A Dutch dream in Budapest

Eight rounds jumped and eight clears produced gave The Netherlands a decisive win in the second of the two Longines EEF Nations Cup Semi-Finals, held today in Budapest, Hungary. This was the qualifier for the Central and South regions with five places up for grabs for the Final in Warsaw. Germany finished in second place on just one time penalty with Hungary in third, Austria in fourth, Italy in fifth and Slovakia in sixth.

Hungary, as host nation were entitled to put forward a team even though they had not qualified for the semi-final. It was perhaps bittersweet that they finished third on a score of one but could not receive a qualification for the final this year, hence Slovakia took the final qualification spot.

Eleven teams turned out for the competition but the Dutch team consisting of younger and more senior members- both in terms of riders and their horses, were untouchable. 34-year-old Ruben Romp was riding his experienced horse ESI Toulouse whilst 24 year old Lars Kersten was riding the talented nine year old Chuck Marienshof Z. The rookie of the team was 22-year-old Mans Thijssen who ably partnered the 10-year-old Joviality, whilst the most senior of the team was 41-year-old Henk Frederiks. All four riders looked quite at home jumping both tracks, finishing clear and inside the time in both rounds. A feat which has not yet been seen in this year’s Series. The Dutch have been consistent throughout which surely puts them in good stead for the Final.

Chef d’Equipe Vincent Voorn, summed what their performance meant: “I think we had a very good team, with very good riders and some young horses and some more experienced so I think it was a good combination. This is what we come for, to qualify for the Final. We start the season with trying to develop new combinations and of course the aim in Warsaw. If you have a bad day, you don’t know who will qualify even if you’ve had good pre-qualification. So yes, Warsaw was the aim and luckily we can go there now, the last two years were not super successful so I hope we can change that.”

Frederiks was thrilled with the Dutch performance around a challenging course and gave praise to his horse, the KWPN Impian D. “You see in the Longines EEF Series the sport is always beautiful, its always a close call, and the tight time was deciding. So it was a good decision I believe, when we first walked it it didn’t look so big and we asked to make it a little bit bigger because I think its fair to have enough jumping. The time was deciding so as others were rushing and it turns into a fault, and in the end I think the best team won.

“Impian won already five nations cups, he’s a great horse, really a horse of a lifetime. A couple of years ago I wasn’t doing so much international, and because of Impian, I’m getting everywhere. Last year he jumped the finals, he was runner up in last years Series’ Horse of the Year so I hope he might go one better this year!”

Kersten was equally delighted with his young horse: “My horse is only 9years old, and I think for these younger horses the Longines EEF Series is very good to develop them and jump in Nations Cup with two rounds. I’ve been lucky enough to jump three now this year with this horse and I think its really good for the horse to develop. He has a lot of quality, he’s a very very good horse, for sure he has to get a little bit stronger and there are always things to work on but I think he has a lot of potential and this Series can really help him progress”

Course Designer Bernado Costa Cabral from Brazil, set an imposing 1m50 track and the time looked tough to get, with a number of riders picking up time faults. The format of this CSI3* competition is two rounds against the clock with a jump-off for leading teams who finish on equal scores but as was the case in Deauville, when Spain finished on zero faults after two rounds, no jump-off was needed.

Speaking after the competition, Cabral said “I think the course was very fair, taking into account the heat and the mixed difficulties of the course with a mixed group of riders so I think it was very balanced. There was a chance for having a jump off but of course there was no jump off, it was actually a strong enough course, and without putting the less experienced riders in trouble. The better teams raced to the top, so Im very happy with the experience and the result, the best team won.”

The pressure was very much on the final riders in the team to gain the qualification. Jörne Sprehe was the last rider to go for Germany, but her lovely grey stallion, Hickstead White by the legendary showjumping sire Hickstead, produced a fabulous double clear to pull Germany up to second and guarantee they were off to the Final. After their second rider Luca Marziani was eliminated in the second round, Bruno Chimirri saved the day for Italy with a super clear on the nine year old stallion Je Suis Godot d’Acheronte who jumped a double clear and looks an exciting horse for the future.

Meanwhile, a lot was resting on Gerfried Puck to keep the Austrian team in fourth place. However, his horse Equitron Ornaat V never looked close to touching a fence with his neat jumping action, and the pair sealed the deal. Whilst Slovakian rider Radovan Sillo finished on just one time penalty which kept his team just a whisker ahead of Switzerland who finished just behind in seventh and therefore did not qualify for the final.

Dutch rider Romp summed up the feeling about the Budapest Semi-Final in the Dutch camp. “For us, its a super nice series, its all over Europe, we got to ride in shows I’ve never been to before, like here in Budapest its really nice to have a Nations Cup”.

Budapest was the second semi-final for qualified teams. The first semi-final for North and West regions took place in Deauville on 21st June. The 10 teams qualified for the Final are: Austria, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden. The final will take place on Sunday 8 September in Warsaw, Poland.