While a state of emergency prevails in Catalonia, the German equestrian team is preparing for the Nations Cup final in Barcelona. Heavy rainfall has paralyzed large parts of the region. However, for the German team there is currently no warning of danger. „We haven’t received any news yet. All the horses passed the vet check and have already been trained. However, rain is forecast for the next hour; we’ll see what happens,“ reported German coach Otto Becker on Thursday.
While the storm in Catalonia continues to cause significant restrictions, the focus is already turning to the coming days. „Further rain is forecast for the weekend,“ says Becker.
The Grand Prix of Barcelona is already scheduled for Friday evening at 8 p.m. However, the German riders will mostly compete there with horses other than those in the Nations Cup final. „Because on Sunday the horses need to be in top condition,“ explains Becker.
Of the gold medal winners at the World Championships in Aachen, only Marcus Ehning and Coolio are starting in Barcelona. Sophie Hinners and Richard Vogel, however, travelled to Spain without their top horses Singclair and United Touch S, which they were still using in international competitions in Canada in mid-September.
„Aachen, Calgary and Barcelona would have been simply too much for the horses. In football, that would be called load management,“ explains Becker. „For us, the well-being of the horses comes first. But our riders also have very good second horses.“
Thus, Sophie Hinners will compete with Iron Dames My Prins in the Nations Cup final, Richard Vogel with Cloudio. The German team is completed by Jörne Sprehe with Toys. As a reserve pair, Kendra Claricia Brinkop and Replay van’t Paradijs traveled to Spain.
The goal is clear: „We want to win in Barcelona on Sunday,“ says Becker.
The Nations Final begins on Sunday at 12:00 and will be broadcast live on ZDF from 11:45. However, the format does not make things easy for the Nations. In the first round all four riders will start, with one result being discarded. In the second round only three pairs per nation will be eligible to start. Which three riders continue must be decided by the German national coach during the break between the rounds.
„Then every possible throw and every result counts,“ says Becker. „That can quickly go in one or the other direction.“ For Germany, however, it should only go forward – and hopefully in dry weather.
Source: Horse Sports Germany/fels