Success so far for Switzerland

It was a great beginning for the Swiss as the FEI Vaulting World Championship 2025 got underway in Bern, (SUI). Switzerland’s Nadja Bϋttiker is the overnight leader in the female class with Frenchman Quentin Jabet ahead in the males. 

The luck of the draw saw all the top placed females perform in the second half of the competition. The leader changed frequently as one outscored the other by minimal margins. Alina Ross (GER) showed a confident and clean performance and raised the bar earning 8.323 from the judges. In the end it was only enough to place third.

Eva Nagiller entered right after Ross and despite a late horse change her new steed, Bastion, proved to be an excellent match and allowed her to steal the lead for a while scoring 8.384. To the delight of the home crowd, Nadja Bϋttiker exuded strength and poise, with her dynamic exercises near flawless she flew to the top on 8.466. The young german, Alice Layher, currently sits in fourth place 8.178.

Excellence was in abundance throughout the men competition, as the top 10 males all scored over eight points. Theo Gardies (FRA) took the lead early on. He showed incredible execution throughout his test, posting a hard to beat 8.653. His horse, Sir Sensation, was the highest scoring of the class. 

Germany’s Thomas Brϋsewitz and Jannik Heiland came close but each had a very small error and they could only manage third (8.546) and fourth (8.415) respectively. French favourite Quentin Jabet entered second to last and had to cope with a mildy unsettled Ronaldo. Andrea Boe worked hard to soothe and settle him from the middle of the circle, allowing Jabet to complete a not quite perfect compulsory test, but impressive enough to win him the round and place him marginally ahead of his teammate with a score of 8.698.

FEI European Championships for Juniors and Young Vaulters

In the FEI European Championships for Juniors and Young Vaulters, the Junior squads got off to an exciting start and Swiss team Montmirail gave the home fans something to smile about. They stormed into the lead, scoring 7.174 after a tight and tidy performance aboard Livanto Cha CH with Mirjam DeGiorgi lunging. 

Germany found themselves in second place on 6.948. They were not in complete harmony with Captain Claus and had some errors throughout. Just a fraction behind, the squad from Italy finished the compulsory test in third (6.891). Their horse Robert Redford 5 was not completely relaxed in the beginning, however Nelson Alcides Vidoni connected with him from the centre and allowed the team to show their best. 

In the Young Vaulter Male category, Frenchman Tom Menand entered first and laid down the gauntlet posting a score to beat of 7.768. It held until Arne Heers competed.  Representing Germany with his horse Cleiner Onkel T OLD and lunger Sven Henze, he was the only vaulter to score over 8 points, receiving 8.073 and taking the lead. His teammate Ben Lechtenberg completed the competition and the top three. Despite a collapse in his mount he finished on 7.691.

The female competition was a much closer affair but Germany took the top spot once again. Gianna Ronca scored 8.124, vaulting on Max, lunged by Sarah Krauss. Also on Max, Mona Pavetic (GER) performed excellent dynamic exercises taking her into second, 8.099. Noemi Licci brought Switzerland another overnight podium position and she sits close behind on 8.063.

The final FEI European Championship class of the day was the Junior Female compulsories. Josephine Vedel Sondergaard Nielson earned the lead for Denmark impressing the judges and scoring 7.947. The talent came early in the class of forty-four as Zara Cvetkovic showed her strength and precision gaining Slovakia their first top three finish for the day.  She lies third on 7.791. 

At only 13 years old and the youngest competitor in the individual competition, Germany’s Amari Santamaria Diaz showed her quality, with an excellent test she squeezed into second place on 7.897, only hundredths of a point behind first. The class is very close and so full of talent, we can expect some changes within the top ten vaulters after they have performed their Free Test tomorrow.

Tomorrow will see the start of the Senior squad competition as well as the Technical tests for the Senior individuals. With little between the top of the pack the pressure will be on and nerves will be tested. Be prepared for more brilliant vaulting and plenty of action, artistry and amazing horses.

FULL RESULTS

Image: Nadja Büttiker (SUI) performs with Rayo de la Luz during the FEI Vaulting World Championships 2024 in Bern (SUI). © FEI/Martin Dokoupil