On the last vaulting day in Herning we had the pleasure to watch the second round and thus the final round of the Pas de Deux freestyles. Last but not least, eight nations participated in the Nations Cup, in which two individuals and one squad of each nation performs their freestyles again.

PAS DE DEUX FINALS

In the Pas de Deux competition the overall ranking didn’t change: In the end it was the gold and silver medal for Germany, bronze for Italy. 

The Italians Rebecca Greggio and Davide Zanella came strong, but weren’t satisfied with their round, even though they got a final score of 8.178. Both competed as individuals for Italy and additionally as Pas de Deux to the theme “House of Gucci”. Training only six month together with their horse as a team they said:

“Today it was not perfect, but we still managed to fulfil our goal. We are very happy. We have been working together with the horse for 6 months, so this is a dream come true.” 

The silver medal went to the German pair Diana Harwardt & Peter Künne at their first Word Championships – well deserved! They showed an elegant freestyle and were very happy about their participation, fulfilling a dream:

“It was incredible. We’re blown away by the arena. It’s like having your birthday with everybody coming up to you and wishing you congratulations. It’s our first WC, so it has been amazing. It’s been a long way getting here, being reserves since 2019, so it’s such a dream to be her. The place is amazing. And we have had so much fun with the other athletes from the other disciplines.” 

With their horse Sir Laulau and Hendrik Falk on the lunge they ended the competition with a total score of 8.665.

Then it was time for the leading Pas de Deux after the first round, Justin van Gerven and Chiara Congia, and what should we say? They nailed it!

With a final score of 8.951 together with their horse Highlight lunged by Alexandra Knauf they won the second gold medal for Germany.

They showed a top performance to their Black Magic Woman theme scoring a 9.010 for the second freestyle. They were very happy about the experience in Herning and the gold medal of course: 

“It’s so amazing. We’re lost for words. We really got to show, what we’re been working for, and that’s amazing. We’re speechless. What an audience. What an arena!” 

NATIONS CUP

The Nations Cup in Herning was nail biting until the end. The individuals competed first and then it was the turn for all squads. When the last squads entered the atmosphere was tense and everyone was holding their breath.

For Team Austria competed Dominik Eder, Isabel Fiala and the Squad from Seefeld, who could finally show their beautiful freestyle with the theme “Dream State”. They have had bad luck in the teams competition and even before as they told us: “We often had to be spontaneous, because unfortunately first Rudi, then Nina and shortly before the World Championships Georg got injured. We tried to make the best of it and adjust to our new, somewhat spontaneously assembled team.”

As a result they were able to win the bronze medal in the Nations Cup with a score of 8.459 for the squad freestyle and a total team score of 8,383.

Silver went to Denmark with the team members Iben Dines Pedersen, Sheena Bendixen and BIS Voltige. They all showed amazing freestyles and the squad even got the highest squad freestyle score of 8.939 in the Nations Cup. What a sensation in their home country!

The final competitor was Team France composed of the World Champions Manon Moutinho and Lambert Leclezio and the squad with already a silver medal in the Squad World Championships. With a final score of 9,146 they won another gold medal for France. And there’s another sensation we have to mention. The score of 9.655 for Lambert Leclezio’s final freestyle is the new World Record!

Team Germany, being one of the favorites in the competition, ended the competition on the 4th place with a final score of 8.280. Unfortunately, Julian Wilfling and Team Norka both had a fall and couldn’t show what they are capable of. This again shows the thin line between fortune and misfortune.

We congratulate all medallists and participants! And a huge thanks to the organization of this event in Herning. We have seen incredible performances, pure emotions, perfect team work and had an amazing time! See you next year at the FEI European Championships in Flyinge, Sweden.