The final of the World Show Jumping Knights Championship kicked off in the US city of Omaha, Nebraska. Jur Vrieling (Holwierde) set a very fast first sprint time, with mistakes turning into penalty seconds, with Fiumicino van de Kalevalei leading up.
Three seconds had to be added to that time of 59.03 because a block was pushed off the wall, so that Vrieling eventually finished twelfth.
Faster than winner Henrik von Eckermann
With his prime time, Eure and his horse were six hundredths of a second faster than the eventual winner of this inaugural competition, Swede Henrik von Eckermann on King Edward. Vrieling chose Fiumicino’s pace for this opener, while Long John would use a Silver NOP for the next two games. This horse is less fast but has more power and this is more important than speed in the remaining competitions.
Second Dutch finalist Harry Smulders (Hooge Mierde) also started convincingly for the Monaco NOP, as they finished seventh, a second and a half behind Eckermann.
Dinga van Lier leaves the last round
The final of the Dressage Riders’ World Cup is also held in Omaha. Dutch athlete Dinga van Lier (Oden) will not start, because her horse Hermes NOP was not “fit to compete” just before the competition. Tamar Zwistra (Shor) convinced thanks to a personal best result with Hexagon’s Ich Weiss and temporarily took sixth, while Marieke van der Putten (Apeldoorn) who started with Torvesletten Titanium RS2 was eighth.
As expected, the battle for victory will be between German riders Jessica von Bredow Werndel and Isabel Wirth. Von Bredow decided the opener in her favor, with a margin of 2.5 percent.
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