German victory in the fight of the nations

There was tension in the air of the sold-out Main Stadium at the World Equestrian Festival, CHIO Aachen (June 27th – July 6th). However, the victory in the Samsung Super League Mercedes-Benz Nations Cup was already decided before the last German rider had to enter the ring. “So I decided to spare Shutterfly the second round,” the national coach of the jumping team, Kurt Gravemeier, stated. Germany won with a total score of 16 faults.

Ludger Beerbaum's rounds with the Westphalian gelding, All Inclusive NRW, were accompanied by gasps from the crowd. “If I am not satisfied after that, there must be something wrong with me,” joked Ludger, who only picked up one time fault in the first round and jumped clear in the second. “It was super how All Inclusive NRW coped with the atmosphere here, he mastered the floodlit arena superbly. That is great for his self-confidence.” The last fence proved to be Christian Ahlmann's downfall. His 15-year-old Holstein gelding Cöster, who jumped clear in the first round, knocked a pole down. “It was my mistake, I was worrying about the time too much. But otherwise I was very happy, it was quite a big responsibility for Cöster and myself, to ride first in the team. He is now in very good form again after recovering from his injury – he had trapped a nerve,” reported Ahlmann. Marco Kutscher's horse Montender picked up a lot more faults: The 13-year-old KWPN stallion had already delivered the scratch result after collecting 8 faults in the first round and he equalled this result in the second round as well. “It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good enough. Montender started off very well in the first round, the 4 faults in the combination were bitter. And picking up 4 faults at the water jump in the second round is very unlike Montender. Of course it was most annoying,” Marco Kutscher said disappointedly. “Montender jumped much better at the recent shows than here in Aachen, which makes it even more exasperating.” Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum and Shutterfly's balance was almost flawless, the pair merely collected one time fault.

Germany won the Nations' Cup for the 25th time overall. “The dynamics and elegance experienced in the jumping arena, traditionally give us at Mercedes-Benz a feeling of commitment with our brand.

We are pleased to be able to contribute to the special atmosphere of this show once again this year,” commented Peter Alexander Trettin, Chairman of the Management of the Mercedes-Benz Sales Organisation Germany.