The €90,000 1.50 m semi-finals of the EEF Longines Nations Cup Series took place on Friday afternoon. Teams of four riders competed in two rounds on identical courses. In each round, the scores of the three best riders counted in the team’s overall result.
The classic and technical course designed by Elio Travagliati from Italy featured 12 obstacles and 15 efforts. The parkour proved to be quite difficult as only a few riders completed it with zero penalties. The water jump and the “Chain Bridge” caused the most trouble.
The starting order for the first round was as follows: Hungary, Turkey, Switzerland, Brazil, Germany, Romania, Italy, the Netherlands, Qatar, Slovakia, Austria and Czechia.
As team captain Balázs Horváth drew number one in the draw, the competition was opened by a Hungarian rider. The most experienced member of the team, Gábor Szabó Jnr. on Mezőhegyes Chabala, finished the first round with 12 penalty points.
The second Hungarian rider, Tamás Mráz, after a fast ride completed the course clear on Viva Cent.
Both Vince Jármy on Carbon Girl Z, the mare owned by Lovassport Kft., and Péter Szuhai on Casino Royal Z scored 12 penalties. In the first round, the Hungarian team had 24 penalty points.
The first rider of the Turkish team, which was second in the order, Hasan Senturk, set a strong pace for Avant Toi and was the only member of his team to complete the course clear. The Turkish team finished the first round with 16 penalties.
From the Swiss team, two riders, the youngest team member, 20-year-old Géraldine Straumann on Melusina Bvl Z, and Barbara Schnieper on Toronto Raptor, managed to complete clear rounds. So the Swiss team closed the first round with only four penalty points.
New in Budapest, the Brazilian team also performed remarkably well. Two riders, Thiago Ribas Da Costa on Honesty Ctv Z, and Mariana Frauches Chaves on Pedro van de Barlebuis achieved clear rounds despite Luiz Felipe Neto de Azevedo’s equipment malfunction. The team ended the first round with 8 penalty points.
One of the German team’s big hopes, Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann, 26th in the world ranking, was unlucky in the first round, finishing with 8 penalty points on Tapioca. However, Marie Ligges on Ballerina NRW, and Michael Viehweg on Contario rode clear, leaving the team with eight penalty points in the first round.
All members of the Romanian team collected a few penalty points, having a total of 24 points in the first round.
The Italian riders performed strongly thanks to the clear rounds of Giacomo Bassi on Cash du Pratel and Giulia Martinengo Marquet on Captain Morgan Weering Z, finishing with a total of 4 penalty points.
The defending Dutch champions also jumped to the top in the first round with two clear rounds (Bas Moerings – Kivinia and Jan Bruggink – Vigalio Sho Z Gert) and with a total of four penalty points.
The Qatari riders collected 12 penalty points. The Slovakian riders entered the second round with 16 penalty points.
The Austrian heavyweight rider, Max Kühner, 14th in the world ranking and having Olympic experience in the saddle of EIC Julius Caesar, surprisingly collected 8 penalty points, but thanks to the clear rounds of Markus Saurugg – Obora’s Crunchy Nut and Alessandra Reich – Oeli R performed well.
Czechia arrived in Budapest with a young team. With 12 penalty points, they were expected to continue from the middle of the field.
The results of the first round were as follows:
- 4 penalty points: Switzerland, Netherlands, Italy
- 8 penalty points: Austria, Germany, Brazil
- 12 penalty points: Qatar, Czechia
- 16 penalty points: Turkey, Slovakia
- 24 penalty points: Hungary, Romania
After a short break, the riders returned to the course to analyse their experiences from the first round. In the second round, the teams took to the course in reverse order of their results in the previous round.
Only a few riders managed to complete the double clear: Thiago Ribas Da Costa from Brazil, Giacomo Bassin and Giulia Martinengo Marquet from Italy, and Michael Viehweg and Marie Ligges from Germany.
After the experiences of the first round, Germany’s Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann, Czech Natalie Kovarova, Italy’s Roberto Turchetto, Holland’s Mel Thijssen, Qatar’s Bassem Mohammed and Hungarian Vince Jármy delivered a perfect performance in the second round.
The Hungarian riders jumped much more consistently in the second round. Gábor Szabó, Jnr., Tamás Mráz and Péter Szuhai all finished with four penalty points, while Vince Jármy contributed to the team’s result with a beautiful clear round. Having eight penalty points in the second round and a total of 32, the Hungarian team finished ninth, and failed to qualify for the final by one place.
The team competition was won by Italy with four penalty points, followed by Germany with eight penalty points and defending champions the Netherlands with 12 points. In addition to the three podium finishers, Austria and Czechia also qualified for the Swiss final of the series.
Longines watches were presented to the riders and the chef d’équipe of the winning team by Lauren Roncalli, Longines Project Manager for International Events and Relations. Klaus Röser, member of the International Equestrian Federation and EEF Presidium, Dr Gyula Budai, member of the Olympic Preparation Coordination Committee of the Hungarian Equestrian Federation, and Dorottya Stróbl, competition director also congratulated the victorious team.
The winning team’s grooms received YETI backpacks.
The captain of the winning Italian team said at the press conference following the competition that the team had very good riders and horses. Giulia Martinengo Marquet, ranked 35th in the Longines world rankings, revealed that the Nations Cup is her favourite competition.
Results:
- 1. Italy 4 points
- Giacomo Bassi – Cash du Pratel
- Roberto Turchetto – Heidelberg
- Giulia Martinengo Marquet – Captain Morgan Weering Z
- Bruno Chimirri – Je Suis Godot d’Acheronte
- Chef d’Equipe: Mario Verheyden
- 2. Germany 8 points
- Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann – Tapioca
- Marie Ligges – Ballerina NRW
- Alexander Schill – Exclusive
- Michael Viehweg – Contario
- Chef d’Equipe: Ralf Runge
- 3. Netherlands 12 points
- Bas Moerings – Kivinia
- Gert Jan Bruggink – Vigalio Sho Z
- Jur Vrieling – Kiliman Sitte
- Mel Thijssen – Juice
- Chef d’Equipe: Vincent Voorn
- 4. Switzerland 20 points
- 5. Austria 20 points
- 6. Qatar 20 points
- 7. Brazil 21 points
- 8. Czech Republic 28 points
- 9. Hungary 32 points
- Ifj. Szabó Gábor – Mezohegyes Chabala
- Mráz Tamás – Viva Cent
- Jármy Vince Carbon Girl Z
- Szuhai Péter Casino Royal Z
- Chef d’Equipe: Balázs Horváth
- 10. Türkiye 36 points
- 11. Slovakia 41 points
- 12. Romania 72 points
Photo: CSIO Budapest / CSIO Budapest / Krisztina Hajdu
Main sponsor of the event is the Szerencsejáték Zrt.
