Dutch team wins Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup once again

In the first round, Maikel van der Vleuten and Beauville Z, Sanne Thijssen and Con Quidam RB and Willem Greve with Grandorado TN stayed in the clear, meaning Harrie Smolders and Monaco's ride, in which he had four penalty points, could be considered a 'practice lap'. This proved a great way to prepare him for the second round.

With clear runs in the second round by Maikel van der Vleuten and Willem Greve and eight penalty points in Sanne Thijssen's run, the Dutch could afford one mistake at most in the final run. Fortunately, final combination Harrie Smolders and Monaco left all jumps intact, granting the Dutch the victory.

The French and Irish both had four penalty points after the first round. However, one of the French team members, Roger Yves Bost, did not start in the second round, leaving them no margin for error. For the Irish, Daniel Coyle en Shane Sweetnum, both stayed in the clear in both rounds, while Denis Lynch and Trevor Breen both had 4 penalty points in both rounds.

"A fantastic day of sports today with a wonderful outcome for The Netherlands... As I said before, it was high time we won again in Rotterdam", Harrie Smolders said. For Maikel van der Vleuten, it was his first Nations Cup since the Tokyo Olympics: "Beauville Z felt great, the atmosphere in the stadium was good and this has been a good test for me heading into Herning."

Willem Greve's participation had been a matter of uncertainty before the event, as several weeks ago he had injured himself in Rome, pulling his groin. "I was determined to ride here. Luckily I have an amazing team at home who took care of the horses while I had physical therapy and went swimming an biking to aid my recovery."

Jos Lansink has competed at CHIO Rotterdam many times as a rider for both the Dutch and Belgian team. Today, he made a very succesful debut here as team captain. "It's important that our horses prove and stay fit, the atmosphere here was great." Asked whether he and his team are on the right path with the World Championships in Herning ahead, he said: "Luckily we also have more great horses and great riders outside of these four and it's looks like we're going the right way. We try our best to keep our riders and horses fit."

Course designer Quintin Maertens was happy with today's event and the great result for the Dutch team. CHIO Rotterdam showjumping director Yves Houtackers can also look back on a wonderful afternoon of sports in the Rotterdam Arena.