The battle for supremacy in the Samsung Super League Nations Cup tour has been between the German and U.S. teams, but at the Rotterdam CHIO on June 22-25 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, four Swiss men stole the show and won. The U.S. team settled for fourth, while the Germans took fifth.

The Super League Nations Cup turned into an exciting, mercurial class that had the lead changing hands right down to the final rider, Germany’s Markus Ehning. However, it was Switzerland that emerged victorious from the pack of four teams each tied with 12 faults after Round 1.

The tall, silver-haired Chef D’Equipe Rolf Grass was pleased. “This makes my selection for World Equestrian Games team much easier. The boys were fighting to make good results,” he said.

The “boys” included lead-off rider, 53-year-old, two-time Olympic veteran and silver medalist, Willi Melliger on Lea C, who improved upon his single rail in the first round by producing a clear and encouraged fellow teammates Niklaus Schurtenberger aboard Cantus and Werner Muff with Plot Blue to do the same. That recipe for success was unmatched by any of their rivals.

Time faults proved costly for the U.S. team this time out. Margie Engle and Quervo Gold had one rail in Round 1, at a 5’7″-wide oxer, which she blamed on a late adjustment. She neatly corrected the mistake in Round 2, bringing home a fault-free performance.

Candice King and Tarco brought down two rails in each round and added a time fault to their score in Round 1. Molly Ashe rode Neuville to a nine-fault score in Round 1, but rebounded to collect just 1 time fault in the second trip.

Laura Kraut and Miss Independent anchored the U.S. team effort with a clear go in Round 1, but then had an unlucky rail at the second element of a two-stride combination for 4 faults in Round 2. With an 18-fault total, the U.S. team finished fourth, behind the French and Swedish teams, who tied for second with 16 faults.

Dutch course designer Rob Jensen’s 15-effort track was stout but fair, with faults spread throughout. Only one double-clear was achieved, Rolf-G�ran Bengtsson’s small chestnut gelding, Ninja La Silla, who were partners on the Swedish team.

Giving Them Hope
Despite their hiccup in Rome (Italy), where they finished tied for fifth, the Germans had dominated the Super League tour to date, winning three of the four Nations Cups. But when their lead off rider, Lars Nieberg on Lucie, brought home 19 faults, the other teams’ riders believed that perhaps they had a shot at a win this day. However, the Germans picked up their game, posting clear rounds from Pia-Luise Aufrecht (Hofgut Liederbach’s Abrisca), Franke Sloothaak (Legurio) and Markus Ehning (Gitania) and headed into Round 2 in their usual first-placed slot, carrying a score of 0.

Great Britain sat second going into Round 2, bringing forward only 4 penalties from Michael Whitaker (Insul Tech Portofino) while brother John Whitaker (Peppermill) and William Funnell (Corta-flex Mondriaan) both jumped fault-free. After Arko III’s stop at Fence 6, Nick Skelton had to pull the stallion out before 9C as he hung up high over 9A and B, resulting in elimination and the drop score.

After Round 1, four teams sat tied for third with 12 faults–Switzerland, Sweden, France and Ireland–with the United States just behind with 13 and the Netherlands trailing the group with 25.

Ireland’s hopes in Round 2 were dashed when none of their riders could muster a clean round. France’s first two riders, Pierre Jarry with Haxelle Dampiere, and Simon Delestre on Inedite De Balme, flew around; Jarry arrived too soon to fit six strides to the water and splashed through it, collecting 8 faults, while Delestre couldn’t clear the back rail at the second fence. But clear rounds from Stephane Lafouge on Gabelou Des Ores and Michel Robert aboard Galet D’Auzay–whose classic style is a riding lesson for all–kept them on the podium.

Great Britain seems to have trouble improving or at least holding onto their first-round standing throughout the tour. Michael Whitaker picked up 4 faults when Portofino landed a heel on the tape at the water. John Whitaker’s Peppermill had two rails. Funnell’s bay zigzagged before Fence 3, resulting in a front rail.

Still, the Brits had a chance to tie for the lead if Skelton could jump clear. This time he rode hard, and the scopey stallion jumped right through. But Arko landed to the right after a determined ride to clear the water, making the bending line in seven strides to Fence 12A a touch too long for the careful horse. He slid to a stop, ending Great Britain’s chance for a jump-off for first, leaving them with 20.

It was not to be Germany’s day, something that can’t often be said. Nieberg opened with a disappointing 13 faults. Aufrecht had just one rail, while her teammate Sloothaak’s big bay had down fences 6, 7 and a foot in the water for 12 faults that couldn’t be dropped. Even the seemingly invincible Ehning had a rail at the narrow Fence 6, keeping Germany just out of a second-placed tie with Sweden and France, landing them instead tied for fifth with Great Britain.

The German result didn’t drop them from the top of the the Super League standings, however. They still sit in first, with 34.12 points. The United States lies in second with 27.5 points, while Switzerland’s win vaulted them up into third, just 1 point behind the Americans.

Easy For Ehning
While German domination was halted in the Nations Cup, nothing stopped Ehning from claiming yet another grand prix win in his remarkable spring campaign. He rode Gitania to the top of the Longines Grand Prix of Rotterdam to conclude the show.

Ehning, who earned the FEI Show Jumping World Cup title in April, has won the grand prix classes at Lucerne (Switzerland), Hamburg (Germany), Aachen (Germany) and La Baule (France) on his incredible string of mounts, including Sandro Boy, Anka, Gitania and Noltes Kurchengirl.

Eleven of the original 54 starters qualified for the jump-off .

American Christine McCrea, aboard the Rheinlander stallion Vegas, stayed well within the tight time allowed and jumped clear to be the only U.S. rider in the jump-off. Another clear round, just a little bit more than 2 seconds off Ehning’s pace, put them fifth.

Snafus were well spread out on the first-round course and included Fence 5C of the oxer-oxer-vertical combination, where the tight one stride after two square oxers caught 11 riders, among them Kraut and Miss Independent, putting them 17th.

Jarry started the jump-off with Haxelle Dampiere, a mare that has enormous heart for her small stature. She flew around the course, leaving long to the last 5’4″ oxer, but keeping all the jumps up and stopping the clock in 46.55 seconds, looking to be the real time to beat. Jarry’s teammate, the young Delestre, shaved .71 seconds off the time, earning him a cheer from the French contingent in the stands.

McCrea picked up a gallop to the triple and kept right on going to the vertical at Fence 4, rubbing it, but leaving it intact. Feeling that Vegas’ wheels were spinning, she didn’t get inside as she’d planned to Fence 5 and had to gallop around, hoping to make it up elsewhere. She did–knowing her horse to be a great vertical jumper–on the hard gallop to Fence 12, where many had to put on the brakes to keep it up. She moved ahead of Delestre’s time by .03 seconds.

The lead changed hands a few more times before Ehning stepped into the ring on the gray mare Gitania. He started with what seemed a rather nonchalant gallop for as fast as the jump-off was turning out, but evidently he knew better.

Turning effortlessly on a dime after fences 4, 5A and the three-quarter turn back to Fence 10, he galloped to Fence 12, waiting up the last few strides to ensure it stayed up, and then flew over the last, stopping the timers in 43.52 seconds and more than a second faster than anyone.

The final rider attempting to best Ehning’s time was the tall Brazilian, Bernando Alves, on his Canturo, an attractive, dark bay stallion by Cantus. Though quick, Alves got hung up in the turn after Fence 5A, where the water jump stopped his horse’s drift and helped him turn. It was enough to keep him from the top spot but a clear in 44.35 seconds gave him second place.

CHIO Rotterdam celebrated its 58th year of show jumping under the guidance of the well-known horseman, Emil Hendricks, who took over the reins as show director this year. The most significant improvement immediately implemented in a country known for its aqueous nature and in consideration of the horses’ welfare was the change over from a grass arena to an all-weather sand footing that met with approval by all riders.