German U25 riders matched their Senior counterparts when claiming all the gold medals in the FEI Dressage European Championship U25 at Hagen (GER) where a new Dutch star was born.

Semmieke Rothenberger (Flanell), Raphael Netz (Elastico), Ellen Richter (Vinay NRW) and Ann-Kathrin Lindner (FBW Sunfire) grabbed Team gold on Wednesday, pinning The Netherlands’ Devendra Dijkstra (Hero), Febe van Zwambagt (Edson), Jessica Poelman (Chocolate Cookie RDP) and Jasmien de Koeyer (Esperanza) into silver medal spot. 

Sweden took the bronze when Nathalie Wahlund (Cerano Gold), Jennifer Lindvall (Midt West Casino), Elin Mattson (Beckham) and Lina Dolk (Languedoc) pipped Denmark for bronze by a narrow margin.

Germany’s Rothenberger and Netz and The Netherlands’ Poelman posted the three highest scores in the team competition and continued to be locked in battle for the individual and Freestyle titles over the last two days.

Grand Prix

In Saturday’s Grand Prix which decided the Individual medals, Netz squeezed Rothenberger off the top step of the podium by just 0.052%. This a young man with a remarkable story. His family had no connection with horses, but he was born with a passion to ride.

“When I was four I was allowed to get on a horse for lunging lessons, they lunged me for over one year and then my father said if he’s tough enough to do it for a year without reins then he really wants to do it! So we rented horses a lot and when I was nine they bought me my first pony. They had no idea what they were doing and neither did I, so they bought a three-year-old Haflinger! We grew together, we learned together, and then when he was seven and I was 13 we did our first Small Tour together and got our first Prix St George placement”, Netz explained. 

He was talent-spotted by Germany’s Jessica von Bredow-Werndl when he was just 17. “She sent me an email asking if I wanted to ride for her  - I thought it was a fake! But we ended up having a call and I took the train to Bavaria and stayed there for four days. And I just fitted in perfectly. So I finished school, packed my things and moved”, said the young rider who has been working for the German star for the last five years.

Partnered with Elastico, who is owned by Japanese rider Akane Kuroki, Netz’ career is blossoming. He describes the stallion as “a cool dude! It’s a great feeling just to enter the arena on a beautiful horse like this. Growing together with him wasn’t that easy because he was used to different training, but we did our first competition one year ago and we finished third”, he explained. Kuroki saw the special relationship the young German was building with her horse and generously offered to let him ride it.  “I’m very thankful to her. She said go for it and we went for it and here we are!”, Netz said.

Freestyle

Rothenberger had to settle for silver yesterday, but today was her day to shine when taking Freestyle gold. 

The piaffe work that had come off so nicely for Netz yesterday didn’t quite happen today, and the end result was a score of 81.210 while Rothenberger’s mare Flannell posted 81.955 for a brilliant performance.

This 22-year-old rider, who hails from a family steeped in the Dressage world, already has a lifetime of Championship experience, winning multiple titles over the last decade at Pony, Junior and Young Rider level and she is continuing in the same vein in U25. 

“This has been such a perfect Championship, it’s super organised here and the Kasselmann family did an amazing job!”, Rothenberger said today. 

And she was thrilled with her mare. “I’ve always believed that Flanell has no limits and I still do. This horse is absolutely incredible, I’ve never had anything like her and it’s such a blessing to go in there with such a horse knowing that as long as I, the rider, don’t make a mistake this horse can go for it. She’s shown it in this Championship, yesterday we had a rider mistake but I’m incredibly happy with how she’s done at her first European Championship. 

“I got her in May last year and due to Corona we had a lot of time to get to know each other. But the show season didn’t quite get going, so this is only her fourth competition with me and she just keeps getting better!”, she added.

Bronze both yesterday and again today went to Poelman whose Freestyle ride was a pleasure to watch, filled with lightness and harmony. 

A big surprise

“I never expected a medal - it’s a big surprise even to ride here!”, said the 20-year-old who hails from close to Amsterdam. “I have this horse only since November last year and we only went to one international show together before. I rode international in Ponies and Juniors but never at a really high level, this is my very first Championship”, Poelman explained.  

She says her sudden rise to stardom is all due to the lovely gelding Chocolate Cookie RDP which was previously competed by Dutch counterpart Dana van Lierop. Poelman’s trainer Lotje Schoots put the pair together and it’s clearly the perfect partnership.

“He is really nice and very easy to ride and I have a great connection with him. He is always very willing”, said the young rider who produced wonderful piaffe and passage from the 14-year-old gelding. 

She only competed for fun until last year when she was invited to ride in an observation trial by Chef d’Equipe Monique Peutz. “We had winter training for riders and Jessica told me she had Chocolate Cookie and I said bring him along and it looked so nice. First she was thinking she’d start slowly but I said no, there’s an international competition in Exloo so just give it a try, and she did and she did very well - now she has one silver and two bronze European U25 medals!”, said the Dutch team manager.

Results here 

Germany’s Jessica von Bredow-Werndl was filled with emotion after clinching her third gold medal of the week when topping the Freestyle at the FEI Dressage European Championship 2021 in Hagen (GER) this afternoon. 

“It’s like a fairytale, the ride today was the best I ever felt!”, said the 35-year-old athlete who also swept all before her at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games this summer. “It may not have been the highest points ever, but for me it was the best feeling I ever had with Dalera. I was very emotional after finishing. No matter what points or what place I got I was so happy!”, she added.

Scoring 91.021 when third-last to go, she finished almost three percentage points ahead of Denmark’s Cathrine Dufour who took silver with Bohemian, and it was Great Britain’s Charlotte Dujardin and Gio who grabbed the bronze. 

Going fifth from last, Dujardin put 87.246 on the board, and she might have expected that would not be enough for a podium placing with the final German partnership of Isabell Werth and Weihegold OLD still to come. But, second-last into the arena, Werth’s multiple medal-winning mare was clearly lacking energy and power, and their score of 84.896 left them in fourth place.

Pleased

Dujardin was hugely pleased with her result. At only 10 years of age Gio is still very much on a learning curve, with little exposure to top sport other than his sensational results at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games where he was won double-bronze. Today’s performance was even more impressive. 

“I’m so proud of him, it’s only his second time through that music and as you could see the degree of difficulty is immense. The Olympics was the first time I rode it and it was mistake-free there, unfortunately I made a mistake in the ones on the centre line today, rider error not horse error, and I thought that would have cost me a medal. It’s still frustrating that I made that mistake and I’m so cross with myself because he tried so hard - but obviously we have medalled!”, said the 35-year-old athlete. 

She really pulled out all the stops today, including taking all the risk in extended canter. “All week I hadn’t pushed him full out because he is a young horse and I want him for the future and he did the Olympics. He tried for me every day here, he did a great Special (on Thursday where the pair finished fourth), I was so proud of him, and we just missed out on a medal. So I thought today - I’ll just put that extra bit in”, she said.

Competitiveness is in Dujardin’s DNA. “I went in there wanting a medal for sure, I wasn’t going down without a fight! And being the first of the last five combinations you know you have to give it a good go, set the standard. I felt we did that, even with a mistake. We got 87 percent with those mistakes, without those mistakes who knows what it might have been - I asked him to step up and he sure did!”, she added.

And having finished his test, the little horse, whose rider calls him Pumpkin, was completely relaxed as he left the ring. 

“That’s the thing with him, he just gets more and more confident and that’s his first time in an arena with that atmosphere, he’s not used to crowds. He’s just brilliant, he switches on and does his job, and then he switches off and off he goes home!”, she pointed out.

A joy

Dufour was equally pleased with Bohemian whose test was a joy to watch, filled with energy and power.  

‘I’m really happy, first because I had a super ride - almost flawless - we had a tiny mistake in the ones at the end and that was totally my mistake. We have grown a lot since Wednesday this week and today he felt so happy, so ready to deliver. It was just so super-easy going. I was back to no pushing, no forcing, just enjoying and dancing with him!”, said the dynamic 29-year-old Dane.

Her emotional music from Les Miserables added a poignancy to her performance. “It expresses something about where I am in my life. It delivers a kind of message - that I’m really enjoying life and I’m in a good place now and that my horse and I have found our path together. I feel really comfortable with what I’m doing with my team, with the people I have around me, I have a super family, an extra family and it feels fantastic!”, she pointed out. 

But the new European Freestyle gold medallist was happiest of all. 

Talking about Dalera’s magical Freestyle performance, von Bredow-Werndl said “she was 100 percent focused, she was light, she was on fire but not too much. Two days ago (in the Grand Prix Special) she was a bit too hot so I couldn’t ride for example the extensions fully, and then it looked a little bit tense sometimes, but today it was a perfect, perfect kind of energy. 

“She loves what she does, and I feel it in every second and every movement. Even my collected walk felt super today. The feeling was the best I’ve ever had so far, in my whole life, on any horse! That’s why I was pretty emotional when I finished because this is not normal - that a horse improves during a competition. Today she had no wet hair (sweat), either in the warm-up or after the competition and that’s crazy!”, she said. 

Atmosphere

The spectators at Hagen certainly added to the great atmosphere today and the new European triple champion, who also has two Olympic gold medals in her trophy cabinet after this extraordinary summer, commented on the difference it makes to have them there. 

“It’s so great to ride in front of an audience again, it feels completely different, we were carried by them I think, and they were so supportive of all the riders during the week. I hope it will stay like this, it’s so good to have this back!” 

Von Bredow-Werndl has led Germany to a glorious summer of gold, and now has next year’s FEI World Equestrian Games in her sights. However Dufour gave her fair warning that she and her Danish compatriots will be ready and waiting when the action begins on their home ground in front of their home crowd in Herning next August.

She intends narrowing the gap between herself and the German star over the next 11 months.

“Right now we can only aim at Jessica’s marks, and congratulations to her on a great season this year. It’s exciting with the WEG next year in Denmark, I’m sure the Danish audience will put pressure on the Germans!” 

For now however, the Hagen hosts can continue to bask in a golden glow….

Results here 

Germany’s Jessica von Bredow-Werndl scooped her second gold medal of the week when coming out on top with TSF Dalera BB in tonight’s Grand Prix Special at the FEI Dressage European Championships 2021 in Hagen (GER). 

Firm favourites after their spectacular performances at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games this summer, the 35-year-old rider and her 14-year-old mare produced the highest score to help their country claim the team title for the 25th time yesterday. And tonight they won again, this time pinning team-mates Isabell Werth and Weihegold into silver while Denmark’s Cathrine Dufour and Bohemian took the bronze.

Team silver medallist yesterday, Britain’s Carl Hester, set the early target score when posting 77.310 with En Vogue. “That was as good as Tokyo if not maybe a little bit better - I got the ride I really wanted to get”, said the man who took team bronze in Japan a few weeks ago. 

“He was steady, relaxed and calm. I always know that if he’s going to be funny it will be in the piaffes. That’s what he did yesterday (in the team competition) and he gets wilder and wilder. But tonight he was fine. All you want in a championship really is for the horse to grow. I don’t expect to win when he’s this young, but I do it in the hope that he gets better every day.

“The changes tonight were spot on, the piaffes were showing the future of what he can do because I think there’s a 10 in there for those - not tonight but they were going the right way, so I was just pleased they are progressing. And the pirouettes,”, he pointed out. 

In front

He was still in front when Werth set off with her mare, fifth-last to go. It was clear from the outset that the German pair who took European Special and Freestyle gold in Gothenburg (SWE) four years ago meant business again this evening. Before starting, Werth made sure Weihegold was listening, practically galloping down the long side of the arena before beginning her test.

“It gives her the fire, and me too!”, she said. “I knew I had to fight and take all the risk I could, she’s so experienced in this business, more in the Freestyle than the Special, but this was one of her best Specials, no big mistakes, and I’m very happy with her”, said the lady who won her first European Grand Prix Special title with the great Gigolo back in 1991 in Donaueschingen (GER). 

Big marks for piaffe, passage and pirouettes put her on a score of 81.702 for a strong lead going into the closing stages. 

Great Britain’s Charlotte Dujardin followed with 79.787 from her sweet little 10-year-old chestnut Gio, slotting temporarily into bronze medal spot. “It’s only his third Special and I couldn’t ask for much more. He needs more time to strengthen up, he’s getting better and better at every show and he went in there and tried and did his best, and that’s enough for me”, said the rider who took all the European Individual titles in both 2013 and 2015 with the record-breaking Valegro. However Denmark’s Cathrine Dufour immediately overtook her with a cracking test from Bohemian that was filled with power, energy and excitement.

Dufour looked well set to oust Werth from pole position but, although quickly rectified, a mistake on the final centreline proved costly. The quality of the performance was so strong however it still earned a healthy mark of 81.079. 

Reflecting

The 29-year-old Dane has been reflecting over the last few weeks. “What I felt in the last few tests was that I had to push him a bit too much in Tokyo, and that’s not at all the way I want to ride him. Today I wanted to build more trust so he doesn’t feel that I push him one thousand percent every time he goes in the ring, because I had the feeling he might not continue to perform with me if I continue to ask for more. But today he was so confident. I could have asked for more but I want to rebuild that trust and show him that it’s super-nice to be in the ring.

“What Tokyo has taught me is that less is more”, Dufour said. “He will give me the moon as long as I offer trust and space for him to grow, which I feel I forgot the last few times. Yesterday I had a nice feeling but today was even better”, she added. 

Britain’s Charlotte Fry was second-last to go with Everdale whose 78.146 slotted them in behind Dujardin, and then only von Bredow-Werndl and Dalera stood between Werth and the tenth Individual European title of her long and illustrious career. But the new world number one was placed first by all seven judges. With marks ranging from 81.277 to 86.596 their final tally was 84.271 for victory.

“Winning in front of the home crowd was great, we’re not used to it anymore. When we entered the arena Dalera became even bigger, put her ears up, she was really excited and when I did the trot extensions I tried not to move because it could have brought her out of balance because she was so on fire! It’s a great feeling, especially after the Olympics, that she’s so fit and so happy again”, said von Bredow-Werndl who seems to have the world at her feet right now.

Leading combinations

While the leading 15 horse/athlete combinations go through to Saturday’s Freestyle, only three can represent each country. However the new Grand Prix Special champion certainly won’t miss the cut. Von Bredow-Werndl looks set to make it a golden hat-trick, with Werth chasing her all the way.

Tonight however Werth admitted that the last couple of days have been a huge strain for a different reason entirely. Her beloved mare, Bella Rose who took triple-gold at the European Championships in Rotterdam two years ago, took ill yesterday. But fortunately there was good news tonight.  

“I’m glad to say she’s fine”, Werth said when asked about the mare who was due to be officially retired at the CHIO Aachen next week. “Yesterday I got a call from my vet to say she had a colic so I was really worried. Yesterday evening we had to take her to the clinic because this kind of colic meant you have to operate because something is in the wrong position. It’s just bad luck, it’s not a typical colic situation. So I’m really happy and very thankful to the vets. She woke up yesterday evening and this morning she ate some grass and looked really good and like normal. She will stay at the clinic a few days and if everything is normal we will then bring her home. I didn’t get much sleep last night!”, Werth admitted. 

She should rest well tonight however in the knowledge that Bella is fine. And she and Weihegold are likely to come out with all guns blazing when Saturday’s Freestyle begins.

Result here 

In the history of the FEI Dressage European Championships, Team Germany has a formidable record. There have been 29 editions, and today they clinched the team title for the 25th time. 

Dorothee Schneider (Faustus), Helen Langehanenberg (Annabelle), Isabell Werth (Weihegold OLD) and Jessica von Bredow-Werndl (TSF Dalera BB) joined forces to pin Great Britain into silver and Denmark into bronze. It was the same side that took team gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games less than two months ago, but Langehanenberg was an alternate there and didn’t get to compete. Only von Bredow-Werndl was riding the same horse, and she posted the biggest mark in today’s Grand Prix to put the result beyond doubt.

The British were in the lead as the action resumed this morning, and Carl Hester was first into the ring for them, partnering En Vogue who earned a score of 74.845. 

Brilliant in parts

“The test was brilliant in parts and disappointing in others”, he said. “Last night (leading the scoreboard) it actually looked quite exciting! That horse gets very big scores so we did think it would be good to have a really good shot at it, it doesn’t always work like that and it didn’t work like that today but he’s come right back from the Games where he did three amazing tests with no experience. Some of the things he does are so brilliant that he makes himself a bit nervous”, the British rider explained.

“I didn’t deserve more points, there were too many mistakes, and I’m just disappointed I made mistakes because they weren’t huge mistakes”, he added, but he sees great development in the 12-year-old bay gelding now that he is getting more competition exposure. “What he’s done in one year - he’d never have gone into that arena a year ago!”, he pointed out.

It might have been a nervous night for some teams in Germany’s situation, lying third after Schneider and Langehanenberg took their turn yesterday when Denmark slotted into silver medal spot. Daniel Bachmann Andersen was the first Dane to go today, producing a lovely test for a score of 76.366 with the gelding Marshall-Bell who is only nine years old. 

But then Werth and her mare Weihegold came into the ring and you could feel the changing tide even though the German legend clearly wasn’t happy with her score. She had ridden a technically brilliant test for a mark of 79.860.

Superb

“We had just a little mistake at the end of the two-tempis where she was bit quick at the end, but the last centreline was superb so I was really happy. But a score under 80 percent. In the last three years I had just one competition with her under 80 percent and that was in Paris at the World Cup Final. But of course you have to take it sportingly….”, she pointed out.

Denmark’s Cathrin Dufour and Bohemian came really close to Werth’s leading score, always forward and brave and chasing every mark. A blip in the first canter pirouette held them back from an even bigger result however. 

Dufour was a bit like Britain’s Hester, happy and frustrated all at the same time. “It might be the best warm-up I’ve ever had, he felt fantastic, and it was almost hotter than Tokyo, but he felt really super!” she said. Several riders commented on the incredible heat that descended on the showgrounds at Hof Kasselmann today.

“We had a little misunderstanding earlier and I just managed to save it and then in the canter pirouette left he wanted to turn a tiny bit too much and I tried to correct him, maybe a little bit too roughly - he’s a hot horse so he reacts really quickly but I think I managed to sort it quickly and we had a really nice second pirouette”, she explained. The mark for the first was 3.6 but she was awarded a whopping 8.9 when the second pirouette came off really nicely. 

“Overall I’m really happy, of course a bit annoyed with that big mistake but we always have to try something new every time we go into the ring because we always want to develop. If you do the same you get the same so we have to try to push ourselves,” she pointed out wisely, adding, “my team-mates have been great here, it’s been a pleasure to watch them and it’s a pleasure to have three of our riders above 75 percent - I can’t remember when that happened last time for Denmark!”

Brilliant mark

Germany’s von Bredow-Werndl was fourth-last to go in the final group and sealed the German deal with a brilliant mark of 84.099 for a test that oozed the kind of class that spectators have come to expect from her 14-year-old Olympic double-gold mare.  

“She is amazing! She was on fire but still so focused and concentrated that I couldn’t have asked for more. From the very first second to the very last second she didn’t give me any doubt!”, said the lady who has recently been named world number one. 

Asked if she felt under pressure because her team really needed a good score, especially with Britain’s Charlotte Dujardin yet to start, she admitted she did, because the margins were still a little too close for comfort.  

“It was not as easy as it was in Tokyo because in Tokyo I only had to achieve 72 percent to win gold for the team. Today was a little bit more but anyway I’m always giving my best and so is Dalera!”, she said.

Like so many of the other horses competing at the Championships this week, Dalera returned from Tokyo full of beans and still rearing to go. So much so that von Bredow-Werndl had to sit tight when starting her back in work after a short break.

“I had to make her keep walking for a few days because she was really bucking when we were hacking out!”, she said. As Hester explained earlier in the day the trip to Japan certainly didn’t seem to take much out of the Tokyo equine athletes. Peden International got permission for the horses to fly over Russia so their travel time was reduced by almost seven hours. “It made it so much easier for them”, he said.

A huge pleasure

Last of the British to go, Charlotte Dujardin and her supersweet little 10-year-old, Gio, produced a lovely test that put 79.829 on the board. It slotted her into third individually, behind Werth in second and von Bredow-Werndl at the top of the order. Germany finished on a final tally of 238.944 and Britain’s closing score was 232.345 while Denmark finished a very close third in bronze on 231.165.

Britain’s Hester insisted today’s silver medal finish was “a huge pleasure for all of us. Last night Charlotte did talk about the gold and hopefully it will happen again one day, but looking at the top you can see how experience carries the horses. Our team (of horses) at this age - we are thinking of the World Games in 2022 and Paris (Olympics in 2024) and we are just feeling so lucky to be winning medals!” he said.

With the team medals now out of the way, attention turns to tomorrow’s Grand Prix Special. The rivalry is going to be really intense again, especially since the horses are now much more familiar with the lovely Hagen arena. There’s lots more history to be made, and while von Bredow-Werndl and Dalera look set to sweep all before them over the coming days you could sense her senior compatriot’s trademark determination to continue in her role as the Queen of international Dressage. 

Isabell Werth doesn’t like being second to anyone, so maybe she might try a change of boots for tomorrow. In Tokyo where she won team gold and individual silver she sported a pair she has been wearing for 35 years - her “lucky boots”. Asked today if the ones she was wearing were new, she said “no, they are my normal boots but not my lucky boots. So maybe that was the problem today!” 

Time will tell, and the excitement will continue when the Grand Prix Special gets underway tomorrow evening at 17.00.

Don’t miss a hoofbeat…..

Results here 

 

On a day full of fascinating stories and great sport, Great Britain took the early lead in the Team Competition at the FEI Dressage European Championship 2021 in Hagen, Germany today. Gareth Hughes was first to go for the British side, posting 74.394 with Sintano van Hof Olympia, but it was their second-line rider, Charlotte Fry, who boosted them to pole position when producing a brilliant test with her Olympic bronze medal winning ride, Everdale, when second-last to go.

Judges Susanna Baarup (DEN), Thomas Lang (AUT), Maria Colliander (FIN), Isabelle Judet (FRA), Isobel Wessels (NED), Henning Lehrmann (GER) and Mariette Sanders van Gansewinkel (NED) awarded the pair a mark of 77.671 to leave them over two percentage points ahead of next-best horse/athlete partnership, Denmark’s Nanna Skodberg Merrald and Atterupgaards Orthilia who put 75.078 on the board. And, to the surprise of many, it is the Danes who lie second going into tomorrow’s second half of the Team event ahead of the defending champions from Germany in third.

Skodberg Merrald was delighted with the result she produced with the 16-year-old mare formerly ridden by both Britain’s Fiona Bigwood and Danish star Agnete Kirk Thinggaard. “I’ve had her for less than a year and this was the best Grand Prix I’ve ever done with her! I’m very happy that I did all I could for the team, and I couldn’t ask for more. It was what I’ve been dreaming about!”, she said.

For Germany however, things didn’t quite start as expected although Dorothee Schnieder set the early target with a nice performance with Faustus for a mark of 74.965. “It’s the first championship for him and I think it was a good start for the team” she said.

Mistakes

Her score might have been higher but for two mistakes in passage. “Sometimes when he’s not confident he tries to come behind me, and then I want to ride to the bit and there’s one or two moments when he’s not directly going to the bit and we have a mistake”, she explained. “His highlights were really the canter. It needs a bit of time to close this big canter and to balance him, but he comes more and more in a good balance. I’m proud of him!”, Schneider added.

However compatriot, Helen Langehanenberg, followed with a score of 73.960 with Annabelle. 

“She started super good but then there were some expensive mistakes so it is different than we hoped, but that’s OK - this is the sport!”, said Langehanenberg’s team-mate, double-Olympic gold medallist and new world number one Jessica von Bredow-Werndl who will be fifth-last to go tomorrow afternoon.

Hughes, who slotted into individual fourth place at the end of the day, was happy to have given the British a solid start. He travelled all the way to Tokyo as team alternate but didn’t get to ride, so entering the ring today was a big relief. 

“I woke up 30 times last night, it feels like we have been building up to this for three months. It was great to be in Tokyo but emotionally it was really difficult because you have to prepare to ride and then you don’t ride. Your adrenalin goes up and down. It’s weird because you didn’t get what you want to do which is help the team. And then we had the build-up to this”, he explained.

Running on adrenalin

Fellow-Briton Fry admitted that she’s just running on adrenalin right now. After Tokyo she travelled to Verden in Germany where she claimed the Six-Year-Old title at the FEI WBFSH Dressage World Breeding Championship with Kjento, posting incredible scores. Just over a week later she is making the headlines at the European Championships.

“It’s been a great few months and Everdale has been amazing”, she said. “He came home so fresh from Tokyo, excited and ready to go again. He had a week off last week, I got back on on Sunday and he was feeling great still. His energy never runs out, he goes all day and he loves to work”, she pointed out.

She said he has definitely grown up since travelling to Tokyo and that he has grown more secure in the arena. “He hasn’t been tired at all, and today it really felt like we could just wait and enjoy it, I could take my time a bit more. It was a really nice feeling”, she said.

There is still another whole day of sport ahead before the Team medals are decided, and with the incredible Isabell Werth yet to go for the host country with Weihegold and British stars Carl Hester (En Vogue) and Charlotte Dujardin (Gio) also yet to strut their stuff there’s a lot more to look forward to.

But some athletes achieved something great just by competing at Hagen today. 

Mixed emotions

For Sweden’s Jacob Noerby Soerensen there were mixed emotions. Just two months ago a terrible fire destroyed his farm, and he’s still shocked from the experience. 

“I was in Denmark qualifying two horses for Verden, and on my way home I got a call from the stable that there was a fire. They didn’t think it would get so big but the whole stallion stable and the apartments and the Rehab Centre with a spa and gym for the horses were burned down. It was awful. In half an hour everything was gone. No horses were killed and the staff were super, they rescued 26 horses in half an hour, but it was a horrible, awful day”, he recalled. 

So posting 68.431 today and lying individually 20th this evening he was hugely happy with his 11-year-old stallion Moegelbejergs Romeo. “He’s a big horse, he’s only 10 and it’s my first championship so I was really, really nervous. But today made everything feel good again!”, he said.

Also feeling good was Ireland’s Carolyn Mellor who steered Gouverneur M to a score of  64.395. She’s 59 years old, groomed for some of Ireland’s top riders, grooms her own horse, lives in Comber in Northern Ireland, has competed mainly on the relatively modest Irish circuit throughout her career and is riding a 10-year-old horse who she bought as a three-year-old and who, like her, is competing in his very first championship. And she became a granny last month.

“It’s very surreal, I never thought I’d make it to this stage but it’s brilliant and I think with this horse there is much more to come!”, she said. There’s plenty more to come at the FEI Dressage European Championships too, and the action resumes at 08.30 tomorrow when Portugal’s Martim Meneres and Equador enter the arena.

Don’t miss a hoofbeat….

Results here 

Germany stays centre stage this week as Europe’s top Dressage athletes and horses descend on Hof Kasselman in Hagen where the FEI Dressage European Championships 2021 kicks off tomorrow morning.

All the pressure will be on the home performers, because not only are they defending champions but they showed just how tough they are to beat when raiding the medal table at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games this summer, topping the teams, taking Grand Prix Special gold and silver, and all the podium places in the Freestyle.

Perhaps one of the biggest questions of the week will be whether the lady known as “The Queen”, the inimitable Isabell Werth who has more medals to her name than many people have had hot dinners, will be overshadowed by team-mate Jessica von Bredow-Werndl who has just taken over the number one spot in the Dressage world rankings with TSF Dalera BB.

Von Bredow-Werndl brings the same magical mare with which she couldn’t be bettered in Tokyo, throwing down the biggest score in the Grand Prix and then setting a new Olympic record in the Grand Prix Special which decided the team medals before posting a massive 91.732 to win the Freestyle. But Werth can be guaranteed to come out with all guns blazing when she steps into the arena with her mare Weihegold.

Once before

The FEI Dressage European Championships for Seniors took place in Hagen once before, back in 2005 when Germany’s Heike Kemmer (Bonaparte), Hubertus Schmidt (Wansuela Suerte), Ann-Kathrin Linsenhoff (Sterntaler) and Klaus Husenbeth (Piccolino) claimed the team title. Another of the sport’s great legends, The Netherlands’ Anky van Grunsven, took individual double-gold with Salinero that year, and Isabell Werth and Satchmo took silver in the Special. 

Hagen has also been a happy hunting ground for some of the British team lining out this week. It’s less than five months since Charlotte Dujardin and her lovely little gelding Gio announced their very definite arrival to the top end of the sport when winning the CDI4* Freestyle at the German venue while compatriot, Charlotte Fry, lined up fourth with Everdale in the same class. 

At just 10 years old Gio is already making a huge impact and Dujardin, who dominated the FEI European Championship at the height of her career with the great Valegro in 2013 and again in 2015, will be keen to continue the horse’s development.  

While Team Germany bring only one of their Olympic horses - Dalera - the British are fielding their full Tokyo squad, and they are not here just to sit in the sunshine that has blessed this part of Germany for the last few weeks. 

Horse Inspection

The Horse Inspection took place today and five have been held over for re-inspection at 07.00 tomorrow. They are Beirao (Duarte Nogueira, POR), Bufranco (Charlotte Heering, DEN), Embajador SG (Nausicaa Maroni, ITA), Esporim (Anna Merveldt, IRL) and Poseydon (Anna Diachenko, UKR). 

The action gets underway tomorrow morning at 08.30 with the Team Competition which will continue on Wednesday. A total of 71 starters are listed and amongst the big names on the opening day are The Netherlands’ Adelinde Cornelissen (Governor-Str) and Marlies van Baalen (Go Legend), Denmark’s Nanna Skodborg Merrald (Atterupgaards Orthilia), Sweden’s Jeanna Hogberg (Lorenzo), Germany’s Dorothee Schneider (Faustus) and Helen Langehanenberg (Annabelle) and Great Britain’s Gareth Hughes (Sintano van Hof Olympia) and Charlotte Fry (Everdale). 

Don’t miss a hoofbeat…..

Website here 

Longines FEI Jumping European Championship 2021

Individual glory for Germany’s Andre Thieme and his lovely mare DSP Chakaria brought the Longines FEI Jumping European Championship 2021 to the perfect close at Riesenbeck (GER) today. On an afternoon of spectacular sport, the 46-year-old rider rose from overnight silver into gold medal position in the first of two final rounds. And, once there, he held on tight, pinning Friday’s team gold medallists, Switzerland’s Martin Fuchs and Leone Jei, into silver while Sweden’s Olympic team gold and individual silver medallist Peder Fredricson and Catch Me Not took bronze.

And the new champion wasn’t holding back. At a press conference filled with joy, relief, reflection and laughter, Thieme said, “I’m just as much in love with that horse as I am with my wife - and she accepts that!”, before turning his attention to Fuchs. 

The Swiss rider had teased him by calling Thieme “one of the happy ones!” when he met him yesterday in the aftermath of Friday’s team competition in which the hosts had to settle for silver. But the German rider pointed out that the result had been very close. “And he looked at me and said ‘did you really think you guys could beat us? He really said that!”, Thieme said with a laugh, very pleased that today that he had managed to turn the tables on the 29-year-old defending champion who had to settle for runner-up spot this time around.

Vintage 

It was vintage stuff from start to finish and course designer, Germany’s Frank Rothenberger, played a big part in ensuring drama and excitement all the way.

Fuchs was in the lead as the action began, but there was less than a fence between the first seven and less than two fences between the top 12 in the opening round in which the top-24 started. And when the Swiss rider’s fabulous nine-year-old, Leone Jei, hit the oxer after the water at fence nine, then he opened the door for his German rival whose mare made it look pretty easy as she posted a clear to take the lead.

Only the top 12 returned for the second-round medal-decider, and Fuchs was lying fourth on a score of 5.31 this time out, with the sensational partnership of Ioli Mtillneou and Levis de Muze from Greece in third on 4.64 and Sweden’s Fredricson now in silver medal spot, just over two points behind Thieme.

So when the Swiss star lowered the first element of the triple combination in the final round it seemed his chance was gone. But that fence caused multiple problems and when Mytillneou and her brilliant stallion met it all wrong she decided to retire. At 24 years old, and with relatively little experience compared to those she was competing against, it was a mature decision as Show President Ludger Beerbaum pointed out later in the day.

So that let Fuchs into bronze medal spot, and when Fredricson’s grey gelding hit the second fence Fuchs moved up into silver. Thieme could now afford one fence down but no more, and at the bogey triple combination he used up all his luck. But he kept his nerve to bring it home to the delight of the home crowd who roared their approval.

Challenge

The new champion talked about the challenge of that second course. 

“Walking it you could see that triple combination was going to be very difficult for everybody. The course designer was just very smart. From fence three to four he gave us a floating forward six strides to a big oxer with bushes underneath, so you arrived with a lot of impulsion and then it was a bit downhill coming into those two tall verticals. So you had to ride it perfect, and even then there was a chance to have it down”, he explained.

“I got there (to the first part of the triple combination) exactly the way I wanted to, and them boom! I hit the front rail and I thought we have a long way to go. So I tried to stay calm, and she stayed calm with me and I don’t know how many times I can say it but I’m very blessed with that horse! It’s something very special. Tokyo (Olympic Games) came too early for us, we thought we could do it and then we paid our price, but she learned something in Tokyo and I learned something in Tokyo and I’m glad it came out this way!”, he added.

Show President, Ludger Beerbaum, paid tribute to Mytilineou whose copybook clear rounds throughout the week put her well in contention until today when things didn’t go right for her. “She showed us how a trusting relationship between a rider and horse can make such difficult courses look easy. And the way her horse jumps, your heart starts smiling by watching it…. I’m absolutely sure we will see this pair again in the top classes, and some day probably on the podium!”, he said.

Fuchs admitted that playing second fiddle doesn’t come easy for him. “For the first few minutes I was disappointed about the result, that it wasn’t good enough for gold, but now I’m really happy with silver! I’ll go home with two medals, one gold (team) one silver (individual). Andre was just better than me today and I hope one day I’ll be better than him!”, said the 2019 champion.

Fredricson blamed himself for the mistake Catch Me Not made at the second fence, after he changed his original plan on how to ride that line. And, as he said, his time fault was also expensive. “But I think the course designer built in a really clever way, questions all the way around, time just tight enough. Like Martin, at first I was really disappointed with the choice I made….but 45 minutes later I feel happy for my bronze medal”, he said.

Huge task

Multiple champion Ludger Beerbaum admitted that he took on a huge task when he offered to step in and run this Championship at Riesenbeck after it was cancelled last year. But this evening he was happy and relieved. 

“I couldn’t be more happy or grateful for having the opportunity to host such an event. It was a brave decision, and the whole team knows what we had to deal with and it was a tough job, no question. But once we decided to go ahead with it we had a lot of support and positive energy from everyone. You have to be fortunate to get two weeks weather like this and we are thankful. We’ve seen great, great sport, a super podium and an unbelievable winner - and I’m also really pleased with number 4 Christian Kukuk who was really close, I’m delighted and well done to everyone!”, he said.

He wasn’t the only one feeling grateful after an amazing week at his fabulous venue surrounded by the Surenberg Forest. 

Speaking on behalf of all the riders who competed at the Longines FEI Jumping European Championship 2021, silver medallist Martin Fuchs said, “Ludger thank you very much for organising this. We have seen many shows that have years and years of putting on a show, you didn’t have that and for all of us riders you are one of the the most inspiring people in the sport. We call you the legend behind your back!

“And now that you start to do even more for our sport and that you hold this European Championship during these difficult times everybody really appreciates it. Everyone has great things to say about the whole organisation and the competition, and I think this deserves a big and warm thank you from all of us!”

No-one was disagreeing with that…..

Results here 

 

 

 

 

 

FEI Dressage European Championship 2021

Just a few short weeks since they claimed all gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Team Germany will line out at next week’s FEI Dressage European Championships 2021 on home ground in Hagen where they look set to claim their 25th team title. 

There may have been brief lapses in their domination of the European team gold medal leaderboard - the Dutch coming out on top in 2007, 2009 and again in 2015, and Great Britain victorious in 2011 - but in the 58-year-history of this event that takes place every two years, the German record is phenomenal. 

They posted their 24th team victory in Rotterdam (NED) two years ago where longtime legend Isabell Werth brought her personal European medal collection to a staggering 24 when adding both the individual Grand Prix Special and Freestyle titles riding Bella Rose. In the Special it was a German one-two when Dorothee Schneider (Showtime) lined up in second, and they were completely dominant in the Freestyle when Schneider and Jessica von Bredow-Werndl (TSF Dalera BB) took silver and bronze.

Compatriots

At the 2021 edition, Werth is joined by the same two compatriots, although von Bredow-Werndl is the only one who will ride the same horse - the fabulous Dalera with which she won triple-gold in Tokyo. 

This pair are now the dominant force in the sport and the ones everyone else have to beat.

Werth will partner Weihegold, the 16-year-old mare with which she won Olympic team gold in Rio de Janeiro (BRA) in 2016 and triple-gold at the FEI European Championships in 2017, while Schneider will compete Faustus 94, the 13-year-old gelding with which she has been posting some big results this summer. 

Rounding up the formidable German side will be Helen Langehanenberg who rode on the winning European team in Gothenburg (SWE) in 2017 and who was individual silver medallist in Rotterdam in 2011 and Herning (DEN) in 2013 partnering Damon Hill. In Hagen she will ride Annabelle, the 13-year-old mare with which she won the Grand Prix Special at the CDI3* in Aarhus, Denmark last October and who finished fourth behind team-mates Schneider (Showtime), von Bredow-Werndl (TSF Dalera BB) and Werth (Bella Rose) at CDI4* Kronberg (GER) in June.

A total of 72 athletes from 23 countries will contest the medals this time around. And of the 15 participating teams, the biggest challenge to the defending champions look set to be the British who clinched Olympic team bronze just five weeks ago. 

Olympic side

They are fielding their full Olympic side and, in the four-horse format, their Olympic reserve partnership of Gareth Hughes and Sintano von hof Olympia will get to perform this time around.

Charlotte Dujardin’s 10-year-old Gio set hearts fluttering in Tokyo, with the emergence of another dream partnership to follow in the footsteps of the great Valegro always a possibility. Carl Hester’s En Vogue and Charlotte Fry’s Everdale will complete their line-up and, fresh and rested after their trip Japan, the British horses will be on familiar territory in Hagen having competed there before.

There is plenty of experience in both the Dutch side of Adelinde Cornelissen (Governer-STR), Hans Peter Minderhoud (Glock’s Dream Boy), Marlies van Baalen (Go Legend) and Dinja van Liere (Hermes) and the Swedish selection of Jeanna Hogberg (Lorenzo), Therese Nilshagen (Dante Weltino), Juliette Ramel (Buriel KH) and Jacob Noerby (Moegelbjergs Romeo). 

Cathrin Dufour and Bohemian headline the Danish foursome while Beatriz Ferrer-Salat and Elegance will lead the Spanish team when the action gets underway with the first group of riders in the Grand Prix on Tuesday next, 7 September. The Team medals will be decided when the Grand Prix concludes on Wednesday and the Grand Prix Special will take place on Thursday followed by the Freestyle on Saturday 11 September. 

The FEI Dressage U25 European Championships will also take place at Hagen during the week, coming to a close on Sunday 12 September. It’s going to be a great six days of top Dressage sport, so don’t miss a hoofbeat….

Details here 

 

Longines FEI Jumping European Championship 2021

The Swiss stole the show when grabbing Team gold at the Longines FEI Jumping European Championships 2021 in Riesenbeck, Germany today. The final round of the team competition was a breathtaking affair, with everything hanging in the balance to the very end when Germany had to settle for silver while the defending champions from Belgium leap-frogged Sweden to take the bronze.

Spectator numbers were limited due to pandemic restrictions, but the 2,100 who watched from the grandstands were treated to an epic day of top sport. And they too showed great sporting spirit, cheering every horse-and-athlete combination that came into the ring.

As the action began there was no room for error, as less than a fence separated the leading Swiss from the chasing Germans while Team Sweden was only one fence further behind. The Swedes couldn’t hang on however when Peder Fredricson and Catch Me Not S were the only pair in their side to keep a clean sheet.

That opened the door for the Belgians who carried 17.34 points into today’s round and added absolutely nothing. All four team-members have qualified for Sunday’s top-25 Individual final, with Pieter Devos lying third with Jade vd Bisschop, Nicola Philippaerts in seventh with Katanga v/h Dingeshof, Jos Verlooy in 17th with Varoune and Olivier Philippaerts in 21st place with Le Blue Diamond v’t Ruytershof.

The real excitement today however was the intensity of the battle between Germany and Switzerland for gold. It came right down to the wire and, not for the first time, all the pressure fell on the shoulders of Swiss anchor, Steve Guerdat, who withstood that pressure to bring it home.

Today’s victory was the fifth for Switzerland in the 46-year history of the FEI Jumping European Championships and the first since 2009. But it wouldn’t be easily won.

Kicked off

The Swiss effort kicked off with a 12-fault result for Elian Baumann and Campari Z who lowered the last element of the Longines triple combination at fence six, the oxer near the arena entrance at fence 11 and the first element of the penultimate double of uprights.

So when both Andre Thieme with DSP Chakaria and Marcus Ehning and Stargold jumped clear, then the title seemed to be slipping away from the overnight leaders and into Germany’s grasp. But youngest Swiss team member, 24-year-old Bryan Balsiger, held his nerve to bring AK’s Courage through the finish with a zero on the scoreboard, and when compatriot and defending individual champion, Martin Fuchs, did likewise with Leone Jei then things were looking a little more optimistic for the eventual winners. 

By now Germany’s Christian Kukuk and Mumbai had faulted at the triple combination, so when David Will made it all the way to the penultimate double only to fault at the first element there with C Vier, then one of those two errors had to be counted so the German team tally had risen to 12.77. 

That gave Swiss anchorman Guerdat a fence in hand, but he was hoping he didn’t need it. However that bogey triple combination played it’s part once again. He made it safely through, but Albfuehren’s Maddox got all fired up going down the line that followed it and when they turned to the oxer at fence nine the stride just didn’t come up right. With four faults now on the board they still had five obstacles to clear before the finish. Another error and the game would be over and it would be Germany in gold medal spot.

Out of control

“It wasn’t that I got worried about the mistake I had, but I got a bit nervous because I was running out of control with my horse, he got really strong after the line of the triple combination, and I had to really try to stay calm to bring him home without thinking of the result but getting him back together with me which I managed to do. The relief was great after that!”, he said. 

Guerdat’s impressive European Championship record includes team bronze in 2003, team silver in 2005, team gold in 2009 and team bronze in both 2015 and 2017. When it comes to team competition the London 2012 Olympic champions is rock-solid reliable, and today he brought it home once again.

He insisted afterwards that today’s win was very definitely not all about him. “I had pressure but no more than my colleagues here. Bryan did an unbelievable job to get us back in the race after Elian today was not as good as we expected, although he’s been amazing the first two rounds. That’s the thing, everyone wants to fight not just for himself but for the whole team, there is a great atmosphere in the team. I think it makes you strong when you fight for four and not just for yourself”, Guerdat said.

For Martin Fuchs there was another reason that today’s win was extra special. He was following in the footsteps of his father, Thomas, who was on the first Swiss team to win the title back in 1983 at Hickstead, Great Britain.

A huge moment

“It’s a huge moment for myself and my career to win alongside three friends and after my dad some years ago. It is great to bring another gold medal back to the family. It is amazing to have his knowledge with us and his precious advice as Swiss team trainer. I am so lucky to be able to do all this with him!”, said Fuchs who goes into Sunday’s Individual Final in pole position. 

Meanwhile the German team reflected on their silver medal result. Marcus Ehning was happy because he was keeping a promise to his son, Lyas. “Today is his birthday and I told him I was going to bring him a medal!”, said the man who has been at the heart of German showjumping for many years and who is lying 14th with Stargold going into the Individual medal-decider.

Andre Thieme lies second in the Individual rankings and was thrilled with his silver medal today. “It is everybody’s dream to ride a big championship in front of his home crowd!”, he said.

Rider’s mistake

David Will insisted his four faults today were “a rider’s mistake, I did not have the perfect distance and it is a shame as my horse jumped very well”, but he was still delighted with his silver medal. Christian Kukuk is pleased to be lying eighth individually with the fabulous grey stallion Mumbai. 

“The last two days everything went exactly how I wanted, but today I made it just a little too difficult for Mumbai at the last double. But he’s still only nine years old and the way he finished the course made me very proud of him. We are looking forward to Sunday!”, he said.

So is Belgium’s Pieter Devos who is lying third with the lovely mare Jade. It’s only a few weeks since he stood on the bronze medal step of the podium at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games following a great performance with another of his string of horses. 

“It is Jade’s first championship and she gives me a lot of confidence for Sunday”, he said. His Chef d’Equipe, Peter Weinberg, celebrated his team’s result today.

“We didn’t want to use the same horses who jumped the Olympics - all our horses are competing in their first championship here. Today when we walked the course we saw it was a step bigger, so ending the day with four clears, team bronze and all riders qualified for the final on Sunday - now that makes me very proud!”, he said.

Results here 

Switzerland moved into the lead in the first round of the Team competition at the Longines FEI Jumping European Championships 2021 at Riesenbeck in Germany today. However the same three countries continue to dominate the leaderboard, with the overnight leaders from Sweden now in third behind the hosts from Germany who maintained their second-place ranking. 

With one more day to decide the team medals, the result is still very much hanging in the balance because the margins are really tight.

The Swiss start tomorrow with a score of 5.47, thanks to superb clears from Elian Baumann (Campari Z), Martin Fuchs (Leone Jei) and Steve Guerdat (Albfuehren’s Maddox). Second-line rider, and at 24 years old the youngest on the team, Bryan Balsiger faulted just once on the 14-fence track when the grey mare AK’s Courage hit the water-tray oxer at fence 10 in an otherwise super round. 

However they don’t have even a fence in hand over Team Germany who added just the four picked up by their last man into the ring, David Will. Yesterday Will and C Vier were flawless and stormed into pole position individually. And they looked well on course to do it all again until falling foul of the second element of the penultimate double of oxers which proved hugely influential throughout the afternoon.

Zeros

His team-mates Andre Thieme (DSP Chakaria) and Christian Kukuk (Mumbai) had both put zeros on the board while Marcus Ehning and Stargold picked up five faults. By the time Will set off, a clear from him would secure the advantage for the host nation going into the final day. His single mistake moved their scoreline on to 8.77. but it still leaves them ahead of the first-day leaders from Sweden who slipped to third when Rolf-Goran Bengtsson and Ermindo W were the only pair to keep a clean sheet for their side. 

On a running score of 11.59 the Swedes are a fence behind the Swiss at the head of affairs but less than a fence behind the Germans.

Bengstson was delighted with his horse’s performance today, and despite the slip down the rankings he reckons the Swedes shouldn’t be written off yet for the title. “It’s still wide open - Peder (Fredricson) and Douglas (Lindelow) were unlucky, and I didn’t see Angelica go but she only picked up four faults too.

“Sometimes it’s good not to be in front on the last day because that means the other teams have to go clear and they feel the pressure. But we need clear rounds tomorrow, that’s the thing!”, he said with a big smile.

Both Andre Thieme’s DSP Chakaria and Christian Kukuk’s Mumbai were at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games just a few weeks ago, and yet produced two fantastic rounds for Germany today. 

Developmental

The two riders talked about how the trip to Japan proved developmental for both horses. 

“We all said if she’s sound and fresh when she comes home and the jumping feels normal and loose then we will come here for the European Championships. She only learned from being the Olympics. In Tokyo she was maybe a bit too green, it may have been a bit too early for her, but today she felt really good!”, Thieme said of his mare.

Kukuk said his stallion Mumbai came home fresh, and that their relationship has really grown thanks to the Tokyo experience. “I think going there made me and him, and brought us together. He is only nine years old and he was probably a bit shy in himself there, but what is very good with him is that after coming back it’s nearly like he’s thinking about it all, and when we see him now here he looks even better than before. He’s a wonderful horse, even when you have a mistake he thinks about it and wants to do it better next time”, Kukuk said today.

Meanwhile the Swiss reflected on a great day when they were the only team to produce three clear rounds to leave them in pole position going into the final day of the team competition. 

Fuchs’ tour of Frank Rothenberger’s 14-fence course was epic, Leone Jei’s extravagant jumping drawing gasps of delight from onlookers. “He has extreme potential and a huge gallop and is easy to ride. He has unlimited scope and he’s extremely good in his head - he really wants to jump!”, said the man who at 29 years old is defending the individual European title he won two years ago with the great Clooney. 

Swiss supremacy

Today’s result saw him take over the lead in the individual rankings, and it says something for Swiss supremacy when they hold three of the top-five individual placings at this stage of the competition, with Baumann and Guerdat currently sharing fourth behind Sweden’s Bengtsson in third and Germany’s Kukuk in second spot.

They may be in a strong position, but they are not getting too carried away. There’s more work to be done before those medals are presented tomorrow afternoon. 

“It’s still a long way to go, everything is still out there. The teams are quite close but our horses are jumping good and we will give it a try tomorrow”, Guerdat said.

He has had Albfuehren’s Maddox since he was seven. “He’s a Swedish horse that Peder Fredricson used to ride. He’s a really nice horse and I always thought that one day he would do something big. He didn’t win much as an 8-year-old, he started a bit last year, he’s only ten and still has a lot to improve but he’s powerful and has what it takes to jump big fences. Maybe he’s not quite ready yet to jump five big rounds but we will try”, he added. 

Mixed bag

The year 2021 has been a mixed bag for the London 2012 Olympic champion. “I’ve had great success and pleasure in my personal life, it’s been enjoyable every minute”, said the popular athlete whose daughter, Ella, was born in April. But as he pointed out today it has been a tough year from a sport point of view. In June he lost the mare he always called his “Queen”, Bianca who died of a brain tumour.

“It was not the nicest time, but it’s one of those things that happen. I was on a little bit of a down after that, I won’t say it’s because of that but sometimes things don’t go well and that’s the run I’ve been having at the moment. That’s why today was important - everything doesn’t feel as confident and smooth as normal but I have to at least fight. That’s the one thing I have control over. To show the good spirit out there, I’ve got to fight even more than normally, but this is sport, it’s what I’m trying to do and I have my horse on my side and I hope together we can fight for the best result possible!”

The battle resumes at 13.00 tomorrow. 

Results here