Germany took four of the eight titles on offer at the FEI European Dressage Championships for Young Riders, Juniors and Children 2105 in Vidauban, France where the action drew to a close this afternoon. However Dana Van Lierop broke their grip when claiming the Young Riders Individual honours for The Netherlands yesterday, and there was a great flutter of excitement when Spain’s Juan Matute Guimon topped today’s Junior Freestyle.

For the first time ever, the 2015 fixture also hosted Team and Individual Championships for Children, with Switzerland coming out on top in the Team event and Denmark’s Sofia Valentina Hegstrup claiming Individual gold. It was non-stop action from the outset, with competitors not only having to battle with one another but also with the intense heat that bathed the Domaine Equestre de Grand Pins which is owned by German Dressage rider Bernadette Brune.

Juniors
The Junior team medal podium mirrored exactly the same result as last year, with Germany taking the top step followed by The Netherlands in silver and Denmark in bronze. The German win was definitive, their final total of 224.513 leaving them more than eight marks ahead of the Dutch who were closely followed by the Danes. Multiple medallist Semmieke Rothenberger has made a seamless transition from Pony to Junior level, and with the Gribaldi mare, Geisha, rooted the German result with a strong score of 76.351. However, although Kristin Biermann and Zwetcher posted 72.054 and Paulina Holzknecht and Wells Fargo scored 73.486, it fell to the relatively inexperienced Hannah Erbe to clinch it with her eight-year-old gelding Carlos. And she did it with great maturity, not over-playing her hand but producing a solid performance that earned 74.676 to firmly shut out the opposition.

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