Team Switzerland won the second leg of FEI Nations Cup Eventing competition over the weekend at Italy’s Pratoni Del Vivaro, with the host nation in second and Sweden rounding out the podium in third. France was next in the rankings, followed by the Netherlands and Spain.
The event employed the new Olympic Test Format, which allows teams to use a reserve rider as a substitute at the expense of a team penalty of an additional 20 points. The Dutch team took advantage of the new format, sending Merel Blom in to replace Willemina Van Der Goes-Petter.
Three days of competition kicked off with dressage on Friday …
… followed by cross country on Saturday …
… and show jumping on Sunday. The top three teams were already in position heading into the final phase, which proved influential to the individual scoreboard. A vertical-oxer-vertical triple combination caught out several horse-rider combinations and time was also a factor — after the first few rides the time was adjusted to a limit of 86 seconds.
Switzerland’s effort was led off by Caroline Gerber and Tresor De Chignan CH, who picked up a rail to complete the event on a score of 56.0. Next up Swiss rider Patrizia Attinger with Mooney Amach had no time but four fences down, a result that would be the discard score of the three riders on her team. Tiziana Realini was the final Swiss rider out with Toubleu De Rueire and posted another four-fault round to finish on 45.2 and clinch victory for Team Switzerland.
In individual competition, France’s Benjamin Massie with Ungaro de Kreisker came into show jumping in first place on 37.1 points, with Sweden’s Niklas Lindbäck and Focus Filiocus just half a point behind on a 37.6. When Niklas pulled a rail the door was opened for Benjamin to overtake him, which he did on the wings of a brilliant clear round.
The final team point standings for the podium finishers were Switzerland (162.4), Italy (206.8) and Sweden (238.5). With two FEI Nations Cup legs now completed, Leg 1 having taken place at Houghton Hall in Great Britain, Sweden holds the league lead overall on 170 points. Upcoming legs take place in Poland, Ireland, France, and Belgium, with the Final taking place at Boekelo in October. View the 2019 FEI Nations Cup calendar here.
