Both Germany and Switzerland were on a score of zero after the first two rounds, so it came right down to the wire when two gutsy girls and their mares went head-to-head to jump off for their nation to claim the top spot. Germany’s Sophie Hinners was first to go and threw caution to the wind to deliver the fastest time with four faults on her lovely mare Iron Dames Combella. Switzerland’s Barbara Schnieper went second on the 12-year-old Canice and opted to go for a steady clear, but when the pair ‘misjudged’ an oxer halfway around put paid to that, it was clear that she had not done enough to claim victory this time.

27-year-old Hinners was thrilled by her mare’s performance and referred to the competition as a “fantastic experience and fantastic atmosphere” for her horse who she has not been riding for very long. “I felt the support of the audience. I took advantage of the good ground conditions today to get to know her better.”

Hinners was joined by a very competent team including ‘man of the moment’ and Olympic Champion, Christian Kukuk who is positioned third in the world rankings. He chose to ride, the 10-year-old Chacco-Blue sired stallion Chageorge with whom he jumped a double clear and looks to be a very exciting partnership for the future. Jörne Sprehe, ranked 46th in the world had just one fence in the first round but clear in the second aboard the Toulon-sired 11-year-old Toys. Gerrit Nieberg produced two fabulous clear rounds on the striking piebald gelding Ping Pong van de Lentamel.

German Chef d’Equipe Ralf Runge was delighted to have secured a victory in his first time in the role. “My thanks goes to national coach Otto Becker, who selected the riders. And of course, thanks to the team- you delivered.”

This was the first qualifier for the Central region and the third event of this increasingly popular Series. Course Designer Christa Jung built an imposing but fair course with a maximum height of 1m45. Eleven teams came forward with a good mix of world leading riders and up and coming stars from emerging nations. There were some well-established equine stars who have jumped in FEI World Cups and Nations Cups, together with some promising young horses. The Longines EEF Series, now in its fifth year has proved popular with national team selectors who want to give younger riders practice in being part of a team as well as highly ranked riders who want to give young horses ‘big ring’ experience.

There were plenty of clears in the first round which was testimony to the quality of the field rather than it being a ‘soft course’ but the second round- which was jumped over an identical course proved far more costly overall. Problems were spaced out around this imposing course but the final line which saw a water jump to a maximum height oxer on six strides caused its fair share of trouble.

All eleven teams came forward to jump the second round with three teams on zero- these were Switzerland, Germany and Sweden. Sweden did not have such a great second round with two riders faulting and France slipped ahead. With Switzerland and Germany finishing on zero after two rounds, this inevitably made for thrilling sport for the large crowds who had come out to watch an afternoon of top jumping in the sunshine. Speaking in the press conference Quentin Simonet, 2nd Vice President of the EEF spoke highly of the team at Mannheim “On behalf of the EEF and the interim President George Dimaras, I would like to congratulate the winning team but also the Organisation, with all the ecosystem behind, that is something really important for us and we feel really lucky to have the chance to have the EEF competition here. Thank you also to the German Federation who support this Organisation and also to Longines for the sponsorship. In Mannheim there is everything, from an Organiser perspective, everything was perfect, even the weather and the winning team, so thank you and congratulations.”

The Director of the competition at Mannheim described this as “a dream come true…Finally I managed to win the Longines EEF Nations Cup on my course. The enthusiastic atmosphere of the crowd was exceptional”. He thanks the EEF for trusting in his show enough to host their Series there.

The Series moves to Peelbergen in The Netherlands which hosts the second leg of the West Region on 23rd May.

Where to Watch and Follow
Full results of the CSIO3* Mannheim Nations Cup can be viewed here.