Richard Vogel and the phenomenal United Touch S took their second FEI Jumping World Cup™ win of the season on home soil in Stuttgart. All photos © Jenny Abrahamsson for World of Showjumping.
Text © World of Showjumping
On Sunday, the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Western European League continued with the fifth leg of the 2024/2025-season at the traditional Stuttgart German Masters, and the show concluded with standing ovations for the hosts’ very own Richard Vogel and the phenomenal United Touch S who recorded their second FEI Jumping World Cup™ win of the season.
The CSI5*-W 1.60m course set by Christa Jung (GER) and Louis Konickx (NED) turned out to be a real challenge, with the time allowed of 75 seconds playing a crucial role over the track that counted 14 obstacles and 17 efforts. The massive oxer coming out of the triple combination at 7abc caught out many, while the dedicated four strides to the final fence caused a couple of surprising run-outs at the very end of the tough track.
“The first round actually turned out to be tougher than it walked,” Vogel said.
As the pathfinders in the fully packed Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle, Denis Lynch (IRL) and Brooklyn Heights (Nabab de Reve x For Pleasure) delivered the first clear, and in the end, they were joined in the jump-off only by Richard Vogel (GER) and United Touch S (Untouched x Lux Z) as well as Kevin Staut (FRA) and Dialou Blue PS (Diarado’s Boy x Chacco-Blue).
Delighted with her round, Victoria Gulliksen (NOR) and Mistral van de Vogelzang (Elvis Ter Putte x Clinton) recorded one time penalty, finishing fourth, ahead of Tim Gredley (GBR) and Imperial HBF (Glasgow vh Merelsnest x Original VDL) who took the fifth place with three time penalties.
Denis Lynch and Brooklyn Heights placed second.
In the jump-off, Lynch again had the unfavourable position as first to go and set the standard with a clear in 44.37 seconds, followed by Staut, who was faster, crossing the finish line in 42.67 but knocking the final fence in the process. As the last pair out, Vogel and United Touch jumped one of their signature rounds, with the impressive stallion finishing in 41.39 seconds to standing ovations from the appreciative German crowds.
“The first round actually turned out to be tougher than it walked,” Vogel commented on the course afterwards. “United jumped it quite easy and made it not too hard work for me, he was listening everywhere, he was very focused until the last fence. So, I had a very good feeling in the first round. Going to the jump-off with two fast riders like Denis and Kevin there was in my eyes nothing to lose and a lot to win so we took high risks.”
“My horse is not as quick as Richie’s, and you have to be realistic and be a horseman and give your horse the best course possible,” Lynch said about placing second behind Vogel and United Touch.
"There was in my eyes nothing to lose and a lot to win so we took high risks," Vogel said.
With the fifth of the fourteen legs of the WEL 2024/2025-season now completed in Stuttgart, the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ continues to Madrid, Spain. The top sixteen horse-and-rider combinations at each of the fourteen qualifiers earn points, with the best eighteen from the overall standings in the WEL qualifying for the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final held in Basel, Switzerland, in April 2025.
After the fifth Western European League-leg in Stuttgart, Kevin Staut tops the overall standings with 49 points, followed by Richard Vogel in second with 42, Gregory Wathelet (BEL) in third on 32 points, Harrie Smolders (NED) in fifth with 27 points and Steve Guerdat (SUI) in fifth with 26.
Then