Italy won the other two events to be held in the Austrian city as Anna Cavallaro lifted the women’s title and the duo of Silvia Stopazzini and Lorenzo Lupacchini triumphed in the pas-de-deux.

Heppler arrived in Salzburg in good form having finished first in the season-opener in Madrid and second in the French capital of Paris.

His routine on board Ramazotti 155 proved to be one of the highlights of the competition as it yielded a score of 8.541.

Jannis Drewell of Germany, the 2015 European champion, was more reserved than usual and had to settle for second on 8.260 with his horse Lago Maggiore 25.

The bronze medal went the way of Balazs Bence of Hungary, who ended with 8.079.

The women’s event was a tight-knit affair, with a slender 0.1 point gap separating the top three athletes going into the second round.

Cavallaro, riding Monaco Franze 4, was the competitor who emerged victorious as she scored 8.499, narrowly in front of Stopazzini.

Her Italian counterpart was rewarded with a score of 8.266 for her routine, performed on board Hot Date Tek.

Nadja Buttiker of Switzerland’s 7.976 was enough for third place.

Despite the disappointment in the individual competition, Stopazzini roared back in the pas-de-deux as she claimed the gold medal alongside Lupacchini.

The duo and horse Rosenstolz are competing together for the first time this season and will surely be a team to watch out for as the campaign progresses.

Their success in Salzburg was achieved by virtue of a score of 8.175 points.

Torben Jacobs and Theresa Sophie Bresch of Germany, the 2011 European pas-de-deux champions, were second on 7.761 and the strong outing from Switzerland continued when Syra Schmid and Zoe Macuccio sealed bronze on 7.247.

“Today our performance was much better than yesterday, and I feel relaxed in this arena,” said  Stopazzini.

“I love competing under the lights here in Salzburg.

“Lorenzo is one of my best friends and I really enjoy performing with him, he is secure and I trust him completely.”