Valkenswaard United keep hold of their overall Championship lead with 133 points overall, while Hamburg Diamonds stay in second on 125. Breathing down their necks are the St Tropez Pirates, who sit on a tally of 122 points so far. Watched on by fans who packed the tight arena, and VIPs including the likes of Bill Gates, Bruce Springsteen and former F1 World Champion Mika Häkkinen, it was an electric display of top sport as the world’s best teams hit full throttle.
On winning Vienna Eagles’ Niels said, “It was not a walk in the park, it felt quite difficult,” whilst Gregory added that he hoped to “come back well in Paris.”
The Championship was as intense as ever with riders fighting to come in below the 71 second cut off (extended early on from an original 68s), and only seven clears out in total, and three riders picking up an agonising time fault. The course was tight, fast and furious, with jumps coming up fast for the horses and riders. The two combinations away from the gate causing the most trouble for the riders, with poles rolling from across the world class field as a tricky related distance tested the best. But the pace was unrelenting, with riders needing to keep one eye on the clock, pushing some of the athletes into mistakes.
The importance of strategy in this extremely competitive event was highly apparent as the starting lists were issued showing eight horse changes and three rider substitutions. Eric van der Vleuten replaced Gonzalo Anon Suarez for Madrid in Motion, whilst London Knights added in World Number One Kent Farrington and his top horse Creedance for Enrique Gonzalez, meanwhile Shanghai Swans moved out Daniel Deusser for Roger Yves Bost on Pegase du Murier. Tactics were also the talk of the warm-up arena throughout the evening, as trainers and riders discussed the merits of different stride options, especially towards fence 11 – a big and bold combination.
Scopey, agile and honest horses light on their feet were the ones who shone during the class, with teams carrying through their faults from Round 1. First to go Nicola Philippaerts of the Chantilly Pegasus had everything to do with a team score of 20, but the tight turn back to a gappy vertical was too much for H&M Zilverstar T, with the stunning grey horse refusing at the final moment, adding to their overall score.
Plenty of acceleration meant Shanghai Swans took second place, finishing with just four faults for Jessica Springsteen and a blistering clear for teammate Roger-Yves Bost. However, it was their pace that pushed them ahead of Mexico Amigos who collected the same number of penalties, but lost out due to a slower round.
It was perhaps a sense of déjà vu for St Tropez Pirates, who despite heading into round two in pole position (as last week in Cannes), they dropped to fourth after Simon Delestre and Jerome Guery finished on nine penalties.
As the crowd basked in high temperatures, the riders battled it round a mentally taxing and tough technical course full of tight turns and tricky fences. Both upright stiles caused problems, but it was jump number five, which was topped with a delicate white plank that did not take any prisoners, with several combinations picking up penalties there. However, several large oxers and imposing combinations next to the LED hoardings also led to faults.
In fact, it took until the 17th rider to come through the tunnel for spectators to see a clear. The foot-perfect round came from Max Kühner for the Berlin Lions on his 10 year old bay mare who lived up to her name Electric Touch, as he passed the baton to teammate Anna Kellnerova.
Sheikh Ali Bin Khalid Al Thani of Doha Fursan Qatar took a deeper line into the double, costing the team one time fault, but riding a beautiful clear with Carolina 31. Joining him was the experienced Eric van der Vleuten of Madrid in Motion, who picked up an agonising time fault before teammate Leopold van Asten picked up four with his horse VDL Miss Untouchable, putting them down to a team total of 13 today.
It took a number of other riders to enter the smallest arena on the League circuit until Valkenswaard United’s Alberto Zorzi secured a beautiful clear with Cornetto K well within the time cut-off.
Shock came after Simon Delestre of St Tropez Pirates found trouble in the Longines treble after Chesall refused at the middle element, picking up four faults and a time fault to boot. It was an unwelcome case of history repeating itself as the Pirates tumbled down the order, missing out on a podium position and valuable ranking points.
Away from the podium finishers there were stylish rides from Hamburg Diamonds’ Jos Verlooy on Caracas who added a second clear round to the first he collected on Friday. Jane Richard Philips was one of the riders who swapped horses and was rewarded with a stunning clear for Cannes Stars with Dieudonne de Guldenboom.
Despite a good start in the second round, Valkenswaard United could not repeat the success of last week’s competition in Cannes, despite the clear from Zorzi. His team-mate Janika Sprunger came out with a lot of pace, but picked up 16 faults, dropping the team down to 12 in today’s rankings. There were also disappointing rides for Philip Houston of Cascais Charms who racked up 21 penalty points, and John Whitaker who unfortunately knocked a number of fences and took time faults with Talisman de Mazure.
To round off the top six, Cannes Stars took fifth, finishing with 13 points, and Madrid in Motion ended with the same number of penalties, but a slightly slower ride.
But it was the Eagles who soared highest today, with the Swans taking second on the podium and the Mexico Amigos on the third spot. The GCL now looks to Paris, where the eighth round of the exhilarating Championship takes place until the iconic Eiffel Tower.
