Marlon Modolo Zanotelli led the Brazilian team to victory in the last leg of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping 2015 Europe Division 2 League at CSIO San Marino Arezzo in Italy today. The competition came down to a two-way jump-off between Brazil and France, and the 27-year-old Belgian-based rider clinched it with a fast four-fault result.

Tensions were high from the outset with a great deal hanging in the balance, and there will be great celebrations in the Czech and Polish camps tonight. Because these two countries leap-frogged the Ukraine and Finland at the top of the Division 2 leaderboard and have earned their places at the much-anticipated Furusiyya 2015 Final which kicks off in Barcelona, Spain in just over two weeks’ time while, as 2015 league champions, the Czech Republic has earned promotion to the prestigious Europe Division 1 series in 2016.

It was a hard-fought affair in which the Czechs finished third ahead of Germany in fourth, Italy in fifth and Poland and Sweden in joint-sixth place ahead of Belgium. Only eight of the 12 starting nations returned for the second round, leaving Denmark, Ireland, Norway and Turkey on the sidelines. Slovenia, drawn second-last to go, didn’t even get to start, because their three-strong side dissolved when team-member, Pato Muente, broke his leg yesterday.

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