Gold Ahead of Schedule

Germany secured its fourth team gold at the World Championships in Aachen. Already an hour before the end of the final test, the home victory was sealed. Daniel Deußer, Marcus Ehning, Sophie Hinners and Richard Vogel rode faultlessly and clinched the title ahead of schedule. The 40,000 spectators in the world’s largest equestrian stadium celebrated the home win under floodlights. The gold medal went to Germany, silver to Belgium and bronze to Great Britain.

Faultless Rounds

On Friday evening the German team started as the leading team in the course. Over the three days of the World Championships the team achieved seven faultless rounds out of a total of eight. Marcus Ehning rode as the first rider of the host team without faults and made the 14-obstacle course look easy. Sophie Hinners rode with Singclair also without a fall, but exceeded the allowed time of 87 seconds and received a penalty point. Daniel Deußer and his horse Otello also rode faultlessly. Richard Vogel rode with United Touch without a fall and received only two penalty points for time overrun.

Pressure as a Success Factor

Head coach Otto Becker, 67, was already the trainer of the German gold team in 2010 in Lexington. He stressed that the pressure at the World Championships is “long days” and the riders were prepared for it. Becker praised the “genial, expert, enthusiastic audience”. The team withstood the pressure and celebrated the victory before the crowd.

Individual Ranking

In the individual ranking Deußer and Otello were tied with Swiss Steve Guerdat and Dynamix for first place. Ehning with Coolio took fourth place. The individual competition will be decided in two more rounds on Sunday.

History

Germany has won four team gold medals at the World Championships so far. The last team gold was in 2010 in Lexington, Kentucky. The current result marks the first team gold since 2010.

Conclusion

The German team showed an impressive performance in Aachen. With faultless rounds, strong team spirit and good preparation Germany secured the fourth team gold in World Championship history.