A beautiful sunny morning and no problems at the jog for the NZ crew and another huge crowd filled the main arena for the finalé of the competition.  Jonelle and Full Monty de la Lacense (FM) competed  in the morning session and they jumped the first three quarters of the round looking like FM always does in this phase, neat, careful and consistent.  Then he tapped out fence 9 and then the last two went as well which was something that was not anticipated!  You have to go back to the bottomless mud at Oasby this Spring for the only time FM has ever added 12 faults in the jumping in his career but he well deserves his holiday for sure.  It was always going to be a bit of a long shot to tackle Blenheim and Boekelo but he has completed both events and gone clear cross country at 4 Short and 4 Long  which is enormously to his credit.  He will come back next spring all the better for his Autumn experiences and it’s good to know he is but a short truck trip away from his holiday paddock.

FM’s late rails seemed to set something of a trend and the penultimate fence was probably the one that fell the most.  When Tim and Global Quest (George) cantered into the arena in the afternoon session the sunshine had gone and by dint of other riders faults he had moved from 7th to 4th.  A superb clear from George ensured that they kept that spot and put a bit of pressure on those ahead him.

No more mistakes meant that Tim stayed just off the podium in that spot but a hugely successful conclusion to George’s autumn campaign and he also heads out to the holiday pastures.  Frustratingly NZ ended up in 4th in the Nations Cup, just 1.5 off bronze which kind of sums up 2024 really when it comes to team competitions!

Jonelle heads home to set off for Le Lion d’Angers next week whilst Tim flies out to Maryland to join his Olympic and World Games partner Falco who is already in situ with Rosie Thomas acting as his PA this coming week.  Tim is on a roll at the moment with a 2nd at Burghley, a win at Blenheim and now 4th at Boekelo…lets hope it continues in the USA and that Jonelle has a fun and enjoyable last event of 2024!

NZL-Jonelle Price rides Full Monty de Lacense during the Showjumping. 2024 NED-Military Boekelo – Enschede. FEI Eventing Nations Cup CCIO4*-L | Netherlands. Sunday 13 October 2024. Copyright Photo: Libby Law Photography