Switzerland Wins the Falsterbo Nations Cup in a Jump-Off; Disappointing Result for Germany

After the first few rides, the course designed by Frank Rothenberger for the Nations Cup in Falsterbo still looked like a very manageable challenge. Among the many clear rounds was the one by André Thieme and Derby winner Paule S. But as the competition progressed, the challenges Rothenberger presented proved to be more difficult to overcome than initially assumed. This was especially true in the second round, where Rothenberger, among other things, raised the middle element of the triple combination. This presented some pairs with challenges that were truly insurmountable. However, after the first round, the German team no longer had to face those challenges.

Germany Eliminated After the First Round

Seeing how effortlessly André Thieme—who also secured the first Grand Prix qualification yesterday with Chakaria—and Paule S cruised through the first round, this Nations Cup didn’t look like much of a challenge for the German team, which was strong on paper. Next up were Sophie Hinners and her European Championship bronze medal-winning partner, My Prins, who had recovered from injury. Everything went smoothly for them, too—until the last jump. That’s when the bar fell. Okay, these things happen.

The third pair representing Germany was the experienced Philipp Weishaupt and his 10-year-old gelding Kilmister. For the Diarado son, this was the first five-star Nations Cup of his life, and he seemed somewhat overwhelmed. Weishaupt did the only sensible thing to avoid losing the gelding’s trust and withdrew.

That definitely included the four faults by Hinners and My Prins. At best, Richard Vogel and his World Championship reserve horse, Cloudio, would ensure that it stayed that way. But things turned out differently. Out of nowhere, the gray horse slammed on the brakes before what was actually an unspectacular green-and-yellow steep jump—one that hadn’t caused any problems for any other pair. Vogel reacted with quick thinking; he didn’t dwell on the moment of shock but immediately rode on to avoid adding too many time penalty points to the four faults from the refusal. But things continued to go wrong as the course progressed. During a big jump by the Casall son over a massive oxer, he nearly fell out of the saddle and lost his stirrup. He was just able to grab it back. And then the bar on the final jump came down as well. He had 13 faults, bringing the team’s total to 17, which put them in ninth place out of ten teams.

Do dress rehearsals have to go wrong? From a German perspective, it all worked out—bring on the World Cup.

Second round

Things went much better for the competition. After the first run, the hosts from Sweden, Switzerland, and Belgium had zero penalty points. France, Ireland, and the U.S. had four each. The more challenging second run, however, proved to be selective.

Things got off to a less-than-promising start for Sweden, with twelve penalty points for the “dream team” of Wilma McMahon (née Hellström) and her horse Cicci BJN. Thomas Ryan and Jezebeau BC did manage a second clear round, briefly raising hopes. But those hopes were dashed after Amanda Landeblad on Springfield and Henrik von Eckermann on Minute Man each incurred eight penalty points. The hosts finished in seventh place.

Switzerland

Riding for Switzerland, Steve Guerdats’ Olympic silver medalist Dynamix de Belheme proved that she is back in top form just in time for the World Championships in Aachen. She completed two rounds flawlessly in impressive fashion.

The second pair representing Switzerland was Gaetan Joliat and Just Special VK. After a confident first round, the chestnut horse got spooked at the triple combination and hesitated. Even on their second attempt, he refused to jump. That brought the competition to an end for the pair.

But Jason Smith and the wonderful gray horse Picobello van’t Roosakker brought the team back into the game with a second clear round.

Martin Fuchs and Lorde had been able to take it easy in Round 1 thanks to the team’s clear rounds. Now they had to deliver—and they did: flawlessly. As a result, Switzerland remained at zero faults despite Joliat’s withdrawal.

Belgium

On the Belgian team, it was the most experienced pair—Nicola Philippaerts riding Katanga van het Dingeshof—who made a minor mistake at the last obstacle in the first round and had their score discarded. In the second round, they bounced back.

Pieter Devos was also riding Primo DV, an 11-year-old who was making his Nations Cup debut at this level. The gray horse justified the trust that team manager Peter Weinberg had placed in him with two clear rounds.

Abdel Said and Wathnan Quaker Brimbelles Z recorded the worst result in the second round with one knockdown. Things went better for European team champion Thibeau Spits, the team’s youngster, riding his Impress-K Van’t Kattenheye Z: two rounds without a single knockdown.

United States

World Cup champion Kent Farrington rode his promising young horse, Descartes SR, in the “Pathfinder” competition for the U.S. The horse lived up to his reputation, jumping powerfully in the first round and making a minor mistake in the second during his first Nations Cup appearance.

It was a different story for Natalie Dean and Fornett d’Emeraude. In the first round, they were still performing with absolute confidence. But in the second round, even Fornett seemed uneasy about the higher B-element of the triple jump. He refused to jump, and on their second attempt, they didn’t even make it over the first obstacle. Dean fell off, and the pair were eliminated.

Mimi Gochman and Iron Maiden had a knockdown on the easier version of Rothenberger’s course. But on their second attempt, the pair wowed the crowd with an effortless performance and finished without any faults. Charlotte Jacobs and Playboy JT Z, the fourth pair, had the same result.

This brought the U.S.’s total to eight errors, securing their third-place finish ahead of France (12), Ireland (12, slower time), and Great Britain (16).

All that remained was to determine the top spot in a tiebreaker between Switzerland and Belgium.

Battle for Victory

In the jump-off, not all pairs had to compete a third time; instead, the team leaders could designate a representative. In the case of the Belgians, team leader Peter Weinberg chose Pieter Devos and Primo DV. But things didn’t go quite as well for them. At an oxer, the pair was so far off the ideal takeoff point that Primo sensibly pulled back. They also had a knockdown.

With 13 penalty points, the door was wide open for Switzerland, which sent Martin Fuchs and Lorde into the competition. Accordingly, Martin Fuchs did not rush the 11-year-old chestnut through the course at a breakneck pace, but took it easy and secured the victory without any trouble, with three time faults.

Conclusion: Switzerland is ready for the World Cup; Germany can hope for a dress rehearsal.