Mannheim (fn-press). Germany against Switzerland, Sophie Hinners and Million Dollar against Alain Jufer with Dante MM in the jump-off - the Mannheim Nations' Cup in show jumping could not have been decided in a more exciting way. In the end, the Swiss pair won with a time of 41.03 seconds against the German Champion Sophie Hinners, who had set a time of 42.01 seconds with the stallion Million Dollar. Nevertheless, the German team was very happy, because the four riders and their horses could hardly have sold themselves much better at the first assignment of the new co-national trainer Marcus Döring as head of the team. The Maimarkt tournament in Mannheim was the start of the Nations Cup series of the European Equestrian Federation EEF. Third place went to the team from Sweden.
Around 10,000 spectators in the jumping stadium and great weather until the award ceremony - the backdrop for the Nations' Cup at the Mannheim Maimarkt tournament could not have been nicer after the long corona-related restrictions. "We are more than grateful and honoured that Longines and the EEF have put their trust in this event and the team behind it. This raises Mannheim to a new level of international show jumping and in the perception of the top events in Europe. What we saw here today was fantastic: Exciting sport, a thrilling jump-off, a competition full of emotions," said Paul Hofmann. He represented his father, Peter Hofmann, as show director, who had to stay in Corona quarantine and watch his tournament on television.
The Swiss team leader Beat von Ballmoos was also overwhelmed. For him, it was his first assignment as equipechef and his team gave him a victory. "It is a wonderful day for us. The EEF series is very important for us because we can give more riders and horses the opportunity to compete in Nations Cups. My team did a fantastic job today," said von Ballmoos.
The German co-national coach Marcus Döring also celebrated his premiere as equipe boss, while the national head coach Otto Becker stayed with another team at the Nations' Cup in La Baule, France. "That was really a great start. Of course we would have liked to win, but we are also very happy about the second place. It was super exciting until the end. We really had a great team here at the start, everyone rode super and the horses jumped well. I think we witnessed absolute top sport," was Döring's conclusion. He also proved to have a good hand in selecting the pair for the jump-off. "It was the plan from the beginning to go into the jump-off with Sophie. Her horse jumped really well," Döring said.
Million Dollar and Carmina with further top performances
The 24-year-old Hinners is a member of the team at Hofgut Dagobertshausen in Marburg, Hesse. In Mannheim, she competed with the Belgian stallion Million Dollar, who is owned by the Holsteiner Verband. The ten-year-old is a son of Plot Blue (dam's sire Vigo D Arsouilles STX). "The horse is developing incredibly great. I only got him in January. He makes me feel great every round and grows with his tasks. He is getting better and better," said the reigning German Champion, who rode her fourth Nations Cup in Mannheim. "I was nervous before the jump-off, but very relieved afterwards. I am super proud of how Million Dollar jumped, even if it was a bit annoying at the end." Only one second was missing for the victory. But the decision could have been made earlier.In addition to Hinners, Patrick Stühlmeyer (Osnabrück) also managed two clear rounds. He started with the Baden-Württemberg-bred Carmina (by Casall - San Patrignano Cassini). The eleven-year-old mare was also his partner in the course in 2021, when he won the bronze medal at the German Championships in Balve and more recently in Hagen am Teutoburger Wald, where the two won the Riders Tour Final.
The German start rider Kendra Claricia Brinkop, who was born in Schleswig-Holstein and works for Stephex Stables in Belgium, recorded one fault in both rounds with the only nine-year-old Belgian gelding Narcos by Smidshoeve. After the clear rounds of Hinners and Stühlmeyer, the final rider André Thieme (Plau am See) with the Oldenburg show jumper Conacco (Conoglio - Chacco-Blue) would have had to have been clear in the second round in order to take the victory without a jump-off. The pair had previously made it through the first round without any penalties, but then the drop followed in round two. So both Germany and Switzerland finished with four penalty points and it came to the jump-off. "We were all happy with the first round. All I had to do was bring it to the finish," Thieme said, thoroughly disappointed. But he could also be happy about second place. "Congratulations to the Swiss, they were simply better in the end," said the European Champion and praised the course designer Christa Jung: "It was not an easy task to design this course. It was not an easy course, but it was built with a lot of understanding."
