Today marked the final day of the FEI European Championships in Aachen, Germany. The Individual Show Jumping Final took place in the Main Arena, where 25 of the world's best riders battled for medals. The first round proved to be the most difficult. The German course designer Frank Rothenberger used every trick in the book and built a course up to full height. The most difficult part of the course proved to be the triple combination after the water jump. Many of the riders had one or more of the elements of the combination down, with some seeing a chance of a medal fall with the fence. After the first round it was Dutch rider Jeroen Dubbeldam (Zenith SFN N.O.P) who took the lead from Spaniard Sergio Alvarez Moya (Carlo 273). Before the second round some riders dropped out, seeing no chance of a medal and choosing to save their horses for another day. Unfortunately Daniel Deusser and his mount Cornet d'Amour were disqualified after blood was discovered from a spur mark. The second round proved to be more manageable, with the majority of the riders jumping clear. The home crowd saw their riders Christian Ahlmann (Taloubet Z) and Meredith Michaels Beerbaum (Fibonacci) go clear, before seeing Ludger Beerbaum have the first fence down. Spanish rider Sergio Alvarez Moya had one fence down on Carlo, which dropped him out of medal contention. This opened up opportunities for the remaining riders. Penelope Leprevost (FRA) and the mare Flora de Mariposa produced a fantastic clear to finish just outside the medals in fourth place. Her teammate Simon Delestre also produced the goods and came home with the bronze medal. Next to go, Gregory Wathelet (BEL), was now under tremendous pressure to go clear. He remained calm and he too went clear, eventually coming away with the silver medal. This left the current World Champion, Jeroen Dubbeldam, with the chance to win the Championship title. He crossed the finish line with one time fault, but it was enough to earn him the win and the title. Full Results Photo ©Equnews.fr
