Next World Cup show jumping Final already coming into focus

Devos, ranked 16th in the world in the sport, now has 39 points after competitions in Oslo, Helsinki (where he was not entered), Verona, Lyon and Stuttgart. The Belgian rider is in second place in the Western European standings behind Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat (with 41 points) and ahead of Guerdat’s compatriot Martin Fuchs (35) and France’s Kevin Staut (34) – the latter two not present at the German Masters Show.

With the seven best results counting towards riders’ totals, and around 40 points likely sufficient to qualify for the 2019 Final in Sweden, athletes like Devos, Guerdat, Fuchs and Staut can choose which of the 13 qualifiers they wish to take part in. Following stages in the Western European regional league – the biggest in the world – are scheduled over the next few months for Madrid, La Coruna, Spain, London, Mechelen, Belgium, Basel, Leipzig, Amsterdam and Bordeaux, with 18 spots up for grabs, plus extras for non-European residents.

“I will go to Madrid next week and then Mechelen in December,” said Devos after his victory in Stuttgart. “After that I’ll make a plan for the second half of the season but I don’t need too many more points now which is great!”

In Germany, Devos and his bay gelding Apart came out on top of a 10-pair tie-breaking jump-off, riding clear in a time of 49.05 seconds to win €80,000. Two other horse-and-rider combinations also kept all the obstacles untouched and intact: Austria’s Max Kühner and PSG Final in second (56.62 s) and the host nation’s Christian Ahlmann and Tokyo in third (57.68 s).

Last to ride in the decisive round, the man known as Piet said, “I could see I could go six or seven seconds quicker but I also knew if I knocked a fence then I would be nowhere anymore. But Apart jumped really well. He already won a lot of classes for me but never anything as big as this, so I’m really happy for him!”

And he talked about the challenge of juggling his business and sporting careers: “My brother and I inherited a big fruit company from our parents when I was 17 or 18…it’s a second-generation business and I’m Commercial Director. I’ve grown up doing both jobs, the fruit business and the horse business, and it works because I have a great team on both sides!”

Of course, World Cup qualifying is also going on in other parts of the world, including in North America, where defending champion (from Paris) Elizabeth ‘Beezie’ Madden is in second in the East Coast league, although already automatically qualified.