The Swiss Junior Team wins the FEI Jumping Nations Cup ahead of Monaco and France.
The audience at the Horse Park Zurich-Diesdorf (CH) saw four consecutive exciting rounds in the international FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Youth on the third day of the very first edition of the „Zurich Youth Masters“. In the two Nations Cups in the categories of Juniors as well as Children, the home teams of Switzerland could cheer loudly: The Juniors won ahead of the teams from Monaco and France, the Children came second ex-aequo together with Italy, ahead of the winning team from France.
It was a demanding and exciting competition that course designer Reto Ruflin set for the seven teams in the Junior Nations‘ Cup, which served as qualifier and last leg of the “ FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Youth “ series before the final. After the first round, the Swiss squad of Chef d’Equipe Conny Notz with Linus Hanselmann (Quiamant), Lou Puch (Leave the Night on), Jeanne Paradis (Imperium) and Anna Siegmann (PB Stagenta) was in second position together with France with twelve points. The lead was taken by Monaco – with only three riders every score counted -, coached by the Swiss trainer couple Renata and Thomas Fuchs, with eight points. There were only three clear rounds in total, one of them by Anna Siegmann (SUI).
In the recapitulation, the Monegasques fall back a bit, they totalled 24 points, just like Germany and France. Now it was up to the Swiss rider Siegmann again. She could allow herself one fault to secure the home victory for Switzerland and exactly this one down – at the very last obstacle – was enough in the end. „I am so happy, especially because it is in front of our home crowd. The four riders did it perfectly, especially in the second round,“ Chef d’Equipe Notz was pleased. As time counted in the end for the ex aequo placed team, Monaco came second and France third.
Team Swiss Children on the podium as well
The Swiss children’s quartet – also coached by Conny Notz – with Laura André (Coosawattee, elim.+21), Elias Laky (Loretta van het Mettenhof, 0+0), Victoria Scherbakov (Delicate Histoire, 8+4) and Noah Pfyffer von Altishofen (Rock de Vains, 0+0) took the place of honour in the Nations Cup. They had to share this place with the Italian team with a total of twelve points. The competition, which was also part of the „FEI Jumping Nations Cup Youth“ series, was won by the French team with a total of four penalty points.
Both Swiss teams thus qualified for the Nations Cup Final, which will take place in the Netherlands in Kronenberg, from 20 to 25 September.
