VIDEO Crosscountry Military Boekelo The cross-country ride of the Military in Boekelo provided a lot of tension and sensation again. Nicolas Touzaint: second final victory in sight Frenchman Nicolas Touzaint took a step towards his possible second final victory in Military Boekelo-Enschede with a flawless performance in the cross-country on Saturday. Seventeen years ago he won with Tatchou, this time he hopes to send the ten-year-old gelding Diabolo Menthe (by Scareface de Mars) to victory. Olympic champion Julia Krajewski from Germany, who won the dressage, took a tumble in the large water combination and is no longer in the rankings. Number two in the first part, Hallie Coon from Australia, received a considerable number of penalty points during her cross-country ride and is now 68th. The main opposition for Nicolas Touzaint now comes from Belgium. Lara de Liedekerke, with all three horses clear at the finish, is second on her twelve-year-old stallion Ducati d'Arville (by Diarado) with 26.6 penalty points. The German Felix Etzel is on course for third place on the stallion Polartanz (by Konvoi), who is the same age. Olympic Games With Diabolo Menthe, Nicolas Touzaint, also first with the French national team, hopes to qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris via Boekelo.” On Saturday he was enthusiastic: “I am very happy with how it went today, it all went according to plan. We are in a good position, but the job is not done yet.” In addition to Lara de Liedekerke and Felix Etzel, Rosalind Canter with MHS Seventeen (28.6) and the Swiss Felix Vogg with Dao de l'Ocean (29.4) also follow at less than a jumping fault behind the Frenchman after two parts. Lara de Liedekerke is also in eighth place with her second trump card, the ten-year-old grey mare Hooney d'Arville (by Vigo d'Arsouilles). "I can't describe how much I enjoyed it", the Belgian concluded afterwards. The German number three Felix Etzel did the same. "My horse had never done a long four-star before and he did great. He had to get used to the first ten obstacles, especially to the crowd of spectators standing close to the course. But then he started breathing well and got into a good rhythm. At the end he also still felt very fresh. But you can certainly say that this was a nice learning process for both of us." Unusually exciting The battle for the national championship remains unusually exciting until the end on Sunday. Merel Blom took the lead with her nine-year-old chestnut gelding Vesuve d'Aveyron (by Jaguar Mail) with 37.9 penalty points. But a single jumping error on Sunday could spoil the party for her. For now, Janneke Boonzaaijer is closest on her heels with I'm Special N (by I'm Special de Muze) (40.0) and Adriaan Smeulders occupies third place (41.2) with the thirteen-year-old grey gelding Ekow (by Esteban). But Sanne de Jong may move up to second place with the eleven-year-old brown mare Global Faerlie Flashy (by Primitive Fairie Tale), if she is allowed to deduct the fifteen penalty points after her protest against the alleged incorrect passing of a flag, which would then bring her to 39.9. In the final round of the battle for the FEI Nations Cup, France has a comfortable lead with 97.8 penalty points. Belgium, already certain of the final victory, is second (113.0) and the British third (122.2). The Netherlands is seventh with 132.4 penalty points. Safely home After the cross-country race, which was watched by over 60,000 spectators, course designer Andrew Ditcham could look back with satisfaction. “It was a day that started with mixed feelings, because certainly at the beginning, a lot of mistakes were made, especially on the water. What exactly caused this, we also have to find out from video images. For example, it could be due to the way the jump is approached, how they execute it, how the landing works and the condition of the ground. Afterwards, we can fortunately conclude that all participants arrived home safely and that no horses suffered a serious injury.” For more information, visit the website of the Military in Boekelo https://www.military-boekelo.nl/ More sports in Haaksbergen https://haaksbergeninbeeld.nl/categor... Watch more videos from Haaksbergen https://haaksbergeninbeeld.nl/categor... Follow the news from Haaksbergen https://haaksbergeninbeeld.nl/categor... Camera: Matthijs Prins Interview: Hannah Hilgen Editing: Matthijs Prins Text: Organization Military Boekelo A production of RTV Sternet RTV Sternet is an independent journalistic news medium for Haaksbergen. Website: https://www.haaksbergeninbeeld.nl Facebook: @rtvsternet Twitter: @rtvsternet Instagram: @rtvsternet