Dutch soar to victory on home ground in Rotterdam
Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ 2022 (FEI/Lukasz Kowalski)
Jos Lansink’s Dutch team of Maikel van der Vleuten (Beauville Z), Sanne Thijssen (Con Quidam RB), Willem Greve (Grandorado TN) and Harrie Smolders (Monaco) posted an impressive victory in the third leg of the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ 2022 Europe Division 1 series on home soil in Rotterdam (NED) today.
The 2021 champions were favourites from the outset and certainly didn’t disappoint when cruising to pole position with a sensational zero score over two exciting rounds of jumping.
France and Ireland filled the next two places when each finishing on an eight-fault total, the French edging the Irish for runner-up spot when their combined times gave them a narrow advantage. Germany finished fourth on 16 faults, Sweden and Belgium filled fifth and sixth with 20 faults apiece, the young British team finished seventh on a 28-fault tally and Italy, the only side not chasing points towards the Longines Final in September, finished eighth and last on a total of 29.
It fell on the very capable shoulders of Dutch anchorman, Smolders, to decide the result, and with two fences in hand he did it in style with a brilliant last-to-go clear from the ever-reliable Monaco which kept The Netherlands on a completely clean sheet.
More to follow….
