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A fascinating track designed by Dutchman Henk Jan Drabbe asked plenty of unusual questions. Sweeping turns, long runs between fences and distances that required absolute accuracy were the undoing of many top horse-and-rider combinations and there was only one double-clear on the day. That came from the second-line Brazilian duo of Felipe Amaral and his 12-year-old stallion Germanico T.
All eyes were on German pathfinders, the 2018 world champions Simone Blum and DSP Alice, but their round came adrift when the stride from the open water at six to the flimsy vertical that followed got muddled, and the mare put down again on take-off. They were perfection second time out, but the German side that looked super-strong on paper completed with 29 faults on the board, while Spain, whose last-line partnership of Alberto Marquez Galobardes and Ucello Massuere were real eye-catchers, finished one fault ahead of them with 28.
As the second round began it looked set for a three-way tussle between Sweden, carrying 12 faults, The Netherlands with eight and the leading Brazilians on just four. But the Swedes slipped out of contention when adding 20 more, and when Brazilian pathfinder Marlon Modolo Zanotelli followed up his first-round four faults with a lovely clear and Amaral and Germanico T were foot-perfect for a second time then it already looked like the writing was on the wall.
It was agonising for the Dutch whose second round began with a lovely clear from Maikel van der Vleuten and Dana Blue, winners of Friday’s Longines Grand Prix, only for both Willem Greve with Zypria S and Marc Houtzager and Sterrehof’s Calimero to leave one on the floor. Both looked like they had a fault-free run in the bag but Greve’s mare hit the penultimate oxer, a real bogey on the day, while the crowd groaned in horror when the front pole on the final oxer hit the dirt after Houtzager, certain he had left it in place, raised his fist in delight as he galloped through the finish.
When third-line Brazilian, Pedro Junqueira Muylaert, retuned to the arena with C’est Dorijke he knew he could afford a fence down to seal the win and he used that leeway when too strong down to the vertical after the water, but it didn’t matter. The brilliant anchor partnership of Pedro Veniss (36) and the stallion Quabri de L’Isle, who had made it all look very elementary when clear first time out, didn’t need to go again. The top step of the podium was already secured, and when the final Dutch partnership of Jur Vrieling and VDL Glasgow vh Merelsnest retired after lowering three fences then the hosts had to settle for a final tally of 16 faults, well behind the winning team’s eight-fault total.
“I was feeling very confident coming here because we have Marlon and Pedro with Quabri and Sirene on our team, and also I felt my horse was really good in the Grand Prix” said Amaral this evening. This young man who been twice Brazilian champion and who competed in the Pan-American Games in Toronto (CAN) in 2015, is Belgian-based and has trained with both Rodrigo Pessoa and his legendary father, Nelson Pessoa.
As the Brazilian celebrations began, Pedro Veniss pointed out that team spirit played a major role in today’s success. “We are not just team-mates but also friends. We really support each other to make it happen and winning the biggest class in the world with your best friends is really special!", he said.
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