Germany wins EEF Nations' Cup in Mannheim ahead of Belgium and Ireland

This time the national coaches had named a team for the EEF Nations’ Cup in Mannheim, half of which consisted of Olympic eventing champions and half of course specialists: Michael Jung with his new star Fischerheros Z, who at the age of nine has increasingly jumped into the limelight this season, and Sandra Auffarth in the saddle of World Cup partner Quirici H, plus Hagen winner Stefan Engbers with Baju NRW and Gerrit Nieberg with the mega-reliable IB Queen. All four have fully confirmed the trust placed in them.

Michael Jung and his Zangersheide gelding by Hotspot (by Hors La Loi II) started off for the team and completed a round without any faults, albeit with one small blemish: a penalty point for exceeding the time limit. As it turned out, however, this was a minor problem, as the first riders of the other competing teams all had at least one knockdown. In addition, the penalty point could be canceled after all four German riders were through. Jung’s colleagues all rode clear. In the second round, Jung did not make such a lapse a second time. This time he and his “hero” crossed the finish line penalty-free.

Jung later raved about Heros Z: “My horse has everything. He has no weaknesses, a lot of ability, a great canter, has blood, is fantastic to ride and nothing can upset him. I am very happy and proud to have him.”

Sandra Auffarth and Quirici H were the first pair to demonstrate how best to negotiate the course designed by Christa Jung in order to remain penalty-free. A perfect round. In the second round, they then made a careless mistake at the steep jump after the water, which Sandra Auffarth described as follows: “That was one of the easiest mistakes I’ve ever made. But that’s the sport. I was a shade too close, Quirici jumped great. I’m happy to have a horse like this and it was great fun here.”

Stefan Engbers and Baju NRW demonstrated in both rounds that the national coaches had done well to re-nominate them for the team after their performances in Hagen. The 13-year-old son of Balou du Rouet jumped beautifully and didn’t look like he wanted to make a mistake today.

After Gerrit Nieberg and the eleven-year-old Quasimodo Z-daughter IB Queen had already done their job perfectly as the final pair in round one, it was up to them in the second round to decide whether there would be a jump-off for victory. This would have been the case with a knockdown. With a clear round, Sandra Auffarth’s faux pas could be canceled. So there was a certain amount of pressure on the rider from Münster. But the Aachen winner knows all about that and so he also finished the second round without a knockdown.

Germany was thus crowned the winner. Head of the team Ralf Runge was happy: “It was very easy for me today. All four of them rode well, delivered and supported each other. It was a strong team performance – also with our fifth man Hannes Ahlmann as valuable support in the background.”

Even though his team made his job easy, it was not an easy victory, as Runge emphasized: “The sport is very demanding in the World Cup year. Some nations use the EEF series to test their teams – especially the countries that are not represented in the Longines League of Nations. I am delighted that we are very well positioned across the board and have been able to field such a strong team here.”

The top three

The rest of the ranking was decided by time. After scratch results, both Belgium and Ireland had four faults each. However, the Belgians had the faster overall time and came second for Ireland.

Riding for Belgium under the aegis of Peter Weinberg were Yves Vanderhasselt in the saddle on Pepper Vitseroel Z (4/4), Anthony Philippaerts with Gabell d’Arvor (0/4), Katja Haep on Romy FZ (0/0) and Jos Verlooy in the saddle on Nicon van’t Meulenhof (0/0), who is also a highly successful sire.

Jessica Kürten’s entourage from the Emerald Isle consisted of Matt Carrigan on Grace V (4/0), Lt. Michaeli Byrne on MSH Claregalway (0/0), Max Wachman on Tipperary (0/0) and Niall Talbot with Charming Dream Z (4/RT).

You can find all the results here.