It was goosebumps galore on Monday in the finals of the Mustang FEI Vaulting World Championships 2022 in Herning (DEN). Double gold for France in the Individual categories and a repeat success for the team from Germany matching their 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games™ gold medal in the squad competition.

Things started to heat up as Kimberly Palmer entered the Boxen arena. Her portrayal of Tonya Harding earned a score of 8.701 and an overall fifth place finish for the USA native. With tensions running high, Averill Saunders (CAN) slipped off the horse and dropped out of medal contention allowing Sheena Bendixen to rise to the occasion and win the bronze medal for the home nation (8.511). The silver went to Germany’s Julia Sophie Wagner, competing with her Mum on the end of the lunge she kept a cool head in her first major final (8.529). It had been nineteen years since any female medal went home to France and even then, it was the bronze, but history was made today by Manon Moutinho, 9.296 for her final free test, a step above the rest winning the gold medal on a final score of 8.963. “I’m really happy for my country, it’s good to show that French girls can do it too.”

In a class of his own Lambert Leclezio (FRA) won his fourth World title, once again breaking records with a combined score of 9.399 he described this as his best World Championship win. He will retire after the Nations team final. Watch his test here:

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