Germany Wins the Nations Cup at Spruce Meadows

Leopoldo Palacios had given the nine teams in the Spruce Meadows Nations Cup a few tough challenges. By the end of the second round, 16 of the 36 pairs had four faults or fewer. So you can’t say the course was impossible to jump. Especially since the faults were spread out across the entire course. There was one particular area where faults were concentrated, however.

The triple combination—with a steep approach, an oxer in the middle, and a steep takeoff—caused the most problems. As is often the case at Spruce Meadows, it’s not just the height of the obstacles that’s impressive here; it’s also their sheer force. On top of that, Palacios had built the combination on a section of the course that sloped slightly uphill. If the horses showed even a little too much caution before the takeoff, they lacked the momentum for the oxer, and then disaster struck. There were refusals and falls. The hosts were hit particularly hard, as their first two pairs were eliminated.

Leopoldo Palacios, however, did not blame the course design alone for the problems; he said that, in his opinion, it was also a mental issue. The riders would see that an obstacle was causing trouble and approach it differently as a result. He said he was convinced that things would look very different in the second round.

Impressions from the first round

Daniel Deußer isn’t the kind of rider who lets himself be fazed by other people’s problems. Germany had the good fortune of being drawn last. Otto Becker knew exactly why he sent the newly crowned team world champion, riding the increasingly consistent Pepita van’t Meulenhof, into the course as the pathfinder. By the time it was their turn, there hadn’t been a single clear round yet. But Pepita, the 11-year-old daughter of El Torreo de Muze, jumped fantastically. Triple jumps? No problem! It looked like it was going to be the first clear round of the day—until the bar fell at the last oxer. Still, given the competition’s results, this was a tremendous achievement.

Double-Jack

Right after Double D, it was the British Double Jack duo’s turn: Jack Whitaker with his wonderfully jumping gray horse Jack JL by Quasimodo Z. For the son of Michael—and thus nephew of John Whitaker—it was his first Nations Cup at Spruce Meadows. But a Whitaker doesn’t let that rattle him. The pair rode confidently to a clear round—or almost clear, as their composure cost them two time penalties.

Hinners’ Ride

Sophie Hinners took her favorite starting position for Germany: second place. Today she rode her European Championship partner, My Prins van Dorperheide, who demonstrated with the day’s first clear round that he is back in top form, while his rider displayed all her skill and composure in the saddle. A spectacular ride—but even Sophie Hinners had to apply more pressure today than we’re used to seeing from her.

The second pair for the British team

“No Scope, no hope”—that was today’s motto for this course, Tim Gredley said later. It’s a good thing his 14-year-old gelding, Medoc de Toxandria, has plenty of ability. The pair also finished clear. And Gredley later admitted, “That was the most challenging course I’ve jumped in a long time.”

No Walk in the Park for Sprehe

Next up were Jörne Sprehe and Toys, representing Germany in the show jumping course. Sprehe has proven time and again that she’s a reliable performer in Nations Cups. Today, however, her 12-year-old Toulon son gave her quite a challenge. She handled all the obstacles perfectly, approaching the triple jump at a slight angle to give the stallion a little more room, and it worked out perfectly. However, of all the obstacles, it was a rather unspectacular vertical jump—the Dutch bicycle—that caused them to knock down a bar.

Ben Maher and Catelly Seal the Deal for the British Team in Round One at

The final pair for the British team was Ben Maher and the Holsteiner Catelly, whom the Olympic team champion acquired from Marco Kutscher a few months ago. Kutscher has clearly done a good job training the Catalido son, as was evident again today: the second clear round for the British team, which finished the first round in first place despite Jack Whitaker’s two time penalties.

Vogel and Cloudio Keep Germany in the Running

When world No. 1 Richard Vogel entered the course with the 12-year-old Holsteiner stallion Cloudio as the last German pair, it was clear that Germany would have no more than eight penalty points, even if he were to post the discard score at that point. But that wasn’t Vogel’s plan. The plan was to stay at zero. And he succeeded with a flawless ride and a bit of luck at the final oxer, where the pair came in just a touch too close and the poles clattered once. But everything stayed down.

Germany thus entered the second round with four errors, ranking as the second-best team behind the British (2) and ahead of the Irish (8). Nothing had been decided yet. As British team captain Di Lampard put it: “We’re only halfway there. Anything can still happen.”

Second Round

Daniel Coyle and Farrel kicked things off for the third-place Irish team. The 16-year-old KWPN gelding by Cardento was the oldest horse in the competition, but you wouldn’t have known it. The only thing you could see was his experience. It was a round that course designer Leopoldo Palacios had likely envisioned as ideal when he designed the course for the Spruce Meadows Nations Cup. The rather small bay with his huge stride and equally impressive jumping ability carried his rider to the finish without a single fault. The first clear round of the second flight.

Deußer’s Response

Then Daniel Deußer and Pepita van’t Meulenhof took to the course as Germany’s first pair. The strategy was clear: Do everything exactly as in the first round, but also leave the last pole down. That’s exactly what happened. A masterpiece by Deußer—and one just as impressive from Pepita, who seems to be pretty much the opposite type of horse from Deußer’s World Championship partner Otello—hot-blooded and agile, a horse where you have to keep your foot on the brake rather than the gas.

Germany’s Oxer is out for Great Britain

The first pair representing the leading British riders were Jessica Mendoza and her wonderful KWPN mare In The Air, a daughter of Deußer’s first major success, Air Jordan Z. It only became clear as the competition progressed just how well the pair had performed with their four-fault round as the first pair in the first round. Especially since they had a fault at the wall—a jump that all the other pairs had cleared. Now their goal was to cross the finish line without that minor blemish, if possible. But it wasn’t to be. The first fault came—of all places—at the Germany oxer. Another followed immediately afterward at the Dutch bicycle. With these eight penalty points, they finished their course.

Spruce Meadows and the Philippaerts family—a perfect match

Three years ago, Belgium’s Thibeault Philippaerts won the Young Rider competition at the CHIO Aachen. Now the 24-year-old brother of twins Nicola and Olivier was part of the Five-Star Nations Cup team—and he did a great job riding the ten-year-old Grand Slam son Lyandro. Although they had nine penalty points in the first round, they always gave the impression that they were more than up to the course. They confirmed exactly that in the second round: zero faults. Thibeault’s brother Olivier still says that his greatest achievement was winning the 2012 Rolex Grand Prix at Spruce Meadows, back then riding Cabrio van de Heffinck. Thibeault’s favorite moment in the sport is now likely to be a Spruce Meadows experience as well.

Jordan Coyle Faces Problems

Jordan Coyle and Cordiamo had already recorded the Irish team’s worst score in the first round, with 16 faults. Coyle said later that he had actually wanted to ride a different horse. The ten-year-old OS gelding by Cornet du Lys, bred by Lewitz Stud, was actually too inexperienced for such a Nations Cup. But he did learn a bit between the first and second rounds. This time, he had eight faults.

Sophie “As Cool as Ice” Hinners

Then the gate opened for Sophie Hinners and My Prins. There were two knockdowns—at the double combination and at the triple. But luck was on the side of the capable: a double clear for Hinners, who was already the most successful Nations Cup rider of the year in 2025. How cool is that?! In the end, the two were the only pair who always had all the answers to the questions Leopoldo Palacios had posed and jumped clear twice.

Double-Jack with one knockdown

Di Lampard had said it during the break between rounds: it was too early for her leading team to celebrate. Anything could still happen. After Jessica Mendoza’s eight faults, Jack Whitaker and Jack JL were the next pair to take the arena, sporting the Union Jack on their saddlecloths and jackets. They had two time faults in the first round and wanted to do better in the second. And they succeeded. However, they paid for their faster ride with a knockdown. As a result, Germany had overtaken the British.

Conor Swail’s Struggle with the Course

It wasn’t just Jordan Coyle; Conor Swail, too, had saddled a youngster just ten years old: the Irish son of Cornet Obolensky, Clonterm Obolensky. However, the horse proved his youth wrong with a four-fault round in the first run, only to go one better in the second round—though it was a real close call at the triple jump. Swail lost a stirrup but immediately retrieved it. His gray horse wasn’t fazed by this and cleared the three jumps without a knockdown. And the last two as well. One minor flaw: a time penalty.

Jörne Sprehe Secures Victory for Germany

It was now up to the third German pair: If they cleared the course without faults, Germany would be assured its twelfth triumph in the Spruce Meadows Nations Cup. The energetic Toys didn’t give his rider a second to catch her breath in this round either, but she did a perfect job and completed the clear round. She pumped her fist in the air—she’d sealed the deal. With her ride, she secured an early victory for the world champions, who are now the nation with the most wins at Spruce Meadows.

But the competition continued

Germany had already been declared the winner, but the competition was still going strong. A fantastic clear round by Emelie Conter and Portobella van de Fruitkorf secured third place for Belgium. The two had already served as the reserve pair for the World Championships in Aachen, and anyone who didn’t know beforehand why team manager Peter Weinberg had faith in this pair could see why today.

After his clear round in the first heat, Denis Lynch decided to spare Vistogrand a second appearance for Ireland. Second place for Jessica Kürten’s quartet, with 9 faults, was already secured after Conor Swail’s one-fault round.

Richard Vogel didn’t have to ride again, but he decided to do so anyway. Cloudio jumped as if there were no tomorrow in the second round as well—until the very last obstacle. He had wobbled a bit in the first round; this time, the bar fell. But that didn’t change the result.

Di Lampard had said it: Anything can happen. But she probably hadn’t anticipated what would happen to her anchorman, Ben Maher, as the last rider in the competition. The three-time Olympic champion and Catelly struggled at the Germany oxer and went down. Catelly was back on her feet right away, but Maher stayed down for a moment. It seemed, however, to have been mostly the shock. In the end, he was able to leave the arena on foot, with Di Lampard by his side. He was holding his shoulder, though. Get well soon!

And so the Spruce Meadows Nations Cup came to a close with a victory for Germany, an overjoyed Otto Becker—who repeatedly emphasized how proud he was of the team—second place for Ireland, and third place for Belgium.

You can find an overview of the results here.