Something new happened at European Junior and Young Vaulters Championships 2024, which took place in Bern (SUI) from July the 16th to the 21st. In the large and beautiful PostFinance Arena, turned for the occasion from ice hockey ring to vaulting arena, a large audience enjoyed in the best of conditions, the best of the best of the European youth of equestrian vaulting. Germany always takes the lion’s share, but this year we have seen results of extreme prestige for many vaulters from nations where vaulting is not as well spread and renown. This is particularly evident in the individual junior class, both male and female. The winners do not surprise that much – Sam Dos Santos (NED) has been on the scene for several years and needs very few introductions, and Josephine Vedel Søndegaard Nilelsen (DEN) had already made a name for herself last year, when she won the silver medal at the Flyinge World Championships – but rather the fact that they were followed closely not only by the “usual” German athletes, but also from athletes coming from Poland, Italy, Sweden, England,…
Let’s talk about these individual juniors. In the women’s class, Josephine Vedel Søndegaard Nilelsen (DEN, Hanne Haagen Hansen, Tophoejs Geleto Lieto) was simply perfect, from the very beginning. Her freestyle was unsurpassed, an acrobatic exercise, performed in full fluency and confidence, so much so to earn even a 10 in the technical judgment, something truly never seen before!
When even the Danish talent stood out to impose herself as leader since the very first test, with a substantial advance on the second ranked, the competition was far from closed. From the second to the seventh ranked, all the vaulters scored overall above 7.9. This gave rise to an open second round – at least for the two places of honor – in which every little mistake was paid dearly.
In the final leaderboard, Josephine Vedel Søndegaard Nilelsen is followed by Mara Hofer (SUI, Rita Blieske, Nashville Grandia Z) who scaled the rankings thanks to a really good freestyle. On the third step of the podium a young German: Amari Santamaria Diaz (Hauke Thümmler, Meran) is a thrill on her little horse. Besides being technically very good, Amari performs a difficult and original routine. She will be known!
At least two other athletes deserve the honors of the news: the Swedish Nora Sandberg Müller (Tomasz Ogonowsky, Bastion) – she was second at the end of the first run and slipped back due to a fall occurred just at the beginning of the final freestyle (and after which she performed her exercise a little bit contracted) -, and the newcomer Evie Jesset (GBR, Viktoria Mandl, Le Garcon du Coeur), who, on the contrary, must improve her compulsories, but in the freestyle really proved to be among the best, clean and confident throughout the routine. Both of her tests were very clean, full of difficulties and absolutely nice and funny with regard to the interpretation.
The first two positions in the individual Junior male class remained the same as last year’s championships, presenting again a great challenge between two excellent performers: Sam Dos Santos and Lukas Heitman. Differently from the previous championship, however, athletes that last year were in the back, rose presenting themselves as likely protagonists in the coming years. Some vaulters in fact explode immediately in all their skill and power, others need time to mature, but then can reach very high levels as well.
Sam Dos Santos’ (NED, Jinte Pierik, Doemaar) superiority is undeniable. He performs everything in an exceptional way, since the compulsories. He always dares new exercises performing them with an ease likely supernatural, linking them together with fluid passages, without any interruption.
Like last year, Lukas Heitman (GER, Sven Henze,Cleiner Onkel T Old) showed a great performance. He confirmed himself as a great interpreter, and he looks even better in the technical exercises, more aware of his own possibilities, his exercises were strong and with original passages. But let’s move on to the new medalist: Jakub Roguski (POL, Michelle Küng, Nugat), finally solid in the compulsory and beautiful in the freestyle, clearly from the French school, clean in execution and very expressive, will be a force to reckon with in the upcoming years.
The Pas de Deux competition also proved to be of a very high standard: the German pair Arne Heers/ Mia Bury (Sven Henze, Captain 59) proved to be above all else, but also Felix Wöhe/ Greta Helene Liebig (Andrea Harwardt, Longinus 4), just to mention the first two in the final ranking.
Let’s start with the winners, Arne Heers and Mia Bury. A well-knit couple, their program is really nice, clean, with tall and already very difficult moves, well-articulated and harmonious as a whole. It is probably the prelude to a pas de deux senior. Felix Wöhe and Greta Helene Liebig are younger, but they are making great strides. We had seen them at the CVI of Fossalta di Portogruaro at Easter, and they were definitely further behind than they were able to perform in these championships. Their choreography was more accurate, the figures performed with greater confidence. If in a few months their level could grow so much, who knows what we can expect later.
On the third step of the podium are the two sisters Milly and Evie Jesset (GBR, Viktoria Mandl, Le Garcon du Coer). They were a revelation, their free is sparkling, very dynamic, with continuous changes of position. Another pair of very promising sisters ended up on the fourth place, Katharina and Valentina Plüss (SUI, Ivana Costa, Londontime), who have put up a very good second round. Their routine is still a bit to refine, but it already includes unusual moves for pairs made up of both female components.
We conclude the report of the Junior class with the results of the teams. Team Germany (Gesa Bührig, Capitain Claus) is definitely superior to all the rest, even if their compulsory test was not the best on the chart. However, when it comes to the freestyle there is no competition at all. The young German warriors fought and won. Very coordinated in the movements – perfect for other -, they perform moves always different and new and, facilitated by the music of percussion, also manage to give remarkable expressiveness to the whole. A real show!
The other two places on the podium are less obvious and they are fought for by teams from Switzerland, Sweden and Italy, that finished in this order. The Switzerland of Montmirail (Mirjam Degiorgi, Livanto Cha Ch) is second, mainly due to good compulsory test. The freestyle, in fact, while being original and well built, lacks, especially in execution, the millimeter precision of the Germans. The overall picture is that of an exercise with a smaller scope, not only compared to the German’s, but also to those of the Swedish, who are Switzerland’s direct antagonists. Sweden (Daniela Fiskbaek, Elversoes Galantic) pays the price of having low scores on the compulsory, because both freetests are valued very well. The vaulters of the Baltic team perform difficult moves, especially in the blocks to three, where they express confidence with each other and with the horse.
Italy (Nelson Alcides Vidoni, Robert Redford 5), has held on and fought until the end to equal arms. Their performance was very good and clean. Perhaps, compared to Sweden and Switzerland, it offers somewhat simpler, but the overall result is good and there is a lot of room for improvement.
A last thought for the Hungarian team (Eilika Habsburg-Lothringen, Cornetto), because even if they can’t aspire to the podium, he offers a freestyle that stands out from the others for freshness, vivacity and color.
Last but not least, the Young Vaulters category: practically only Germany!
The Teutonic athletes dominate the event, and in the female field, did the treble! Gold for Mona Pavetic (Sarah Krauss, Max), silver for Gianna Ronca (Sarah Krauss, Max), bronze for Lisa Marie Wagner (Katja Wagner, Cascais).
At the end of the first round Pavetic and Ronca are head-to-head, followed closely by Sara Solteszova (SVK, Martin Vavacek, Investment) and Noemi Licci (SUI, Rita Blieske, Nashville Grandia Z), while the third German, Lisa Wagner, is fifth. Once again the freetest proves to be decisive: Mona Pavetic is exemplary, even if perhaps less original than Gianna Ronca, and manages to finally overcome her. Overturning also on the third step: both Sara Solteszova and Noemi Licci can’t keep up, and they slip back leaving the third place to a more than concrete Lisa Marie Wagner.
Although each competition makes history, and it is not fair to compare the scores, the men’s individual competition in the Young Vaulter class was generally of an higher level than last year, with a completely new starter park, except for Paul Ruttkovsky (AUT, M. Lehrmann, Chivas 14), who ended up on the third step of the podium.
Arne Heers (GER, S. Henze, Cleiner Onkel T Old) wins the title, firmly in the lead from the compulsory, followed by Tom Menand (FRA, S. Langlois, Ultrachic) and the beforementioned Paul Ruttkovsky. Apart from a very solid compulsory round, Arne Heers also excels in the freestyle, beautiful, concrete, clean, engaging and on music.
The two remaining medals were disputed not only by Menand and Ruttkovsky, but also by Ben Lechtenberg (GER, N. Vorberg, Rockemotion). The difference in scores between the three tests is always small, one being better than the other. The freetest, the routine that weights the most, as usual decided the podium. All three perform well, with scores well over 8, but Menand is a little’ superior to the contenders in both technical and artistic judgment: his freestyle is not only technically very good and well executed, but also harmonious in the choice of figures that are well connected.
