Germany pips the host to Nations Cup glory
A strong German team saw off the challenge from the Brits in Friday’s Agria Nations Cup of Great Britain at Hickstead.
The host nation had been hoping for a hat-trick of titles, having won the Edward, Prince of Wales Cup in both 2023 and 2024. But in the end, the German quartet was just too strong, finishing on a team total of eight faults while the Brits finished one fence in arrears with 12 faults.
By the half-way stage of the two-round competition, Germany had already established themselves as front runners, with clear rounds by Rene Dittmer (Corsica X) and Marco Kutscher (Catelly), and a four-fault round by Stefan Engbers (Baju NRW) leaving them equal with Ireland on four faults. Great Britain was third on eight faults, with clears by Ben Maher (Enjeu De Grisien) and Hickstead team debutant Adrian Whiteway (Chacco Volo), and eight faults by Jessica Mendoza (Summerhouse).
In the second round, Rene and Marco produced two more clears, with Stefan finishing on four faults once again. Ben secured the much-needed double clear to keep the Brits in contention, with Jessica going clear in the second round and Adrian finishing with just one fence down. When Georgia Tame, the fourth team rider for Great Britain, picked up eight faults towards the end of the course, it meant Germany had secured the win without anchorman Marcus Ehning having to jump a second time with Priam Du Roset.
“I am very proud and happy. I think I haven’t been here for 11 or 12 years, so it’s really nice coming back and winning together with my team mates,” said Marco Kutscher, who switched to riding the less experienced Catelly after a fall on top horse Aventador-S on Thursday. “I was very satisfied with my horse today, I’ve never jumped him over any open water so I was wondering what he’d do, so I was very happy to be double clear and winning.”
His team mate Rene Dittmer was making his return to Hickstead after competing here for the first time last year. “Corsica delivered a double clear so I am very happy. I really like big grass fields and old traditional shows, they are my favourite and my horse always jumps well in big grass rings,” he said.
It was Stefan Engbers second five-star Nations Cup appearance, and his first win. “I was proud, and so happy to win here,” he said.
Germany won the Agria Nations Cup of Great Britain. (Boots and Hooves Photography)
The ultra-experienced Marcus Ehning was, unusually, the discount score for his team. “I was very happy with today, even my first round, I had two down in the triple but the horse jumped fine. I love it here at Hickstead and we like to come back.”
At the press conference, Hickstead director Edward Bunn gave credit to course designers Kelvin Bywater and Ben Townley, who designed a strong course with just the right amount of clear rounds and questions. “I thought it was a very fair course and produced a great result,” added Edward.
Germany’s chef d’equipe Otto Becker said: “I want to thank the whole Bunn family. For us Germans, Hickstead is always something special, we come here always. The whole place is something special to us and it means a lot to win here. It means a lot to the sport and also to Germany.”
While it was a little disappointing for the home supporters to miss out on seeing Britain take a third consecutive win, chef d’equipe Di Lampard was proud of how the home nation had performed. “It’s fantastic to be on the podium here, and it was close in the end,” she said. “We had some new riders again stepping up to teams at the home Nations Cup, and I couldn’t be more delighted with how they are progressing.”
European team gold medallists Belgium ended up in third place (17 faults), with Ireland fourth (20) and France fifth (24). Hickstead first-timers the UAE were sixth ahead of the Netherlands and Sweden.
Robert Whitaker reclaims King George title
Robert Whitaker and Vermento, the winners of the Al Shira’aa King George V Gold Cup in 2023, reclaimed the trophy during a thrilling final day of action at the Agria Royal International Horse Show.
His victory gave his family a third successive victory in this grand prix, with Robert’s cousin Donald having won last year’s class. It also made Robert the fourth rider in Hickstead history to win the Al Shira’aa Derby and the King George V Gold Cup in the same year. “It’s surreal,” said Robert. “To win both is very, very special.”
Robert was one of just four of the 46 starters to jump clear round Kelvin Bywater and Ben Townley’s challenging track, which caught out many of the sport’s leading names – including Olympic gold medallist Ben Maher, who had returned to the showground for the final day of the show after attending the wedding of his Paris 2024 team-mate Harry Charles and Eve Jobs.
Ireland’s Jordan Coyle was the first of the quartet to jump round the shortened course in the second round. Riding the 14-year-old Chaccolino, he finished in a time of 40.17sec, leaving his rivals very little breathing space.
Reigning champion Donald Whitaker was next into the International Arena. Last year he’d won the title on the grey mare Millfield Colette, but this year she was not at the show after being part of the silver medal-winning British team at last week’s FEI European Championships in Spain. This year he was riding the eye-catching stallion Di Caprio, and in the jump-off Donald looked to be in with a good chance of retaining the title – only for a stumble in the middle of the double to put paid to their chances.
Next in was Robert, once again riding Caroline and Stephen Blatchford’s 12-year-old black stallion Vermento, a son of Argento. They set off in determined fashion, crossing the finish in a time of 38.88sec to go into the lead. Only one rider could stop him from winning, and that was the 22-year-old United Arab Emirates rider Omar Al Marzooqi, making his first appearance at Hickstead’s five-star event.
In the end it went right to the wire, with the smallest of slips from the 10-year-old Enjoy De La Mure meaning the pair finished less than a second in arrears, in a time of 39.74sec, to give Robert the win.
Robert is now chasing his father John’s total of three King George V Gold Cup victories. “My Dad gets quite emotional – he bred the horse as well, so the whole story is very special,” said Robert, who hails from Huddersfield but now lives in West Sussex. “It’s just been an amazing year for me and my owners – but the year is not over, and we’ve got to keep going!”
Robert and Vermento had originally been selected for the British squad in Friday’s Agria Nations Cup of Great Britain, but Robert opted not to compete for the team and just focus on the grand prix. “I jumped at Aachen [last month], and it’s quite hard on the horses to jump both the Nations Cup and the Grand Prix. I was thinking of my horse a little bit – it’s good to have the horse to jump the five-star Grands Prix, and he’s the only one I’ve got for those big classes,” he explained. “He’s had two days off since the qualifier, so he was very fresh, and jumped incredibly.”
For full results click here.
~ with files from Hickstead Press Office
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