judges at least something to deduct from him. Finishing the round on 9.231, Leclezio appears to be well on his way to stepping on to the top of the podium one more time, just the freestyle remains. . It will be a fight to the end for the rest of the men, just 0.109 separating second and seventh place.
There were no surprises at the top of the Pas de Deux class as Chiara Congia and Justin van Gerven, Germany, put on a top-quality display for the audience winning the interim top spot with a score of 8.863. Diana Harwardt and Peter Kunne (GER) are just behind in second (8.625), their medal winning dreams well and truly alive. An intricate performance from Italian pairing Davide Zanella and Rebecca Greggio saw them complete the top three so far (8.198) but Austria’s Theresa Thiel and Dominik Eder lie very close in fourth (8.029).
Tomorrow will see the first medals of the championship presented. It will be both a test of nerves and of mental strength for the individual vaulters and we will see if France can make it three for three in the individual and squad competitions.
As for the final performance of Lambert Leclezio in the individual class… he is here to put on a show and tomorrow we can be sure he will do just that.
Full results are available here.
Jannik Heiland (GER) and DARK BELUGA at the ECCO FEI World Championships 2022, Herning (DEN) © FEI/ Richard Juilliart
Some days it’s the small things that make all the difference, and today was one of those. For The Netherlands’ Dinja van Liere it was all smiles when she rode to the end of her Grand Prix test with a perfect halt from the 10-year-old Hermes who posted the highest score on the opening day of the Team competition at the ECCO FEI World Championships in Herning, Denmark to give her country the overnight advantage.
But just moments before, Great Britain’s Gareth Hughes had a very different experience when, excited by the clapping of the crowd, Classic Briolinca just couldn’t stop dancing at the end of a great performance and never came to a proper halt. Precious lost marks may well have made the difference between fifth for the British team or a higher placing going into the second day.
However in a sport in which human and horse compete as one, the influence of the equine partner’s flight instinct is never far away so nothing can ever be completely predictable. It’s part of the magic and the challenge of it all…
Second day
As the Grand Prix Team Championship goes into its second day tomorrow when the medals will be decided it’s still a wide-open competition. The 12-time champions from Germany are hot on Dutch heels thanks to Benjamin Werndl and Famoso OLD who put the second-best score of the day on the board with 77.003. And they have two more stars to come tomorrow when Isabell Werth (DSP Qantaz) and Frederic Wandres (Duke of Britain FRH) take their turn.
Ingrid Klimke kicked off the German effort with a smart 75.683 from Franziskus to ensure they were always going to be right in the mix. It was a personal best for this partnership.
“That was my major aim, and I got it!”, said the lady who is a longtime legend in the sport of Eventing and who is experiencing the very first Dressage Championship of her sparkling career. “He was with me the entire test. There was not a single moment in which I didn’t feel absolutely confident with our performance. Of course he loves the extensions and in the last trot diagonal he knew what comes next. He lowered his croup in the corner and he wanted to show everyone how great a mover he is!”, she pointed out.
Better
Today’s leading rider, van Liere, felt her stallion could have done even better. “Normally his piaffe and passage are brilliant but he didn’t do them to his best today and the same for the pirouettes”, she explained. But she got it spot on in the halt, her horse was not in the least bothered by the spectators’ clapping as the pair marched down their final centreline. “Hermes is a clown - he likes the applause and he knows it’s for him!”, van Liere said with a laugh. “When he enters the arena he doesn’t like to hear it (clapping) but when he finishes he thinks of course this is for me, because I’m the best!”
Team Denmark are in third following two solid performances from Nanna Merrald Rasmussen and Carina Cassøe Krüth, the latter’s mark of 76.863 deciding this first-day result for the Danes who are firm favourites for the title.
Merrald Rasmussen was close behind with a personal best 76.724 and she was very pleased about that. Talking about her Olympic ride, the 18-year-old stallion Blue Hors Zack, she said “he hasn’t done a lot since Tokyo, just two competitions because he’s been very busy breeding. He has done many, many shows in his career and he needs to be a little bit hungry when he is going out. If I do too many shows with him he will be a bit bored with it. He has to be fresh and happy to go out again, and that was the plan here and why we didn’t take him to Aachen”, she explained.
Super
“I did the Danish championships with him and he was super. You never really know, he is 18, I wondered should he really be on the team again and then we took him to the Danish Championships and he was on fire! So we thought ok do the same routine before coming here, no shows just a lot of normal work at home, that was the plan and it has paid off!”, said the rider who followed her success at her home Championships in June with getting married one week later.
She said she felt “just super, super proud!” to produce that personal best in front of her home crowd. “They were supporting me like crazy at the end, the tears were almost coming. Normally you get a hand-clap down the centreline in the Freestyle but this was just special!”, she said after the spectators went a little wild.
When team-mates Daniel Bachmann Andersen (Marshall-Bell) and Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour (Vamos Amigos) complete the Danish effort tomorrow they will be hoping for an even bigger response from the sidelines because they have Blue Hors FEI Dressage World Championship team gold clearly in their sights.
With the Swedes in fourth thanks to Juliette Ramel’s 76.164 it’s really tight at the top of the leaderboard however, and with the best three scores to count for every nation anything can happen when the battle resumes in the morning.
Don’t miss a hoofbeat…..
It was an historic day for Vaulting at the ECCO FEI World Championships in Herning. The French vaulters dominated day one and are overnight leaders in the Squad, Female and Male competitions.
As the curtain opened on the Boxen arena the French squad entered. To be drawn first almost always makes for a bigger challenge. Not so for this team who posted an unbeatable 8.068 aboard Londontime lunged by Corrine Bosshard. The German squad tried to match the French, however a few uncharacteristic errors left them trailing behind in second (7.940). A strong performance from Team Switzerland (7.659) earned them 3rd place overnight with the Austrians not far behind in 4th (7.419). The Danish fans were delighted as their squad rounded out the top five (7.329) with the bronze medal firmly in their sights.
The bar was raised in the Female individual competition. Manon Moutinho (FRA) took the lead along with Saitiri and Corrine Bosshard. Despite some minor technical faults she scored 8.445. The new German talent Alina Roß and Julia Sophie Wagner both showed a clean performance to complete the overnight podium (8.365 and 8.310 respectively). Danish powerhouse Sheena Bendixen sits agonizingly close in fourth, 8.203, with two rounds still to go. There was disappointment for Swiss Vaulter Nadja Buttiker who after an almost flawless set of compulsories collapsed in the final exercise and failed to land resulting in a seventh place finish.
Never has the standard been so high in the Male compulsory test. Germany’s Thomas Brüsewitz opened the final session of Vaulting with a massive 8.556 which unbelievably proved only good enough to earn him the 4th place. He was pushed down the rankings first by Frenchman Quentin Jabet (8.666) and again by the reigning World Champion and master of his sport Lambert Leclezio (FRA) who set a new World Record and left the judges struggling to find fault in his performance finally giving him a 9.240. It was a tough act to follow for the young Dutch vaulter Sam dos Santos entering the arena right after Leclezio. Impressively collected he did not let the excitement of the competition phase him and pulled out a bronze medal position performance (8.624). It wasn’t the day for last year’s silver medalist Jannik Heiland (GER). His horse Dark Beluga started the test somewhat unsettled, but ever the professional he still managed to score 8.416 to remain within touching distance of the medals (7th place so far).
Lambert Leclezio aside, the scores are very close in all the competitions piling the pressure onto the competitors ahead of the next round. Tomorrow, the squad’s will rest as we return to see what the individuals have in store in their Technical Tests and the Pas de Deux get their competition underway.
The stage is set and it’s all-systems-go at the ECCO FEI World Championships 2022 in Herning, Denmark where Dressage gets underway tomorrow morning at 11.00 local time with Switzerland’s Gilles Ngovan first into the arena in the Grand Prix which will decide the fate of the Blue Hors FEI Dressage Team title.
A total of 93 athlete/horse combinations will line out over two days of super-hot competition in the team event. And in the draw conducted by Technical Delegate Janet Lee Foy from the USA and President of the Ground Jury, Denmark’s Susanne Baarup this afternoon, the places on the starting grid were decided.
Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, Portugal, Finland, Austria, Ireland, Poland, France, Spain, Belgium, Great Britain, Australia, The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Germany and USA will compete in that order, and America’s Ashley Holzer and her 12-year-old mare, Valentine, will bring the first-day action to a close just before 20.00.
Hotly tipped
The hosts are hotly tipped for success, and first into the arena for Team Denmark will be the recently-married Nanna Merrald Rasmussen who will be 16th to go with Blue Hors Zack, while compatriot Carina Cassøe Krüth and Heiline’s Danciera will run 43rd of the 46 opening day contenders.
On Sunday it will be Daniel Bachmann Andersen and Marshall-Bell who will be first to fly the Danish flag before Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and Vamos Amigos wrap it up for the home side. Laudrup-Dufour has been in spectacular form of late and looks set to be the one to beat all the way through the Championships which conclude next Wednesday, 10 August, with the always popular and much anticipated late-night Grand Prix Freestyle.
Unpredictable
Of course equestrian sport is always unpredictable and Team Germany, with a massive tally of 12 world team titles to their credit, will be doing everything they can to maintain their dominance while the Swedish team are in confident mood.
Swedish Chef d’Equipe, Bo Jenå, is optimistic for his side’s chances. “It’s always hard, but for sure we will do our best to take a medal, we have planned for that”, he said today.
“We have been training and competing and started very well this year. We did a few more shows than we normally do because it’s a short way for us to travel to Denmark - it was way more last year going to Tokyo. Our horses are in very good shape and we had a nice pre-camp at Patrik Kittel’s place last week so we are all feeling good!”, he added.
Riding Touchdown, four-time Olympian Kittel is joined in the Swedish side by Jeanna Hogberg (Astoria), Juliette Ramel (Buriel KH) and Therese Nilshagen (Dante Weltino OLD).
Big boost
Winning the FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ 2022 has also been a big boost to the Swedes. “We used the series as a build-up to these world championships, it was a really good way of testing our riders”, Bo Jenå explained. Sweden has only once been on the Dressage World Championships Team podium, in Rome (ITA) back in 1998, but hopes are high and Jena believes his team have what it takes to make it happen again.
“I think it’s very open - the Danish team are the favourites for sure this time but after them there are many countries that can fight for the medals and we are among them!”, he said..
Amongst the 93 starters in the team event will be 19 individual riders vying for a top-30 finishing spot in order to qualify for Monday’s Grand Prix Special before the top-15 will then go through to Wednesday night’s Grand Prix Freestyle.
The excitement is about to begin, so don’t miss a hoofbeat……
The FEI Tribunal has issued a Consent Award in an equine anti-doping case involving a Banned Substance.
In this case, the horse Dactyle D’Aqui (FEI ID 106XH16/UAE), tested positive for the Banned Substance Testosterone, following samples taken at the CEI2* 120 – Bou Thib (UAE), 24-25 December 2021.
The athlete Muhammad Ali Fazal Amin (FEI ID 10103705/PAK (UAE)) and the trainer, Ahmed Ali Salman Hassan Al Sabri (FEI ID 10041041/UAE), both elected to admit the rule violation and accept the consequences in order to benefit from a six-month reduction of the otherwise applicable ineligibility period of 18 months.
In its final decision the FEI Tribunal disqualified the athlete and the horse from the event and imposed an 18-month ineligibility period on the athlete and the trainer; the provisional suspension each already served shall be credited against the imposed ineligibility period. The Horse was provisionally suspended for 2 months as of the date of the Notification Letter. The athlete and Trainer were also fined CHF 5,000 each and the trainer was asked to pay costs of CHF 1,000.
The full Decision for Muhammad Ali Fazal Amin is available here.
The full Decision for Ahmed Ali Salman Hassan Al Sabri is available here.
Separately, the FEI has announced two new adverse analytical findings (AAF) involving equine prohibited substances. Both cases involve *Banned Substances and a Controlled Medication Substance under the FEI’s Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Regulations (EADCMRs).
In the first Jumping case, the athlete has been provisionally suspended until the FEI Tribunal renders its decision. The horse has been provisionally suspended for two months from the date of notification.
Case 2022/BS05:
Horse: FULL OPTION DU BORGET (106UY09/NED)
Person Responsible: Agustin Covarrubias (10032966/CHI)
Event: CSIYH1* incl. 8yo - Opglabbeek (BEL), 15-18.06.2022
Prohibited Substance(s): O-Desmethylvenlafaxine
Date of notification: 25 July 2022
In the second Dressage case, the athlete has also been provisionally suspended until the FEI Tribunal renders its decision. The horse has been provisionally suspended for two months from the date of notification.
Case 2022/BS06:
Horse: AZIBO DE MORAN (107UB68/ESP)
Person Responsible: Maria De Las Mercedes Gonzalez Abad (10139475/ESP)
Event: CDIYH - Segovia (ESP) 07-10.07.2022,
Prohibited Substance(s): Reserpine, Altrenogest
Date of notification: 2 August 2022
Notes to Editors:
FEI Clean Sport - human athletes
The FEI is part of the collaborative worldwide movement for doping-free sport led by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The aim of this movement is to protect fair competition as well as athlete health and welfare.
WADA’s Prohibited List identifies the substances and methods prohibited in- and out-of-competition, and in particular sports. The substances and methods on the List are classified by different categories (e.g., steroids, stimulants, gene doping).
As a WADA Code Signatory, the FEI runs a testing programme for human athletes based on WADA’s List of Prohibited List of Substances and Methods and on the Code-compliant FEI Anti-Doping Rules for Human Athletes (ADRHA).
For further information, please consult the Clean Sport section of the FEI website here.
FEI Equine Prohibited Substances
The FEI Prohibited Substances List is divided into two sections: Controlled Medication and *Banned Substances. Controlled Medication substances are medications that are regularly used to treat horses, but which must have been cleared from the horse’s system by the time of competition. Banned (doping) Substances should never be found in the body of the horse and are prohibited at all times.
In the case of an adverse analytical finding (AAF) for a Banned Substance, the Person Responsible (PR) is automatically provisionally suspended from the date of notification (with the exception of certain cases involving a Prohibited Substance which is also a **Specified Substance). The horse is provisionally suspended for two months.
Information on all substances is available on the searchable FEI Equine Prohibited Substances Database.
Following an update to the Longines Rankings published yesterday on 3 August 2022*, Sweden’s Olympic gold medallist Henrik Von Eckermann has been confirmed as the new world number one, taking the lead on the Longines Rankings with 3,119 points ahead of Martin Fuchs (SUI) on 3,081 and compatriot Peder Fredricson with 2,941 points.
Von Eckermann, member of the Swedish team winning the gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, has been in the top ten of the Longines Rankings for the past year and actively meddling in the top three for the past six months without having been able to claim the top spot until now. It is the first time in his career that the top-level athlete leads the Longines Rankings.
“It feels like a big relief. It’s been a long way and it’s something I have always dreamed of. I believe it’s the biggest achievement of my career, it is one thing to win a competition and be at a great level for a weekend. But to become world number one you need to be consistent in the long run and obtain 30 great results to reach more than 3,000 points.” Von Eckermann explains.
“It all started at the last Olympics in Tokyo where we had a fantastic performance. Since then, thanks to my horses, in particular King Edward and Glamour Girl, and my whole team, we have had a very consistent year. They have definitely played a huge role and have helped me become the new number one in the world.”
Together with his Olympic superstar King Edward, Von Eckermann is now aiming for the prestigious title of world champion, as he will be part of the team representing Sweden at the upcoming ECCO FEI World Championships in Herning (DEN).
“Going into the ECCO FEI World Championships in Herning as new World number one means that you want to prove that you are on the top of the ranking for a reason. It will be a very long and difficult week because so many things can go wrong… But overall I have an amazing feeling, King Edward is in great shape and me as well. I really look forward to compete at Herning.”
Ahead of the ECCO FEI World Championships in Herning, the new Longines Rankings also draw attention to Harrie Smolders (NED) and Julien Epaillard (FRA), who have made their entry to the top-ten, respectively on ranks eight and nine, and who will also be strong contenders for a spot on the world championship podium.
The full Longines Rankings list is published here.
* The Rankings published on 3 August initially presented Switzerland’s Martin Fuchs as the World number 1, however, it was revealed that the dates for Jumping events in Tokyo 2020 were not accurately represented in the FEI Calendar (as they encompassed all three disciplines), and therefor 25% of the points obtained by Jumping athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games were not taken into account. The start date for Jumping at Tokyo 2020 has now been adjusted and the Longines Rankings have been recalculated and updated accordingly.
In a few days, the world will come together once again for the ECCO FEI World Championships 2022 in Jumping, Dressage, Vaulting, and Para-Dressage, in Herning, Denmark. Previous champions and new faces will step into the circle to battle it out to prove themselves top of the world at the Mustang FEI Vaulting World Championships 2022.
A reformed programme for Individual vaulters will see all competitors advance from the first round, the compulsories and technical test, into the final freestyle round.
As the only returning female medallist from the 2021 FEI Vaulting World Championships, there are high expectations for Austrian Eva Nagiller. She will face fierce competition from FEI Vaulting World Cup™ winner Manon Moutinho (FRA), who has been on top form this season and Sheena Bendixen (DEN), who hopes to improve on last year’s fourth place finish to win a medal for the host nation. The Germans field strong contenders in Alina Roß, Kathrin Meyer and Julia Wagner, however experienced competitors Nadja Buttiker (SUI) and Kimberly Palmer (USA) will also be looking for a top three finish.
Stalwart Lambert Leclezio (FRA) heads up the entries for the male Individual competition. He is planning to retire from individual competition after the event. Success in Herning would give him an incredible fourth successive World Championship title and further cement his legacy in the sport.
Attempting to thwart him are teammate Quentin Jabet, Italy’s Lorenzo Lupacchini, who is looking to repeat his win at the FEI Vaulting World Cup™ Final, and old rival Juan Martin Clavijo (COL).
There is a surprise entry from the young Dutch star Sam Dos Santos who decided to test his mettle at the Senior Championships instead of the Juniors after a brilliant competition at the CHIO in Aachen. The 16-year-old said “I think it is an honour to be able to compete alongside all the Seniors… The pressure to win will be less in Herning compared to the Junior Championships at Kaposvar, (HUN)”. Germany’s Thomas Brüsewitz, Jannik Heiland and Julian Wilfling will all be hoping to get their feet on the podium in a very strong class.
The Squad competition has also altered this year with only one freestyle test counting towards the result. The 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games™ gold medal squad representing Germany is back once again to thrill the audience and judges as they did in Tryon (USA). Both the Austrian and Swiss squads will be aiming to complete the podium.
It is the French, however, who enter as an unknown quantity with a lot of potential. Lambert Leclezio and Manon Moutinho will both compete as part of the squad and we know they will score highly in the compulsory test. It remains to be seen whether their freestyle, as yet unseen in international competition, will take them to the top.
Favourites in the Pas-De-Deux class, European Champions Chiara Congia & Justin van Gerven (GER) will be aiming for their first Pas-De-Deux World title. Compatriots, Diana Harwardt and Peter Künne hope to build on their junior successes and add a senior medal to their collection. Strong competition comes from Austrians, Romana Hintner and Eva Nagiller, and Theresa Thiel who has teamed up with a new partner, Dominik Eder for this Championship. With only seven starting pairs, there will be no margin for error for those aiming to make the podium. Italy, Denmark and the USA have one entry each, any of whom might break into the top three.
On the final day of Vaulting the highly anticipated Nations Team competition takes place. The top eight nations will challenge to become the champions. Having won a bronze at last year’s World Championships in Hungary (postponed from 2020), the Danish team would delight a home crowd by repeating that result. It will certainly be a challenge for them as last year’s winners Germany, alongside Austria and Switzerland will all present high-quality teams. The French possess the potential to run away with the gold if nerves are steady and the squad can perform. Let’s hope for a nail-biting finale!
There is no doubt the Mustang FEI Vaulting World Championships 2022 will be full of excitement, anticipation and nervous energy as the world’s best aim to put their stamp in the history books.
It’s been a long wait for Team France, a total of 24 years since they last succeeded, but today they once again lifted the coveted Edward Prince of Wales Cup at Hickstead (GBR) when winning the penultimate leg of the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ 2022 Europe Division 1 series.
And hero of the day was 44-year-old Marc Dilasser who, in a competition with some extraordinary highs and lows, recovered from a disappointing 12-fault second round to clinch victory for his country in a three-way jump-off against the clock.
It came down to an act of faith in the end, Chef d’Equipe Henk Nooren never flinching from the decision to send Dilasser and his 12-year-old gelding Arioto du Gevres into battle when it came to the crunch. He suspected it would come down to that as the competition progressed.
“Everything was so close and stayed so tight, nobody was staying ahead in the second round so it was very exciting. Already halfway through the second round I was telling Marc’s groom “it smells like a jump-off!”, Nooren said.
Eight-fault tally
It was Germany and Brazil who found themselves in the showdown with the eventual winners when all three sides finished the first two rounds on an eight-fault tally. Belgium, Ireland and the hosts from Great Britain had each racked up 12 faults apiece and were separated only by time when slotting into fourth, fifth and sixth places while Team Sweden had a difficult day and never posed a threat, finishing seventh on a big score of 36.
The Brazilians, who posted an historic win at the British venue in 2017, found themselves right in the thick of it thanks to a superb double-clear from their opening partnership of Joao Victor Castro whose fabulous nine-year-old Dispo Cece however was jumping with such enthusiasm that he very nearly dislodged his rider a couple of times in the first round.
Luiz Felipe Cortizo Gonçalves de Azevedo Filho and Hermes van de Vrombautshoeve made their single mistake of the day when lowering the influential Longines vertical at fence 10 first time out, while Marlon Modolo Zanotelli’s Harwich VDL hit the first element of the triple combination at fence four but likewise was clear on his second tour of Kelvin Bywater’s 12-fence track..
It was second-line rider Francisco Jose Mesquita Musa and his handsome chestnut mare Alea Marathon, who posted single errors in both rounds, that Chef d’Equipe Pedro Paulo Lacerda selected for the jump-off however.
Opted
Meanwhile Otto Becker opted for Tobias Meyer and Greatest Boy H who were foot-perfect all day. The legendary Ludger Beerbaum, who announced his retirement from team competition six years ago, made a welcome return at the British fixture posting a clear and four faults when German pathfinder with his grey mare Mila, while Marcus Ehning and A La Carte NRW clipped the white gate at fence six first time out on the iconic Hickstead track before producing a brilliant second-round clear. Anchorman Philip Weishaupt retired with Asathir after hitting fence five in round one, and it might well have been a different story if he could have stayed clear second time out because that would have left Team Germany as clear winners with just four faults on the board. But a mistake at the penultimate oxer moved the German scoreline to eight.
The French were sharing the lead with them at the halfway stage with just four faults on the board after clears from both Dilasser and team openers Olivier Robert and Vivaldi des Meneaux. Edward Levy’s first round with Uno de Cerisy fell apart after hitting the second element of the double at fence seven and they crossed the finish line with 16 on the board while anchorman Kevin Staut and Visconti du Telman hit the notorious Hickstead planks at fence nine.
But they added only four more from Olivier in round two when Levy redeemed himself with a lovely clear while Staut was also faultless. Meanwhile though, Dilasser had three fences down at his second attempt.
He seemed an unlikely contender for the jump-off, but not in French minds. “I talked a lot with Kevin and we both agreed that it should be him”, Nooren said afterwards. And they both obviously knew exactly what they were doing.
Wide open
Brazil’s Mesquita Musa was first against the clock but left the door wide open when hitting the second fence, but Meyer punched the air with delight after racing through the finish without touching a pole in 42.89 seconds. Last to go, Dilasser wasn’t a bit intimidated, just filled with determination to make up for his second-round run, and he delivered. Setting off like lightning he jumped the final two oxers on the new twisting track at an acute angle and raced down to the last to shave almost a full second off Meyer’s target time. Team France went wild.
Dilasser blamed himself for his second-round result. “I was too confident and we didn’t have the best canter and tension. He’s a small horse and you need to be riding like you’re going to war! He didn’t feel the fire, and like me he is best when he is under pressure!”, the Frenchman explained.
And talking about the brave Arioto du Gevres he said, “his owner is his breeder and they are a super nice family. He won the 4-Star Grand Prix in Gorla Minore (ITA) and ten days ago he was clear in the Grand Prix of Falsterbo (SWE). Last year he jumped double-clear in Aachen, Rome (ITA) and the Longines Final in Barcelona (ESP) so he is a fantastic horse and very clever, although he never wants to work at home!”
Edward Levy said he was very disappointed after his first round “but the team really motivated me so I stayed focused for the second round and my horse is very generous. The Nations Cup is magical with two rounds”, he pointed out.
Olivier Robert said “when Henk told me I could come to Hickstead I was so happy. This was a super day for us!”, and Dilasser agreed. “I did my best and when I jumped the last fence all my friends were shouting so I knew I’d done it! It’s magic…winning the Nations Cup here is a dream for any rider!”, he said.
Today’s result has moved France up from sixth to fourth and Germany into pole position on the Europe Division 1 League table with just one last leg left to run.
Only the best seven nations will make the cut to the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Final 2022 in October which not only offers one of the sport’s most prestigious titles but also a single qualifying opportunity for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. So there’s a lot to play for when the Royal Dublin Society opens its doors in Ireland’s capital city in three weeks’ time…..
Less than two weeks ahead of the ECCO FEI World Championships 2022 the tension is rising and speculation is rife about the fate of Jumping gold. And possibly the biggest question is whether Team Sweden can follow through on their historic Olympic victory in Tokyo last summer.
The publication this week of definite entries for the Agria FEI Jumping World Championship shows that the same three riders and the same three horses who claimed the Team title for their country for the first time in 97 years are selected once again.
Henrik von Eckermann with King Edward, Malin Baryard-Johnson with H&M Indiana and Peder Fredricson with H&M All In - who also claimed individual silver - put Swedish showjumping right back onto centre stage with that success 12 months ago. And they are joined on their country’s five-strong side for the World Championship by Peder’s brother Jens Fredricson riding Markan Cosmopolit who finished third at the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final 2022 just three months ago and multiple Olympian Rolf-Göran Bengtsson with Ermindo W.
Together they make quite some team.
Thrilling jump-off
The big wins rarely come easy, and they had to battle it out in a thrilling jump-off against Team USA to clinch that Olympic gold, Fredricson settling it with his last-to-go ride that denied the Americans the title by the narrowest of margins.
It was the direct opposite of the result of the showdown between these same two nations at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ in Tryon, USA three years earlier where McLain Ward wrapped it up with his last-to-go ride on Clinta.
Ward is back in the US side in the battle for the 2022 world titles, this time riding the super-competitive Contagious, and is joined by Adrienne Sternlicht and Cristalline who were also members of that 2018 winning team. Completing the American selection are Lillie Keenan (Argan de Beliard), Brian Moggre (Balou du Reventon) and Ward’s Tokyo 2020 silver-medal-winning team-mate Jessica Springsteen (RMF Zecilie). There may be a score to settle here between the Americans and the Swedes…
Fear
However of the 22 teams in contention it is Belgium they may most have to fear. Peter Weinberg’s side had already settled comfortably into bronze medal position in Tokyo before the final battle for the other two medals began, and on current form Niels Bruynseels (Delux van T&L), Jérôme Guery (Quel Homme de Hus), Nicola Philippaerts (Katanga v/h Dingeshof), Jos Verlooy (Igor) and Gregory Wathelet (Nevados S) could prove tough nuts to crack.
The Netherlands, winners at the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Final 2021, also look strong with Harrie Smolders (Monaco), Sanne Thijssen (Con Quidam RB), Maikel van der Vleuten (Beauville Z) and Jur Vrieling (Long John Silver 3) joined by Hessel Hoekstra (Icoon VDL). And the French quintet of Mathieu Billot (Quel Filou 13), Gregory Cottard (Bibici), Simon Delestre (Cayman Jolly Jumper), Julien Epaillard (Caracole de la Roque) and Kevin Staut (Scuderia 1918 Viking d’La Rousserie) have a mountain of talent and experience between them.
When it comes to experience however perhaps the man with the most this time around is Great Britain’s John Whitaker. He won the first of four World Championship team medals in Dublin (IRL) in 1982 and individual silver with the great Milton at Stockholm (SWE) in 1990. Riding Equine America Unick du Francport he is listed alongside London Olympic gold medallist Scott Brash (Hello Jefferson), Harry Charles (Romeo 88), Joseph Stockdale (Equine America Cacharel) and the partnership that claimed individual Jumping gold in Tokyo, Ben Maher and Explosion W.
Best record
Germany has the best record in the individual championship with seven golds from 19 editions, and with the reigning European champions Andre Thieme and DSP Chakaria in their side along with Christian Ahlmann (Dominator 2000 Z), Marcus Ehning (Stargold), Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann (Messi van’t Ruytershof) and Jana Wargers (Limbridge) they are, as always, a serious force to be reckoned with.
Thieme pipped Switzerland’s Martin Fuchs for that European individual title last September where Sweden’s Peder Fredricson took individual bronze, and these three will again be vying for individual glory when the action gets underway in Denmark in 10 days time.
The Swiss claimed the 2021 European team title, and with Fuchs and Steve Guerdat who earned individual silver and bronze at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2018 lining out with Edouard Schmitz, Pius Schwizer and Elin Ott then Team Switzerland looks bound to feature prominently. Fuchs in particular has been like an unstoppable train in recent times, filling number 1 spot in the world rankings for months and adding the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ 2022 title to his long list of recent successes last April.
Of course in the sport of Jumping you never know exactly what is coming down the line and surprises are the order of the day. Nothing is for sure, except that the Agria FEI Jumping World Championship should provide a gripping week of top sport. So don’t miss a hoofbeat…
Some history
While the Individual title has been up for grabs since the inaugural Championships in Paris (FRA) in 1953 where Spain’s Francico Goyoago came out on top, the team Championship was only established in 1978 in Aachen (GER) where the British side of Derek Ricketts, Caroline Bradley, Malcolm Pyrah and David Broome pinned The Netherlands and USA into silver and bronze.
There have only been 11 World Championship Team contests, and the countries with the greatest success have been Germany and France with three wins each.
When it comes to individual glory Germany stands head-and-shoulders above all the rest with seven victories from 19 editions, beginning with the legendary partnership of Hans Gunther Winkler and Halla in 1954 and concluding with Simone Blum and DSP Alice in 2018.
Facts and Figures:
Course designer is The Netherlands’ Louis Konickx with America’s Anthony D’Ambrosio in the role of Technical Delegate.
Venue is the Stutteri Ask Stadium.
34 nations will be represented, 22 with a team, 19 with 5 athletes entered, 12 with individual athletes.
Nations with teams: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden and USA.
Nations with individuals: China (1), Czech Republic (2), Egypt (2), Greece (1), Jordan (1), Latvia (1), Lebanon (1), Lithuania (1), Poland (2), Slovakia (1), South Africa (1) and Turkey (2).
The team competition will be decided over three days, maximum four team members with the best three scores taken into account.
All teams will compete in a Speed competition on Wednesday 10 August and again in the first round of the second competition (Table A not against the clock) on Thursday 11 August. The best 10 nations will qualify for the second round of the second competition which will take place on Friday 12 August with the possibility of a jump-off for medals in case of a tie.
After a rest day the Individual championship will take place on Sunday August 14, open to the 25 best placed athletes and horses after the first and second competitions. There will be two rounds of jumping over two different courses with the top 12 coming back for the second round and the possibility of a jump-off for medals in case of a tie.
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