An eventful day at the Brussels Masters saw the excitement at the Nations Cup, one of the highlights of the week. Switzerland lived up to its favorites by taking the victory in strong fashion, with a crucial clear last round by Martin Fuchs securing the win.
Switzerland once again showed why it is one of the best jumping nations in the world. The team was led by the ever-reliable Martin Fuchs, who rode the decisive clear round with Conner Jei in the second round. Fuchs started with only one fault in the first round, but his clear second ride sealed the victory for Switzerland. Steve Guerdat pitched in with the team with a similar run in the competition, also riding a clear ride for Is-Minka in the second round. Janika Sprunger took a flawless start with Orelie and Pius Schwizer had a jumping fault in both rounds for Chelsea Z. With these strong performances, the Swiss team managed to record a total of 9 penalty points.
The Belgian team took an honorable second place in front of the home crowd. Niels Bruynseels with Origi Vd Vosberg was the strongest Belgian rider of the day, with only 4 penalty points over two rounds. Pieter Devos, riding Casual DV Z, suffered only one jumping fault in both rounds. Olympic duo Wilm Vermeir and Iq van het Steentje had a rather unfortunate start but shifted up a gear in the second round. Together with the performance of Olivier Philippaerts and H&M Miro, the Belgian team achieved a total of 20 penalty points.
The Netherlands finished in third place, helped by a touch of luck. The team was led by a clear performance by Lars Kersten with Funky Fred Marienshof Z, who made a crucial contribution to the Netherlands' final result with two clear rounds. Both Kim Emmen with Inflame GO and Harrie Smolders with Springfield 21 failed to maintain zero scores. Mathijs van Asten got some discord in the triple jump which caused him to withdraw from the competition. With a total of 22 penalty points, the team in orange took the bronze.