Hans-Dieter Dreher narrowly missed out on winning the World Cup Show Jumping Tournament in Mechelen, Belgium.
The 50-year-old from Eimeldingen shot clean on Cous Cous and was the first starter in the jump-off course with a time of 35.19 seconds. In the end, only the last starter in the jump-off was faster: Wilm Vermeir from Belgium on Iq van het Steentje.
The winning couple needed 34.45 seconds. Vermeir received a bonus of 82,500 euros for the win, and Dreher received 50,000 euros. Daniel Deußer, who lives in Belgium, was 0.2 seconds slower than Dreher in the jump-off on Tobago and finished third. Deußer had won the final in 2014.
Former World Cup final winner Christian Ahlmann from Marl and his twelve-year-old horse Dominator did not make it to the jump-off after two downs. Philipp Weishaupt from Riesenbeck and Che Fantastica hadn’t even finished the round.
Mechelen was the ninth of a total of 14 World Cup stages for the show jumpers. With Stuttgart and Leipzig, two stages will be held in Germany, Stuttgart was already in November, Leipzig is on the World Cup program in January. The 18 best riders in the Western European League can ride to the final, which will take place for the second time since 2017 in Omaha, USA, at the beginning of April.