Typically modest, the 31-year-old Dutchman said afterwards, “sometimes a jump-off doesn’t go as planned and you have to put in a waiting distance, but today it was all very smooth and we had a great rhythm all the way. My horse was very good, he stayed with me, and out of all the turns we got a nice forward distance.”
First against the clock, Ireland’s Michael G Duffy set the target when clear with Lapuccino Z in 39.95 seconds, but the lead kept changing until, seventh to go, Van der Vleuten came into the ring and clearly left them with very little to play with. The Dutch horse-and-rider partnership were in complete harmony as they found the tightest lines everywhere on the course and galloped through the timers to set a whole new standard in 36.94 seconds.
However there were still six to go, and plenty more excitement ahead. Pieter Clemens, one of three Belgians into the second-round decider, was ousted from runner-up spot by Italy’s Emanuele Gaudiano and the extraordinary Chalou who stopped the clock on 37.66 seconds. And as they set off it seemed more than possible that, third-last to go, America’s Jessica Springsteen and the super-fast RMF Zecilie could alter the standings until they clipped the very first fence.
Then the Spanish crowd gasped in disbelief when their own star, Eduardo Alvarez Aznar, was jumped out of the saddle when his long-time faithful steed, Rokfeller de Pleville Bois Margot, went into orbit over the vertical third fence off a tight turn. And when Frenchman Olivier Robert (Vivaldi es Meneaux) left one on the floor it was a done deal, and a Dutch one at that….
Talking about Beauville Z which is owned by Spain’s Marta Ortega, Van der Vleuten said, “he’s still only nine and not at this level for long - I think he’ll grow into a great horse, he’s the kind of horse you need to be competitive at this level”. The Dutch rider is now going to take a short break from the World Cup circuit until early in the new year. “I’m hoping I’ll get a few more chances to get my points for the Final - after today I think about 10 more should be enough” he pointed out, having moved his points tally up to 32 which leaves him lying fifth on the Western European League table ahead of the next leg at Olympia, London next Saturday (21 December).
Watch highlights here
By Louise Parkes/FEI