Just like last year, Valentina Truppa (21) was the winner of the World Cup™ Final for Young Riders. In the third and decisive test of the World Cup™ Final for Young Riders she secured the nicest farewell to her Young Riders-period she could imagine by winning her second World Cup™. Due to her advanced training for the piaffe, the reining European champion YR had experienced some difficulties with the halt in the first two tests in the Festhallen in Frankfurt. However the training day between the qualifier Prix St Georges Friday and the decisive Freestyle today she used by practising the halt only and she solved the problem. “It caused some confusion and misunderstanding with Chablis but today I was very happy with him! After the gold medal at the European Championships YR this year, this farewell to my Young Riders-time now is a wonderful end of a wonderful time of my life”, Valentina expressed.
Runner up Lotje Schoots from the Netherlands won the first two tests. The chairman of the judges Katrina Wüst said: “The first three medallists were of a very good quality. They all three had very good tests. The average quality compared to that of last year has been improved a lot! Lotje Schoots did three very convincing performances with her expressive mare. Unfortunately today one of the pirouettes went wrong and as the pirouette has the qualifier 2, it did take her win away.” Only Stephen Clarke still marked Lotje Schoots as the winner having her in the first position.

For a lot Young Riders the huge and colourful Festhallen in Frankfurt in Christmas-atmosphere were a very impressive décor for a horseshow. After the first day with the team test as a warming up, Portuguese rider Francisco Boaventura Freire (19) did everything to relax his Lusitano stallion. The pure bred Lusitano stallion Peralta Pinha was bred by Coudelaria Alegria dos Pinhais in São Paulo, Brazil, property of the Brazilian Luis Ermírio de Moraes and exported to Portugal. According to Francisco Boaventura Freire, he and Peralta enjoy tremendous friendship. Francisco comments: “Peralta is the only horse that actually talks to me, he is always willing to work and please. He is different! He is very willing to work and for me that is his strongest point next to his attitude and canter work like the pirouettes”. The third prize and bronze medal was the best thing that has happened to Francisco in his young career, he emphasizes. “I will make up my mind now for the near future and probably will combine doing Grand Prix and Young Riders-tests as long as that goes together:.
Lotje Schoots said at the press conference she will continue educating Reine B for Grand Prix and will concentrate with her horses Popeye and Toricello on Young Riders-challenges next year.

For some participants tension rose high, which caused some mistakes in their program. German Kristina Sprehe happened to forget the half passes to one sided and dropped in the points. In the B-Final more program failures occurred. One participant unfortunately did a full pirouette instead of the desired half one for Intermediate level, another left out a part of the series. “We should have made a video. It would have created a very nice judges examination test or preparation for the riders for big championships like the World Cup™ Final or Europeans next year”, chair Mariette Withages commented with a smile.
From the overseas participants Australian Alycia Targa and Neversfelde Kudu based in team trainer Ralf Isselhorst stables did the best. She was the runner up in the B-Final. It really was a challenge for her to participate in Germany as the trip home through Great-Britain with the quarantine will bring her horse back home not earlier than February only.
Nevertheless the experience was worth it, most Young Riders felt. Encouraged by international rider Ann Kathrinn Linsenhoff they all added a present to Unicef under the big Christmas Tree as well, which was next to competing and celebrating friendships and hospitality another good thing to share with each other.

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RESULTS A-FINAL WORLD CUPâ„¢ FINAL YR

1. Chablis Valentina Truppa (ITA) 75,250%
2. Reine B Lotje Schoots (NED) 73,000%
3. Peralta Pinha Francisco Boaventura Freire (POR) 71,600%
4. Capuccino D Anne Bendix (DEN) 70,050%)
5. Flyinge VDL Wetano Lillann Jebsen (NOR) 68,75%
6. Flipper d’Or Ene HN Maxime Collard (FRA) 66,900%
7. Royal Flash Kristina Sprehe (GER) 65,85%

WINNER B-FINAL WORLD CUPâ„¢ FINAL YR

1. Markus Jongwirth Smart Cookie (AUT) 66,65%

PHOTO CATALOGUE - Photographs of the winning riders in high and low resolution can be downloaded from the FEI online catalogue. To access it, please visit www.horsesport.org>Media Centre>Catalogue. There is no reproduction fee, but please credit photographer (photographer's name will appear under each photo)/FEI. Usage is strictly for editorial purposes.

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For further information and all FEI World Cup â„¢ news: www.feiworldcup.org

The Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI), founded in 1921, is the international body governing equestrian sport recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and includes 133 National Federations.
Equestrian sport has been on the Olympic programme since 1912 with three disciplines - Jumping, Dressage and Eventing. It is one of the very few sports in which men and women compete on equal terms. It is also the only sport which involves two athletes - horse and rider. The FEI has relentlessly concerned itself with the welfare of the horse, which is paramount and must never be subordinated to competitive or commercial influences.