Aboard his Chat Botte du Ruisseau Z, Pals clocked a time of 39.33sec.

It meant the 2017 FEI Jumping Nations Cup champions stood atop the podium in Falsterbo for the second year in a row.

"He has so much scope and is so careful," Pals said of his 10-year-old stallion, who produced three spectacular clears in all. 

"I have had him two years and at the beginning he was a bit strong but he always had a great mentality."

Daniel Coyle represented hot favourites Ireland in the jump-off and clinched second place with a clear round in 40.47.

Hosts Sweden came third after Henrik von Eckermann registered a clear round in 41.52.

Luca Marziani was unable to secure a medal for Italy, finishing fourth with a clear round in 42.71.

The jump-off was needed after all four nations finished on four penalties after the two rounds.

The Netherlands were reduced to a three-man team following first-round drama for Michel Hendrix and Baileys, and they only made the cut into the jump-off after a successful appeal against four faults at the water for Maikel van der Vleuten and IDI Utopia in round two.

It was the triple combination at fence five that led to the withdrawal of Hendrix when Baileys stopped and then tipped off his rider when they tackled it again.

The other member of the winning Dutch team was Jur Vrieling, who produced an all-important anchorman double-clear with VDL Glasgow v. Merelsnest N.O.P.

The Netherlands are now sixth in the Europe Division 1 overall standings on a total of 260 points.

Belgium are first with 360 points, while Switzerland are second with 340 and Germany are third with 315.

In today's FEI Dressage Nations Cup event, hosts Sweden came out on top with a mark of 17.000.

Germany finished second with 26.000, while The Netherlands came third with 40.000.