Last Thursday's CSIO5* 1.60m €1 million Mercedes-Benz Nations Cup at CHIO Aachen 2024 saw ten world-class teams head into a battle over Frank Rothenberger's 12-fence track, with only eight spots on offer for the second round.
After the first round, five of the ten teams at start were sitting on a score of zero: Sweden – who really impressed with all their four horse-and-rider combinations delivering convincing clear rounds – Ireland, Mexico, Great Britain and the Netherlands. France, Belgium and Germany were sitting 6th, 7th and 8th with four faults each, while the USA and last year’s winners Switzerland were 9th and 10th on a score of eight faults, which left them out of round two. But, none of the other returning seven teams could do anything about Ireland, who claimed the victory on a score of zero.
"This has been my full bucket list, actually," the Irish chef d'equipe Michael Blake said after his quartet of Denis Lynch on Vistogrand, Bertram Allen on Pacino Amiro, Shane Sweetnam on James Kann Cruz and Cian O'Connor on Fancy de Kergane had been in a league of their own – securing the victory before the last rotation of riders had even begun. "This is such a great bunch of lads. It is brilliant to be here and I am so lucky to work with this team," Blake said.
And with this photo special, we look back at the action in round two of last Thursday's Mercedes-Benz Nations Cup at the Soers.
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