Italy win the 2021 Longines EEF Series

It is Italy that wins the first ever edition of the Longines EEF Nations Cup Series. The outcome was decided at the Longines EEF Nations Cup Warsaw Final, held today, Sunday July 25th, at the beautiful facilities of the Sluzewiec Racetrack, bringing to an end the first edition of the series created by the European Equestrian Federation (EEF). There was immense satisfaction among members of the Italian Team, Giulia Martinengo Marquet/Calle Deluxe (8/0), Francesca Ciriesi/Cape Coral (0/0), Piergiorgio Bucci/Cochello (0/0/0) and Antonio Alfonso/Donanso (4/WD) led by Chef d’Equipe Marco Porro.

 “I would like to first of all thank all the riders who have been on the team during this series, qualifying us for the final, which resulted in this victory. In the four qualifying legs we fielded young horses and riders so as to give them a chance to mature and prepare for the future. Today the team consisted of the young lady rider Francesca Ciriesi while Giulia Martinengo Marquet together with Piergiorgio Bucci and Antonio Alfonso are more experienced riders. I believe that this Series is an excellent initiative, an opportunity to gain experience, growth and validation for horse and rider combinations preparing to jump at top levels. Creating the foundations for tomorrow’s top riders will be our federation’s goal” Italian Chef d´Equipe, Marco Porro, said.
 
Eleven teams competed for the title in the two rounds of the excellent course built by the Italian Chef de Piste Elio Travagliati. Only Italy and the Czech Republic finished the two rounds on 4 faults to then ride in a jump-off. Italy fielded Piergiorgio Bucci and Cochello who with an superb clear round stopped the clock at 34.63 seconds winning the title, while the Czech Republic chose Vladimir Tretera riding Gangster v/h Noddevelt who finished with 4 faults and a time of 36.40 sec.
Italy was therefore joined on the podium by the Czech Republic (4 faults in the jump off) while third place went to Austria on 8 faults but a faster time than Ireland on the same score. Out of a total of 44 combinations, there were 16 clear rounds in the first round and 18 in the second. During the final the spectators could witness a total of 8 double clears.
 
Chef de Piste, Elio Travagliati: "Today’s 1.50m course also included two 1.60m verticals and was therefore slightly bigger than previous ones, bearing in mind that the teams qualified for the final included their best combinations selected in the course of all the previous legs of this series. It was a track that required precision from the beginning to the end with technical challenges distributed throughout. The jumps that proved to be the most delicate were the 1.60m planks after the triple, the double with two uprights and the oxer placed after the water jump. Mistakes resulted from a lack of accuracy but without the horses having to make huge efforts while they all jumped well right up to the very last jump. I am extremely happy as all the riders and horses gained great experience jumping a selective track, no team completed the two rounds without faults, as expected at a final."
 
The majority of teams were formed by a new generation of riders and an adequate balance of expert and up-and-coming horses and therefore, generally speaking, respecting the philosophy of this series studied to promote the growth of horse and rider combinations embarking on a career at top levels.
The Longines EEF Nations Cup Warsaw Final marked the end of the 2021 edition of this series that has seen 28 nations competing with teams in the six qualifying CSIOs3* and the Final, which was the paramount class at the Warsaw Jumping CSIO4*.
 
EEF president Theo Ploegmakers concludes: "I am more than satisfied with the 2021 series, which was ceremoniously concluded with today's final. Our concept of the Lognines EEF Nation Cup has proven to be a success in practice. The national federations have been given the valuable opportunity to use the team competition with a special focus on young talent (whether horse or rider). A special thanks goes to the organisers and our sponsor Longines, with whom we were able to realise the long awaited launch of the Series despite adverse conditions due to the Covid pandemic. Today's final in Warsaw was a worthy conclusion to the 2021 edition. We were able to experience great sport, had a fantastic winner with the Italians and with their proud second place today, the Czech team will get to compete at Division 1 in the 2022 season."