Nieberg rides to the podium at the Leipzig World Cup show jumping competition

Gerrit Nieberg took third place at the World Cup show jumping competition in Leipzig. In the saddle on Ping Pong, the 32-year-old went clear in the jump-off in 44.54 seconds. Victory went to Steve Guerdat, the six-time Olympian from Switzerland and 2012 Olympic champion. "That was a really fast jump-off," said Nieberg. "I tried everything, it wasn't quite enough, but I'm over the moon with third place."

Guerdat was the first rider to open the jump-off on Iashin Sitte and took an unassailable lead with a time of 42.21 seconds. Simon Delestre from France came second in the saddle on Gatsby du Tillard. The pair finished the course in 43.25 seconds. "It's been a while since I won a World Cup show jumping competition, so I'm all the happier about this victory," said the winner, who also received 51,000 euros in prize money in addition to 20 World Cup points.

A total of four German pairs in the jump-off

Eleven of the 40 rider-horse pairs that started qualified for the jump-off with clear rounds in the round, including three other German pairs alongside Nieberg. Mario Stevens also delivered a clear round on Starissa and finished fifth in 47.13 seconds. Michael Jung with Fischerheros had one knockdown and finished in sixth place, directly followed by Philipp Schulze Topphoff with Carla in seventh place.

Nine other German pairs failed to qualify for the jump-off. Michael Kölz with Cellato, Marvin Jüngel with Don Corleone and Patrick Stühlmeyer with Baloutaire each had two knockdowns in the round, while Paula de Boer-Schwarz and My Miss Marpel had three. Leonie Böckmann and Carter collected four knockdowns, four other German pairs did not finish the round.

World Cup leader Vogel missing

Leipzig was the ninth of 13 World Cup stages this season, next week the show jumpers will compete in Amsterdam. The World Cup final awaits the best in Fort Worth, Texas/USA, at the beginning of April. The leader of the World Cup rankings is still Richard Vogel with 56 points, although he did not compete in Leipzig.