Germany did not have strength in numbers in Thursday’s FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ of Aachen (GER). But they certainly had strength in scores.

Despite having just three team members and no drop score following the last-minute defection of Sönke Rothenberger (Fendi), Germany was a dominant winner of the penultimate Nations Cup leg of the season on home turf. Led by chefs d’équipe Monica Theodorescu and Klaus Roeser, the trio of Katharina Hemmer (Denoix PCH), Frederic Wandres (Bluetooth OLD) and Isabell Werth (Wendy de Fontaine) produced a total score of 232.065—more than 12 points better than runners-up Belgium (219.804). It was a tight race for the final place on the podium, with Sweden edging Great Britain by just over a point for the third position (216.935).

“I think it was really good sport. It was a super advertisement for dressage—very good riding. That’s what we need for the future,” said Klaus Roeser.

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