The final qualifying competition for Sunday's Rolex Gran Premio Roma took centre stage on Saturday afternoon at the CSIO Roma Piazza di Siena, with 61 riders lining up in the CSI5* 1.55m Table A with Jump-Off.

As the last opportunity to secure a place in the prestigious Rolex Gran Premio Roma, the pressure was high from the very first rider. Italy's Clara Pezzoli and Hadewyn Van't Ravennest were first into the arena, incurring eight faults and immediately demonstrating the difficulty of the course, where the sizeable fences and technical track demanded accuracy from start to finish.

The first clear round of the afternoon came from Brazil's Yuri Mansur aboard Mister Jup, the fourth rider to enter the arena. Moments later, one of the sport's most in-form riders, Richard Vogel, followed suit with a faultless performance aboard Cloudio, confirming that a jump-off was very much on the cards.

As the competition unfolded, more combinations rose to the challenge and secured their place in the jump-off, including Denis Lynch and Conterno Blue PS, Edwina Tops-Alexander aboard Caetlin vd Heffinck Z, Wolfgang Otschmaier with Zidane 7, Nina Mallevaey and My Clementine, Tom Wachman with Do It Easy, Giulia Martinengo Marquet aboard Scuderia 1918 Calle Deluxe, Max Kühner and EIC Cooley Jump The Q, Antonia Vita Pinardi with MTM Los Angeles, Emilie Conter aboard Quiberon P, Cian O'Connor with Gospel Tame, and Natalie Dean riding Mr Boombastic.

The home crowd had one final reason to celebrate when the last rider to enter the arena, Elisa Chimirri aboard Your Lord d'Acheronte, produced a superb clear round to secure the final place in the jump-off.

First to return against the clock, Yuri Mansur set an ambitious pace but saw his hopes dashed by a rail. Richard Vogel, continuing his remarkable run of form, then produced the first double clear round in a time of 36.58 seconds, immediately applying pressure on the remaining contenders.

Denis Lynch gave it everything but stopped the clock in 38.19 seconds, while Edwina Tops-Alexander came tantalizingly close, crossing the finish line in 37.73 seconds.

Then came a stunning performance from France's Nina Mallevaey. Riding My Clementine, she surged into the lead with a brilliant time of 36.26 seconds. Her advantage, however, was short-lived. Ireland's Tom Wachman, already impressive throughout the week, delivered a sensational round aboard Do It Easy to stop the clock in 35.95 seconds and take over the lead.

One after another, the remaining riders attempted to better the Irishman's benchmark, but none could match his speed and precision. Wachman's time remained untouched, securing victory in the final qualifier for Sunday's Rolex Gran Premio Roma.

CSI5* 1.55m – Final Qualifier Podium

🥇 Tom Wachman & Do It Easy  
🥈 Nina Mallevaey & My Clementine  
🥉 Richard Vogel & Cloudio

With the final qualifying places now decided, the stage is set for the highlight of the week.

The Rolex Gran Premio Roma takes place tomorrow at 12:30 PM in the historic arena of the Villa Borghese.

The world's best riders are ready. The countdown is over.