German rider Richard Vogel leads the European Show Jumping Championship in A Coruña.
The second qualifying round of the European Show Jumping Championship took place on Thursday at the Casas Novas Equestrian Center in Arteixo.
The round placed Germany’s Richard Vogel at the top of the individual standings, while Great Britain leads the team rankings.
The second individual and team round of the European Show Jumping Championship was held as a timed competition, with fences reaching a maximum height of 1.60 meters and 89 horse-and-rider pairs taking part.
Among them were the five Spanish representatives, who had an unfortunate day. The outcome for the Spanish team was disappointing, with all four combinations finishing with the same result: 8 faults.
The team was composed of Mariano Martínez Bastida with Jup, Teresa Blázquez Abascal with Nasa de Toxandria, Armando Trapote with Tornado VS, and Iván Serrano with Rain Man. Competing individually, Hugo Álvarez Amaro also took part with Casaspezia Kar, but retired after a refusal at the water jump.
After accumulating 24 penalty points in today’s round, Team Spain dropped to 16th place in the final team ranking out of 18 participating nations—finishing ahead of only Poland and Israel.
A total of 34 faultless rounds were recorded in the competition, and only one team—Germany—managed to have all four of its riders go clear. However, when combining today’s penalties with those from the first round, the German team sits in second place with 4.19 points, just behind Great Britain, which leads with 3.96 points.
The British team includes Ben Maher with Dallas Vegas Batilly, Matthew Sampson with Medoc de Toxandria, Donald Whitaker with Millfield Colette, and Scott Brash with Hello Folie.
Belgium is currently third in the team standings with 4.61 points, followed by Ireland in fourth with 8.39 and France in fifth with 9.69.
Individual Ranking
After the first two rounds, the individual standings remain extremely tight. The gap between the first and the twenty-fifth rider is less than the 4 penalty points of a single knockdown, keeping the suspense at a high level.
German rider Richard Vogel leads with just 0.01 penalty points aboard United Touch S, followed by Great Britain’s Donald Whitaker with Millfield Colette (0.67) and France’s Julien Epaillard in third (0.89).
The third individual qualifying round will be held on Friday and will also serve as the team final, where medals will be awarded to the top three teams.
This round is reserved for the top ten teams and the top 50 riders in the individual standings. As a result, Spain will not continue in the team competition. Only one Spanish rider, Armando Trapote, has made it through individually—currently ranked 47th with Tornado VS and a total of 9.40 points.
A Full Day of Competition and Activities at Casas Novas
Before the third qualifying round of the European Championship begins at 4:15 p.m., two CSI3* competitions will take place in the morning:
- The Veolia Trophy, starting at 9:00 a.m., with jumps at 1.35m
- The Grupo Eulen Trophy, starting at 11:30 a.m., with fences set at 1.45m
These events will continue at Casas Novas through Sunday.
In addition to the sporting action, spectators can enjoy a live concert by American band Brooklyn Soul starting at 8:00 p.m. Younger guests will have access to a dedicated children’s area, including a pony park, open from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and again from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
All of this takes place in a stunning natural setting, complemented by a 100% local gastronomic offering.