The second round of the 2016 Longines FEI World Cup Final was one of the most exciting competitions we have witnessed in a very long time. In the end, Germany's Christian Ahlmann and Taloubet Z - 2011 World Cup Champions - supremely won the class. The victory gave Ahlmann, who had a disappointing start to the final, a huge boost on the overall standings and he now sits 10th with eight World Cup penalties. All photos (c) Jenny Abrahamsson.
Emerald N.O.P. jumped incredible, so much infact that he almost unseated his rider Harrie Smolders at one point. But the two kept it together with some fantastic riding from Smolders, and finished off third in the class. The Dutch rider is now in third position, only three penalties behind the leader Steve Guerdat.
Marcus Ehning and Cornado NRW produced a beautiful first clear round, but the German rider also had to see two poles fall in the jump-off ending 5th. Nevertheless, Ehning is only two penalty points behind leader Steve Guerdat as he sits second overall. Can he become historical on Monday and claim the title for a fourth time?
Wowsers! What a round reigning World Cup Champion Steve Guerdat delivered on Corbinian! The two went clear in the first round, and were maximum unlucky to have the first fence down in the jump-off. “I am not that good in calculating, I was not that good in math in school – so I thought that if I did not mess it up completely I would take the overall lead if I did the jump-off – but I was not exactly sure. But at this point we are here for the sport and not for the mathematics," the Swiss rider laughed after.
That must have been hard to swallow... The winner from round one, Penelope Leprevost, made the decision to add an extra stride on the line to the final upright only to see that fall. And also fell on the overall standings; from the leading position to 6th overall with a penalty score of five faults.