Germany Claims $770,000 Longines League of Nations™ Ocala CSIO5*-LLN
Germany claimed a thrilling victory in the $770,000 Longines League of Nations™ Ocala CSIO5*-LLN, the feature event held Saturday, March 21, at World Equestrian Center – Ocala (WEC) in Ocala, FL.
Excitement built throughout the week as 10 teams prepared to battle it out for supremacy in the two-round Longines League of Nations™ Ocala. The sold-out crowd witnessed several stunning moments of top sport, including the defending title holders, the United States, not making it through to the second round held under the lights. With 10 countries starting and only the best eight returning, it was Switzerland and the United States that failed to make the cut.
Ireland was in the driver’s seat on a score of zero after the first round with Netherlands breathing down their neck carrying a single time fault. Germany and Belgium were tied on four faults apiece while Great Britain was further adrift with nine faults. France, Brazil, and Italy remained in the game with scores of 12, 18, and 20, respectively.
Course designer Alan Wade (IRL) set a masterful track that saw rails fall throughout the WEC Grand Arena; only the first fence stayed in its cups throughout the two-round competition. The second-round course mirrored the first, but that’s where the similarities between the two rounds ended. With only three riders returning for each team and all scores counting, the pressure was immense and the atmosphere electric.
Cian O’Connor riding Chatolinue PS and Shane Sweetnam aboard James Kann Cruz both jumped double clear for Ireland, but saw victory slip from their grasp when they could not erase the eight faults incurred by Bertram Allen and Qonquest de Rigo.
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Germany Claims $770,000 Longines League of Nations™ Ocala CSIO5*-LLN | World Equestrian Center
