The Swedish world number one Henrik von Eckermann on Iliana had three refusals and finished in 32nd place.
Erika Lickhammer-van Helmond is ranked 206th in the world and has been based in the Netherlands for nearly 20 years. There, the 42-year-old runs a breeding and training stable together with her husband Joris.
Now the couple can keep several of their top horses, one of which is the 11-year-old mare Comme Tessa. In Belgian Mechelen, the pair reached the jump-off in a five-star grand prix competition for the first time, but once there, Lickhammer-van Helmond knew that Comme Tessa couldn't challenge the best in terms of time.
The goal was a new faultless ride, and that's what happened for the mare, which made its second start in the World Cup in its career. With a time of 43.38, it resulted in a seventh place – just over seven seconds from the podium. Seven out of ten pairs were faultless in the jump-off as well.
