The World Cup Grand Prix of Helsinki remained in Scandinavia, intensely cheered by the audience. Until the last starter in the jump-off over the narrow 1.60m course, in which the jumps followed each other extremely quickly, it looked like a German double victory, but then the Swede Angelica Augustsson Zanotelli let her twelve-year-old, naturally fast Kalinka van de Nachtegaele (by Epleaser van T'Heike) fly and secured the victory and 55,000 Euros prize money with a one second lead.
Gerit Nieberg on Blues d'Aveline CH (by Baloussini) was the second rider to set a stylistically excellent and long lasting best time, beating Gilles Thomas' fast starting round on Luna van het Dennehof (by Prince van de Wolfsakker) by almost one second. This was the order for the time being - also because the chase for the best time was stopped by a drop at the steep jump after the double combination. As the fifth starter, the Irish rider Thomas Ryan with Springfield (by Stakkato Gold) slipped in between the two temporary leaders. Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann came into the arena in third last place with Buettner's Minimax (by Cornado NRW, undercut Thomas Ryan with a full body effort on the way to the final jump and took second place behind her German team colleague Gerrit Nieberg. Jack Whitaker after her was also fast, but didn't get over the fateful steep jump in one piece either.
Yes, and then Angelica Augustsson Zanotelli put an end to the dream of a German double victory, after she had rattled alarmingly several times in the round. Her husband Marlon Modolo Zanotelli cheered loudest on the sidelines, who had collected an unusual twelve points in the round on Grand Slam VDL (by Cardento) and therefore had to watch the jump-off.
And another rider was more pleased about his partner's great ride than about his own: Jordy van Massenhove was in the jump-off with Equine America Verdiamo Z (by Verdi TN), but had two faults there, while after him his girlfriend Victoria Gulliksen on Equine America Papa Roach (by Perigueux) delivered a nippy double zero and finished sixth behind Gilles Thomas. As the Norwegian rider had said before entering the jump-off: "I hope that I will be able to ride Papa Roach forever.
