German Youngster Team wins Nationscup in Budapest
Budapest/HUN (fn-press).
The young German show jumping team won the semi-final of the Nations Cup series of the European Equestrian Federation EEF in Budapest. The team around Cedric Wolf (Buchholz) with DSP Chicitito, Jana Wargers (Ibbenbüren) with Limbridge, Sophie Hinners (Pfungstadt) with Vittorio, Philipp Schulze Topphoff (Havixbeck) with Concordess NRW and team leader Ralf Runge (Montabaur) delivered a total of six clear rounds and won ahead of the teams from Italy and Switzerland. The German team thus qualified directly for the series finals in Warsaw, where they will also compete with this line-up.
"We don't need to worry about the future," said a happy Ralf Runge after the award ceremony in Budapest. "This squad is just fun. They are young, but already very mature and can ride really well," he enthused about his protégés. The 58-year-old, who himself was German champion and runner-up in the European team championships for young riders in the 1980s, made his debut as team boss in the Hungarian capital - and with an exclamation mark.
His young team, peppered with medal winners from German and European Championships in various age groups, left no stone unturned in the two rounds of the Nations Cup. Cedric Wolf (23) and his Bavarian gelding DSP Chicitito (by Crossfire - Balou du Rouet), U21 European Champion of 2018, made the start: Zero faults in the first round, four in the second. This was followed by the most experienced rider in the team with an age of 30: Jana Wargers with the Holstein stallion Limbridge (by Limbus - Cambridge). They made only one mistake in the first round, in the second they remained without penalty points. The reigning German Champion, Sophie Hinners (24), delivered two clear rounds with her Hanoverian gelding Vittorio (by Valentino - Ramiro's Bube), who was also her partner in the course at the DM in Balve. The two were making their debut in a senior Nations Cup. The Westphalian pair Philipp Schulze Topphoff (22) and Concordess NRW (by Congress - Acobat), the reigning U21 European Champions, rounded off the German team with two clear rounds. After deducting the scratch results from both rounds, the young Germans led the classification with zero penalties, followed by Italy with four and Switzerland with eight.
Runge's plan worked out perfectly: "Everyone gave their best today! When a mistake happened, they just kept going and stayed cool. When we set up the team, we said: Everyone takes the place where they feel comfortable. So we left everyone in their comfort zone and they delivered perfectly. It was also great that all the home trainers came along, who know the horses very well. So it was really very easy and worked out great," Runge reported, adding, "Wolfgang Puschak, our fifth man, also pulled along great. He was flawless in the grand tour the day before and was ready to step in if needed." The team is also expected to compete in this constellation at the EEF series finals in Warsaw in two weeks. National coach Otto Becker, who is preparing for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, is grateful that Runge is leading the team: "I am very proud of this team! This was a great team performance and a super debut for Ralf Runge."
The remarkable thing about this equipe: all four riders have already been finalists of Germany's U25 Jumping Cup, the most important national series in young show jumping. "At this point I would like to give special thanks to the Müter family and the Stiftung Deutscher Spitzenpferdesport for making this important series possible," said Otto Becker. "It was just as planned that senior Nations Cups would also be filled from the participants in this series. Today they have qualified for the final of the EEF series and may also represent the German colors there." jbc
