Koen Vereecke started as the fourth with Lector van den Bisschop (Bamako de Muze) and was the first Belgian combination in the ring. The duo had only one jumping fault on the first day. Entering the second combination, the duo was charged with a rail in the sand after an already impressive round. The last part of the triple combination also went down for them.
The first flawless round was seen from Martin Fuchs (SUI) and Commissar Pezi (Commissario). After the first round, only Switzerland had no jumping faults recorded, while Ireland had only a time fault for Trevor Breen and Highland President (Clinton).
The second flawless round was achieved by Christian Kukuk (GER) and Checker 47 (Comme il Faut), putting the German team on a zero score alongside Switzerland after the second round.
During the break, Fuchs said: "Great start and a great round from Commissar Pezi. It was a difficult course, but I hope the best for the Swiss team. I'm much more nervous when my teammates are in the ring, as opposed to when I'm on the horse myself because I can't control the situation from the side. We've never won here, but it's something we've been working hard for, and we hope to be on top today."
After the break, the list of flawless combinations included Martin Fuchs (SUI), Christian Kukuk (GER), and Lily Attwood (GBR).
Third to start for Belgium was Wilm Vermeir. Riding his trusted IQ van het Steentje (Toulon), last year's World Cup winner in Mechelen had to stay faultless if our country wanted to compete for the prizes. The pressure was high, but the duo did not let it get to them. Vermeir and IQ delivered the first flawless round!
Hans-Dieter Dreher (GER) also finished without any faults with Elysium (Zirocco Blue), contributing to Germany's zero score. After flawless rounds from Luciana Duniz (BRA) and Vertigo du Desert (Mylord Carthago), it was the last in the ring for Belgium: Gregory Wathelet in combination with Bond Jamesbond de Hay (Diamant de Semilly). The twelve-year-old stallion didn't make any mistakes, leaving the Belgian team and title defenders with a total of eight points.
The German team remained the only one with zero points at the top of the ranking, followed by Brazil with four penalty points in second place, and Great Britain with eight in third place (tied with France and Belgium). The flawless round from Richard Vogel (GER) & United Touch S (Untouched) secured the German team's Nations Cup victory on Spanish soil.
Rodrigo Pessoa's (BRA) flawless round with Major Tom (Vagabond de La Pomme) provided a top result for the Brazilian team. The last in the ring was Harry Charles (GBR) with Aralyn Blue (Chacco-Blue).
TOP THREE
- Germany (Jana Wargers, Christian Kukuk, Hans-Dieter Dreher, Richard Vogel)
- France (Simon Delestre, Francois Xavier Boudant, Olivier Perreau, Julien Epaillard)
- Belgium (Koen Vereecke, Niels Bruynseels, Wilm Vermeir, Gregory Wathelet)