The FEI Dressage Young Riders World Cup Final didn\’t come together until the last minute, but that didn\’t make victory in the inaugural event any less sweet for Valentina Truppa of Italy. The event was held in Frankfurt, Germany, Dec. 16-19 in conjunction with the CDI-W there.

Truppa, the daughter of FEI O-level judge Enzo Truppa, won the freestyle aboard her 14-year-old Baden-Wurttemburg gelding Don Rico with a score of 75.65 percent.

She bested reigning European Young Rider Champion Jessica Werndl and Duchess (75.50%) by a fraction in the freestyle.

The Young Riders World Cup Final was scored like the adult version, with the final result was determined only by the freestyle.

Werndl won rounds 1 and 2, riding the FEI team championship test and Prix St. Georges earlier in the competition. But those scores didn\’t count in the final standings.

Kaitlyn Hamilton represented the United States, riding her 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood Noviembre. Hamilton finished 10th in the team test, ninth in the Prix St. Georges, and fifth in the consolation final. Hamilton was a member of the gold-medal Region 2 team at the Maui Jim North American Young Riders Championships last July and finished fourth individually.

There weren\’t any qualifying competitions for the Young Riders World Cup, so the top eight riders from the European Young Rider Championships were invited, as well as the top American and Canadian individuals from the NAYRC. The FEI also invited top young riders in Australia, South America, Japan and New Zealand.

The Young Riders World Cup Final replaced the Euro Future Cup. Germany\’s Ann-Katrin Lisenhoff and Schenker Logistic gave some last-minute aid and support to get the effort off the ground. Next year, FEI officials plan to run it more like the adult series, with qualifiers throughout the year leading up to a final.