The Nations' Cup of the vaulters was the crowning glory in the Prize of Sparkasse, which as expected went to the top favourites, the host country. Prior to that, the pair vaulters put in their final performances in the Pas de Deux, which ended up being a Swiss showdown.

At the start of the season, the Swiss athletes, Syra Schmid and Zoe Maruccio, had set themselves the goal of competing at their favourite show one last time. They are currently on their farewell tour. Zoe is a veterinarian, Syra a physiotherapist and is also completing her Masters in her “spare” time. So, there’s not much time left over for training. The World Championships in Bern in 2024 were actually supposed to have been their final performance. But after claiming the silver medal, they thought they might as well also compete in the World Cup Final in Basel in April 2025, where they finished third. Due to their top form it would have been a shame not to add a few selected shows to the list. Competing at the CHIO Aachen for the last time was among them – an unforgettable farewell.

Syra and Zoe with their long-standing partner in success, Latino V. Forst CH, lunged by Michael Heuer had already headed the field after the first round. Hence, they were the last pair to go today. A special situation. “Just before we ran in, I said to Zoe, I am going to write in my CV that we were allowed to run in last in Aachen,” a beaming Syra Schmid gushed once it was all over. Because running in last in Aachen, is like “being allowed to run in last at a championship.” But then one still has to deliver. And the quartet certainly did that. As on the previous day, they performed the best freestyle routine and with a final score of 8.396 points also won the overall classification hands down. “We are in seventh heaven!”, they both rejoiced.

The following placings all went to German pairs in a nail-biting battle. The runners-up in the first round, Diana Harwardt and Peter Künne with Crashkurs (L.: Andrea Harwardt), didn’t have a good day. Künne fell off, Crashkurs broke into a trot once, which meant they only came sixth today and third in the combined result (7.916).

They opened the door for an aspiring pair, the 18-year-old Arne Heers and his partner, Jella Hamann, 26, who are competing together in Aachen for the first time this year. With their horse, Dimitri Rocks, lunged by Andrea Boe they put in two strong performances, came second and third and also ranked second in the overall classification (8.013) ahead of Harwardt and Künne.

Nations’ Cup goes to Germany again

They were the favourites and they lived up to the role: The two German teams fought the Nations’ Cup in the Prize of Sparkasse out amongst themselves. But it was a close race. Germany II comprising of the Group from St. Hubertus Herne RFZV, Ronja Kähler with Busta Rhymes MK, lunged by Josephine Kähler and Thomas Brüsewitz with William II Z secured themselves a good lead, especially Ronja, who was awarded the sensational score of 8.890 points.

Then, it was the turn of Germany I. After the routines of the two individual vaulters, Alina Roß with Baron R (L.: Volker Roß) and Jannik Heiland with San Djamiro (L.: Barbara Rosiny) the team was lying just 0.092 points behind. All or nothing – this decision was now left in the hands of Team Norka from VV Köln-Dünnwald. They may have won the group competition at the CHIO Aachen for the fourth time in succession the day before, but the team from Herne had received a thunderous applause for their performance. The group from Cologne completed their routine with the accustomed accuracy. Then, that nail-biting wait until the results were announced: Had it sufficed? YES. With a total score of 26.321 points Germany I snatched the victory, ahead of Germany II on a score of 25.526.

Third and fourth place went to the Netherlands. Their first team, comprising of Dianne van der Lee-Meulen with El Arenal, lunged by Lisette Peeters, Renske van Schaik with Machiavelli, lunged by Sofie van der Laan, and Team Roy Rogers asserted themselves with an overall score of 24.596 points against their fellow countrymen, namely Elle van Dijk with San Felice Z, lunged by Christina Ender, Sam Dos Santos with Hero, lunged by Emy Dos Santos and Team Horst Aan de Maas. Their combined score was 23.505 points.

Conclusion of the national coach

The summary of the national coach, Kai Vorberg, regarding the performances of his protégés at the CHIO Aachen 2025? “Actually, very good! We knew that that we have a high quality overall in the ladies, men’s and group categories, but also in the Pas de Deux as well, where there were a few new faces. Across the board, the performances were above all higher than during the season, so we are of course satisfied and confident.”

Whether Herne will be able to tread in the footsteps of Team Fredenbeck one day, which had in between been able to interrupt the Cologne team’s series of victories? “We will have to improve quite a lot to do so and the interplay with the horse is especially important for group vaulting. Herne had to get used to a substitute horse short-term. So, we will have to see how we organise the whole line-up now. The team is super! They have some lovely moves in the freestyle too; it is the only team that received spontaneous applause after each round as well. But who knows what might happen in the years to come? It is not matter of course for a club like Norka either,” he said as a reminder that success never comes easy.