Chef d’Equipe Angelika May chose a strong quartet of riders with championship experience, who showed their abilities by finishing on a completely clean sheet of zero with double clears for all four riders. Switzerland lagged behind with a team total of 16 penalties and Germany wound up in third also on 16 but a slower time. The home nation of Italy were sixth on 28 faults.

Following on from Lier last week, this was the second leg of the Longines EEF Series but the first qualifying competition for the Southern region which was once again hosted by this wonderful Italian venue of Gorla Minore. Spectators were bathed in spring sunshine as they watched a morning of great sport which saw some beautiful clear rounds but plenty of faults, particularly towards the end of the course which included a number of technical jumping efforts and combinations. This challenging 1m50 course was set by Andrea Colombo for this CSIO3* competition. This height of course is a new development for the EEF Series which was previously smaller in dimensions but was well received by competitors many of whom are aiming for the FEI European Championships later this year. The competition consists of two rounds jumped over identical courses by each team and on this occasion a jump-off was not needed to establish the winner.

Austria was likely to be the team hard to beat, given the combined experience of their riders. The team included all three members of their Jumping team who competed at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Gerfried Puck, Max Kuhner and Katharina Rhomberg were joined by Christoph Obernauer who competed on the Austrian team at the FEI World Championships in Herning (DEN) in 2022.

Puck who is ranked at 49 in the Longines Rider rankings got his team off to a strong start with the 11-year-old Belgian bred gelding Equitron Ornaat V, a horse he has been contesting in Global Champions Tour classes recently. He was full of praise for the EEF Series. “It is a very great competition for the upcoming riders and also for our team. I think it has been good to jump at 1m50 for the other championships like the Europeans, to get used to jumping at this height.”

33-year-old Rhomberg followed suit with a clean sheet on the impressive grey Colestus Cambridge who she has produced since a young horse. The pair competed at their first Olympics together in Paris last year and at just 10 years old, this Westfalian gelding has an exciting future ahead of him. “My horse jumped very well today. It was a technical course. Fairly built but not so easy to ride so we all had to ride well and luckily we did.”

Obernauer was also well mounted on his faithful companion Kleons Renegade, with whom he contested the World Championships in Denmark and has ridden since the horse was four years old. “He is one of a kind for me- a super horse. These are top facilities here and my horses are jumping really good and from the first fence on I had a really good feeling today.”

 51-year-old Kuhner kept a cool head to jump last and produce two copy book rounds on The Diamant de Semilly sired 10 year old EIC Daloubet. “I have known the course designer for many years, he also did the European Championships for Young Riders (Gorla Minore 2023) and I think he did a great job.”

Chef d’Equipe Angelika May commented on the ‘very elegant old Italian style’ of course in Gorla. “I think this is a very nice competition and a very nice Series and I’m very proud of my team.”

Now in its fifth year, the Longines EEF Nations Cup Series is growing in popularity, and Gorla saw eleven nations come forward, with a number of top-ranking riders competing against leading Young Riders and lesser-known names from emerging nations in the sport. These included Turkey, Ukraine and Bulgaria alongside the more established Jumping nations like Switzerland, Germany, Great Britain and Belgium. The EEF Series prides itself on nurturing both emerging showjumping nations as well as young riders and horses, giving them an opportunity to compete for their nation and showcase their talent to selectors.