It was double-gold for Switzerland in the Team events, while The Netherlands’ Frank Schuttert, Italy’s Emanuele Bianchi and Hungary’s Virag Weinhardt took the Individual titles at the FEI European Jumping Championships for Children, Juniors and Young Riders 2013 which drew to a close today at Vejer de la Frontera in Spain. This lovely hilltop town is intrinsically linked with the annual Sunshine Tour which takes place at the Centro Hippico Montmenmedio, offering early-season international Jumping and Dressage events for riders at all levels and in ideal weather conditions.

This summer it opened its gates to a tide of young European talent, all hoping to make their mark and with their sights set on a big future in equestrian sport. The competitiveness of these Championships was clearly highlighted once again by the quaility of competition, with every medal hard won and some fierce battles to decide the final results.

Children

The French enjoyed a clear and concise victory in the Children’s Team event when finishing the Nations Cup with just four faults. They were sharing the lead with a zero score after the first round during which all four riders impressively returned a clean sheet. Hungary, Switzerland and Ireland were also fault free at this stage with the British close behind carrying just a single time penalty and Denmark, Germany and Poland next in line with four faults apiece.

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