An intriguing day of competition saw a potential close finish to the Longines FEI Para Dressage European Championships’ team competition begin to take shape today with nations in Grades I, II and III in contention for the coveted title.

Leading the way in Grade I was Norway’s Jens-Lasse Dokkan. Fresh from his individual title win on Wednesday, Dokkan and Aladdin scored 76. 536%. “I’m really happy and satisfied with that,” he said.

Close behind him was Italy’s individual silver medallist Sara Morganti and Royal Delight, who scored 74.750%. Third highest score in the Grade went to Finland’s Katja Karjalainen on Dr Doolittle with 73.643%.

The second competition of the day saw another tussle between Grade III’s new individual European Champion, Tobias Thorning Joergensen, and The Netherlands’ triple world gold medallist Rixt van der Horst. Joergensen came out on top again with an impressive 76.382% on Jolene Hill, while van der Horst and Findsley N.O.P. scored 74.029%. Joergensen’s teammate Caroline Cecilie Nielsen and Davidoff had the third best score in the Grade, 70.088%.

Speaking after his ride Joergensen said: “I’m feeling very happy although she was a bit more tense today. I was scared I may have done too much. I wish I had a better feeling, but I will sit down and watch the video and look at the scores the judges give and see what we can do better.”

In the final competition of the day, for the grade II riders, there was delight for Great Britain’s European Championship debutant, Georgia Wilson. Having picked up a silver medal in her grade’s individual test earlier in the week, she came out on top with a score of 74.758% riding Midnight.

In doing so she knocked Austria’s Pepo Puch into second place. Puch rode Sailor’s Blue to score 74.152%, edging out The Netherlands’ Nicole Den Dulk and Wallace N.O.P, who scored 73.364%.

Clearly enjoying every minute of her first major championships, Wilson said: “He felt very good. We practise and practise our transitions so they go nice and smoothly and I was really pleased with my free walk. And my accuracy and halts were apparently square.

“I’m finding the whole experience very different to a normal international. I get a day off between rides and have been able to enjoy the show jumping and dressage too. My medal ceremony was amazing and scary at the same time. I said to Pepo <Puch, the gold medal winner> ‘This is my first time. You have to show me what to do’.”

Germany, traditionally a strong team contender, are effectively out of the competition now. Their two riders from today, Elke Philipp in Grade I and Steffen Zeibig in Grade III, both failed to break the crucial 70% mark, making it now virtually impossible for the country to make the podium.

Officially, the current lead in the competition belongs to Portugal. Its three riders all competed today and scored of 188.591%. Austria are in second place with 145.224% with one rider left to perform, and Italy are third with 144.357%, also with one more rider to come.

That will change tomorrow though as the main competitors for the three medals all have two more riders to perform in Grades IV and V. They include The Netherlands’ Frank Hosmar and Sanne Voets, Great Britain’s Sophie Wells, and Belgium’s Michele George.

Crunching the numbers suggest that The Netherlands remain the favourites for the gold, with fierce competition between Belgium, Denmark and Great Britain for the other two medals.

In a mighty battle between two of the sport’s true greats, Isabell Werth, the lady recognised as the reigning Queen of international Dressage, won through once again in the Grand Prix Special at the Longines FEI Dressage European Championships 2019 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands tonight.

Two years ago in Gothenburg, Sweden, Werth pinned team-mate Sonke Rothenberger into silver medal spot, and this time around it was her other German compatriot, Dorothee Schneider, who had to settle for second place. But Schneider chased her right to the line with a brilliant performance from Showtime this evening, and was overwhelmed with emotion afterwards. 

“This is the greatest day of my life, my first individual medal!” said the double-Olympian. “I had one mistake in the flying changes because I lost a stirrup - I have to talk to my trainer about doing some lunging again! I’ve been riding this horse for 10 years now and he is so amazing. I’m really proud to be sitting in second place tonight behind Isabell!” she said. 

She established the lead with just five left to go on a mark of 85.456 but Werth overtook her with another of her show-stopping rides on the mare she most adores, posting the winning score of 86.520. “I know that with Bella Rose everything is possible and it is up to me to make it happen. The piaffe/passage could not be better than it was tonight, the feeling was outstanding  and the atmosphere was really special!” she said. 

Bronze went to Cathrine Dufour and Atterupgaards Cassidy, the pair who really put themselves onto centre stage when also third in the Grand Prix Special and Freestyle at the 2017 Europeans. They posted 81.337 just before Schneider came into the ring but, typically modest, the Danish rider didn’t think that was good enough for a podium placing and headed back to the stables with her little chestnut gelding only to get the call-up to return to the arena. And that took a bit of reorganisation.

“I didn’t think I would get a medal so I told my groom to unplait him, so we had to put the plaits back in again - it was a bit of a surprise - but I’m so happy with Cassidy, he’s now 16 but he’s in such great shape!” she said. 

Age is but a number to the horses competing this week, and there was huge excitement in the Irish camp when Judy Reynolds and her 17-year-old gelding Vancouver K separated the two remaining members of Tuesday’s gold-medal-winning German team, Jessica von Bredow-Werndl who slotted into fourth with TSF Dalera BB and Sonke Rothenberger and Cosmo in sixth place. Scoring 78.252, Reynolds finished fifth and set her second Irish record score of the week having helped secure an Olympic team qualifying spot for her country with another brilliant performance on Tuesday.

This evening’s competition had a real buzz about it and Judge a C, Susanne Baarup, said the Ground Jury enjoyed every moment of it. “It was an amazing class and also very exciting to judge because a lot of riders had some problems in there. I think as a judge it’s very emotional, we get goose-bumps, and we give 9s and 10s and we think my god where do we end here! It’s really just the small details that separate the riders. We talked afterwards and said we want to do it again, we want to see them again, and of course we will do that on Saturday in the Freestyle, and we are really looking forward to it!”

Results here 

Watch highlights here 

Dutch Paralympic riders thrilled the home crowd by taking both gold medals on offer today at the Longines FEI Para Dressage European Championships in Rotterdam.

Leading the charge was Paralympic and triple world gold medallist Sanne Voets in grade IV’s individual test, swiftly followed this afternoon by Frank Hosmar in grade V’s competition. Both riders successfully defended their titles from the last European championships in Gothenburg in 2017.

Voets’ win came on Demantur Rs2 N.O.P., with a score of 76.659%. And in a straight replication of Gothenburg’s competition, silver went to Belgium’s Manon Claeys  on San Dior with 73.805%, and the bronze to Sweden’s Louise Etzner Jakobsson with 72.902% on Zernard.

Clearly emotional after her first major international win in front of a home crowd, Voets said: “I’m European champion again. I love that. I am thrilled.

“I was really pleased with him [Demantur Rs2 N.O.P.]. I had a little hiccup in my first transition and that was my mistake. This horse knows what to do but waits for me to say ‘when’ so he was a bit confused. But I can’t blame him.

“I’ve been nervous all week. I arrived on Sunday and then had to wait three days to ride. When I woke up today I was happy to get started.”

Claeys was delighted with her silver too, adding: “It feels really good. Sanne deserves to be number one, but I’m very happy with the test today.”

Hosmar’s gold came on his long term partner, Alphaville N.O.P.. The pair have been a team since the London 2012 Paralympic Games and today scored a personal best of 75.810%. His close rival and world number one, Great Britain’s Sophie Wells, took the silver on C Fatal Attraction with  75.595%. And in a major surprise, just weeks into their riding partnership, Belgium’s Michele George stormed back to a championship podium for the first time since Rio 2016 to take the bronze on Best of 8 with 72.571%.

“I’m really delighted,” Hosmar said. “He was so nice and every step I could manage him. He was totally controlled and that’s what I like. I’m enjoying the home competition and there are many more people here from where I live including my friends and family who can come and watch.”

Wells was philosophical about her second place and said: “He was a little tense. He didn’t notice anything as we went in but then it was as if he thought ‘oh there’s a lot of people here’. But that’s horses isn’t it?”

Wells also scored the first 10 of the championships but laughed: “Started to go downhill from there though.”

Outside of the medals there was better news today for Great Britain’s Nicky Greenhill in grade IV. She’s her country’s first ever visually impaired rider at a major competition and is making her European debut. It’s fair to say she’s not had the easiest of starts though.

For starters she’s here on her reserve horse, King Edward I, after her usual ride Betty Boo was left at home. Then her guide dog Sparky had some transportation issues with certain local taxis, and her husband Gary, who calls for her in the arena so she knows where she is, lost his voice. To cap it all, she was stung by a wasp and ended up taking a precautionary visit to hospital with anaphylactic shock.

Today though, she came a solid fourth in her grade, and was delighted with that result. Writing on her Facebook page she said: “Wow, what a day. I think I have proven now that I can cope with most challenges that are thrown at me.”

After two days of competition the Dutch are firmly at the head of the para dressage medal table with two golds, a silver and a bronze. Denmark, Norway and Austria are equal second with a gold each, while Great Britain are third with two silvers. Belgium has one silver and two bronzes.

The championships now have two days of team competition ahead. If the medals are anything to go by, that’s likely to be a tight battle between the home nation, the Brits, the Germans, the Danes and the Belgians.

Germany drops to silver medal spot, British move up to third

In a thrilling second day of competition at the Longines FEI Jumping European Championships 2019 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands today, Team Belgium rocketed up from overnight eighth place into pole position when they were the only side to produce three clear rounds.

Dutch course designer, Louis Konickx, turned up the heat with a significantly bigger track, and from the 68 starters that included 9 individuals not competing in teams, there were only 11 foot-perfect runs around his 14-fence course.

The first-day leaders from Germany slipped to silver medal spot, the French dropped from second to fourth, and Great Britain climbed from fourth to overtake the third-placed Swedish side. And, adding to the heat of excitement, the battle for the three Olympic qualifying spots on offer also saw some shuffling with Belgium, Britain and France now well-placed going into tomorrow’s medal-decider.

Germany looked set for another great day when reigning World Champion, Simone Blum, kicked off with another lovely clear from DSP Alice. But when Christian Ahlmann and Clintrexo Z hit both the vertical after the open water at fence 8 and the oxer at 11, and Marcus Ehning also double-faulted with Comme Il Faut, then they began to lose their grip. Despite a brilliant last-to-go clear from Daniel Deusser and Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z, they had to add one of those eight-fault scores to their tally.

Both France and Sweden added 12 and dropped off a potential medal position, but the British posted just the four picked up at the water by anchorman Scott Brash and Hello M’Lady, because Ben Maher (Explosion W) and Holly Smith (Hearts Destiny) made no mistake, so Amanda Derbyshire’s eight faults (Luibanta BH) could be discounted. 

Meanwhile the Belgians began climbing up the order with clears from both Pieter Devos with Claire Z and Jos Verlooy and Igor. They faltered with two down for Jérôme Guery and Quel Homme de Hus, but when Gregory Wathelet sailed home with their third foot-perfect run of the day they suddenly found themselves sitting pretty at the very top of the leaderboard because it’s the best three scores per nation that count. 

“We knew that after today we would have quite some changes on the leaderboard….the boys did a fantastic job, and the horses jumped amazing!” said Belgian Chef d’Equipe Peter Weinberg.

Pathfinder Pieter Devos said, “the course designer did a great job today. It was much more technical, you had to ride with a plan to the very last fence but it was a horse-friendly course. We can go to day three tomorrow with the horses not being in the red, and this is always good”, he pointed out. 

Jérôme Guery explained that this is a first championship for his 13-year-old stallion. “I knew the vertical after the water would be difficult, and the triple combination was really short for me, but I am happy and lucky to have a strong team with me. I am only riding this horse for the last six months, he’s a slow horse but with a big canter. I use his big strides to be on time, and I always have to keep an eye on it” he added.

Wathelet’s horse is also a Championship first-timer, but he’s been riding the 11-year-old grey stallion, MJT Nevados S, since he was six so they know each other very well.  “We now have a team of horses that are more experienced and we feel better and better each year” he said. 

At 23 years of age Jos Verlooy is by far the youngest in the Belgian side, but he already has plenty of mileage on his career clock and this week his 11-year-old chestnut gelding is competing at Championship level for a second time. “He was in Tryon (at the FEI World Equestrian Games 2018), but he didn’t do too much this year so we could keep him fresh and fit for this Championship” he explained. It seems that decision is paying off in spade-loads because not only is his team out in front today but he personally sits in sixth place individually and a spot in Sunday’s top-25 individual final looks very much on the cards.

Asked if he thinks his team can hold on to gold medal position at the end of tomorrow’s last round of the team competition in which only the top 10 nations will battle it out, Chef d’Equipe Peter Weinberg said, “we will try very hard, but our first goal is to qualify for Tokyo and anything else will be a bonus on top of that!”

Britain’s Ben Maher has moved up to pole position in the individual rankings ahead of Swiss star Steve Guerdat while Frenchman Alexis Deroubaix is lying third ahead of Germany’s Daniel Deusser in fourth place. First-day leader, Sweden’s Peder Fredricson, dropped to eighth with a fence down today, but he’s only a fence off the leader, while in the team rankings there’s less than a fence separating the top three nations.

Results here 

Watch highlights here 

Defending individual champion Peder Fredricson from Sweden wins opening class in style

Germany took the lead with four fantastic performances in the Speed class on the opening day of the Longines FEI Jumping European Championships 2019 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands this afternoon.

Reigning World Champions, Simone Blum and DSP Alice, were first to go and estabished the early lead with a sensational round. And when team-mates Christian Ahlmann and Clintrexo Z and Marcus Ehning with Comme Il Faut were even quicker, and then Daniel Deusser wrapped it all up with a stunning run from Scuderia 1018 Tobago Z, Germany couldn’t be touched at the top of the leaderboard.

However first-day results are reconfigured into points, and when the team competition proper gets underway tomorrow with the first of two rounds that will lead to the medal ceremony on Friday, they have only a narrow advantage over France. And there’s less than a single fence between them and Team Sweden in third place. Great Britain and Switzerland are just over two fences behind, while the defending champions from Ireland and Team Israel are also in hot pursuit in sixth and seventh places respectively. 

A total of 15 nations started the competition today, and 10 of them are also hunting down one of the three team qualifying spots on offer for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. So, just as it was in the Dressage Team Championship earlier in the week, the next two days of competition will be as much about good placings as they will be about getting on the medal podium, and once again Team Germany is in command at the outset.

Course designer Louis Konickx presented a great first-day challenge in which the narrow Longines wall at fence five, the 4-metre-wide open water at nine and the penultimate double that led the way down the final line all proved influential. Strong as the German contingent were today however, it was the defending individual gold-medal-winning partnership of Peder Fredricson and H&M All In who topped the individual leaderboard ahead of Austria’s Max Kuhner with Chardonnay in second and Britain’s Ben Maher and Explosion in third.

Fredricson said “it was a really nice course. You had to get going straight away between fences 1 and 2, you had to make a decision if you wanted to do seven or eight strides, and that set the pace for the rest of the course. All In is an unbelievable horse, and the plan today wasn’t actually that I had to win, but I wanted to be quick enough so that if I had a fence down I would still be in the competition”. 

Kuhner, who has made a great recovery following a shoulder operation three months ago, was delighted to find himself in runner-up spot because he says his Chardonnay is not the quickest horse “but we improve together and we get a little faster with age!”

Maher was second-last to go of today’s 70 starters. “It’s always hard to wait until the very end, I didn’t get to see Peder or Max go. Explosion is naturally a fast horse, and he was very excited to be here yesterday, he was fresher than normal. I just couldn’t take a big risk today on the line with the Longines wall, that’s where these guys were better than me today. Explosion has won a lot but he’s young and he’s being a little bit careful sometimes at these jumps”, he explained.

He said the British have team gold as their target but you could tell this afternoon that the Germans, who hold the record with seven team golds in the 62-year history of the European Championships, are feeling fairly confident even though Christian Ahlmann insisted, “we’ve had a good start but its not much more, there’s a long way to go.” His breathtaking round with Clintrexo really bolstered their position, and this pair look to have a great week ahead of them, leading all the way up to Sunday’s individual final.

“He’s a breeding stallion but you can’t feel it, he’s a very kind and sweet horse, very positive and really quiet. He’s a bit shy in the warm-up so you have to be aware of that, but in the ring he is fighting for his rider. He’s not spooky at all, so he makes your life easy!”, said Ahlmann who finished fourth today ahead of Swiss star Steve Guerdat and his super-mare, Albfuehren’s Bianca, in fifth.

Results here 

Watch highlights here 

The Longines FEI European Para Dressage Championships got off to the most dramatic start possible today with a tie at the top of the Grade I individual competition, an exceptionally rare event in the sport.

Norway’s Jens-Lasse Dokkan (Aladdin) and Italy’s Sara Morganti (Royal Delight) both scored 75.036%, with Dokkan given the gold after the final four collective marks were tallied. Sport results don’t get any closer than that!

Dokkan has been riding at top international level for well over 20 years and competed at the first ever Paralympic equestrian competition in Atlanta (USA) in 1996. He hasn’t won at this level for 10 years but that changed today. “It feels great, my first ever individual title,” he said. “I’ve only had Aladdin since October and our first competition was in March. This is fantastic and gives me motivation to work to hopefully take part in my seventh Paralympics in Tokyo next year.”

The moment was bittersweet for Morganti. The triple world gold medallist has yet to win a European title, and a nervous start to her test on Royal Delight which scored just 5.9 clearly cost her a comfortable gold here in Rotterdam. “The horse was a little bit behind me today,” she explained. “It was difficult for me because I needed a lot of energy to bring her forward. But it’s OK. I was dreaming for a medal and coming second with the same score as first place is amazing.”

Latvia’s Rihards Snikus took a solid bronze with King of the Dance after scoring 74.821%.

There was drama in Grade III too, when Denmark’s Tobias Thorning Joergensen upset the form books by taking the individual title ahead of home favourite and triple 2018 world champion, Rixt van der Horst. Riding Jolene Hill, Joergensen scored 75.706% with van der Horst and Findsley N.O.P. one point behind with 74.706%.

A clearly delighted Joergensen said of being European champion: “It sounds amazing. I’m just so happy. It’s incredible. I knew there were a few riders who could beat me. I was nervous but I stayed at the arena and watched every single one, hoping for them not to pass me.

 “I’ve only been on the scene for two years and got my horse just four months ago, so this means everything to me. She is amazing to ride and amazing every day. She is so kind she would go through fire and water for me.”

And Para Dressage’s only side-saddle rider Barbara Minneci picked up her first ever medal at a major international, taking the bronze on Stuart with a score of 70.382%. “I was not here to do a medal,” she laughed. “I was just here for the team. I’m really happy because I love my horse and I think he has a lot of potential and today showed that. And there is still more to show.”

In Grade II, Austria’s Pepo Puch affirmed his place as one of the biggest names in Para Dressage, taking the win on Sailor’s Blue with a score of 75.235%. That put him ahead of British debutant Georgia Wilson, who rode Midnight to a mark of 73.471%. The Netherlands’ Nicole den Dulk claimed bronze with Wallace N.O.P. on 73.353%.

Puch said: “I was so happy. The horse was so concentrated. He’s so great. It’s difficult for me to sit down and relax which is my problem. So like my horse, I have to train my body to be relaxed and smooth.”

And Georgia Wilson was also thrilled with her performance. “It was nerve-wracking but good,” she said. “I’m glad the first one’s out the way and I can build on things for the second test.”

Last – and somewhat surprising – word of the day though belongs to Joergensen. When asked about his plans to celebrate his first major international title he laughed: “I just want to go back to my hotel and sleep,” he said. “I’m so tired!”

Click here for the full results.

Germany claimed the team title for a staggering 24th time at the Longines FEI European Dressage Championships 2019 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands today where the hosts scooped silver and Sweden snatched the bronze.

The battle for medal placings was intense, and so too was the contest for the three available qualifying spots at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games which eventually went to Denmark, Ireland and Portugal.

On an extraordinary afternoon of high drama, German superstar Isabell Werth posted the biggest score of the competition with 85.652 from Bella Rose to secure the title and collect her 22nd European Championship medal and the 11th European team gold of her illustrious career. The stage looked set for Great Britain to bag the silver, but elimination for the penultimate partnership of Charlotte Dujardin and Mt St John Freestyle under the blood rule dropped her team to fourth, so it was the Dutch and Swedes who filled the lower steps of the podium.

The winning German side consisted of all four gold medallists from last year’s FEI World Equestrian Games™ in Tryon (USA), the only difference being the replacement of Dorothee Schneider’s ride, Sammy Davis Jr, with Showtime who posted yesterday’s biggest score. Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and TSF Dalera BB opened the German account yesterday morning, and when Sonke Rothenberger added 79.084 this morning, and then Werth and her 15-year-old mare put 85.652 on the board, the defending champions were never going to be overtaken.

It was another masterclass from the legend that is Werth, the most medalled athlete in the history of equestrian sport who said that today’s win was extra special because she achieved it with her beloved Bella Rose. “She was really brilliant, I’m happy and proud, both of us enjoyed the competition”, she said. 

Werth, Schneider and Rothenberger were also all on Germany’s triumphant 2017 European side along with Helen Langehanenberg, but despite having another European gold medal around his neck, Rothenberger wasn’t entirely satisfied with his own performance. “We came here with a really strong team knowing all horses scored already over 80%, so we expected quite a bit, but as you will see today it’s always a different story when you have to put it on the day in the ring. I was quite nervous for my own test…I couldn’t ride the perfectly precise round that we had in Aachen, but I’m looking forward to the following days and it was super fun to have such amazing colleagues who put down such amazing rounds!” he said.

Lying second as the day began, it seemed the British would cruise into silver medal spot when Carl Hester and Hawtins Delicato posted 78.323 with Dujardin still to come. But as the riders were preparing for the prizegiving the news of her elimination filtered through and Sweden moved up to bronze and the Dutch into silver medal spot.

Anne Meulendijks (MDH Avanti NOP) was the Dutch pathfinder yesterday with a score of 71.801 and Hans Peter Minderhoud (Glock’s Dream NOP) followed with a mark of 75.295. Today Emmelie Scholtens posted 76.087 with Desperado NOP and when Edward Gal followed that with 78.758 from Glock’s Zonik NOP then the hosts were always going to take a podium placing. 

Gal joked however that his stallion was a little distracted in the warm-up ring this afternoon.  “There were all the mares I think that were in the competition in the same warm-up as me, so he was really wild - in the end they went away and I had five minutes when I could ride normal and then it was quite ok. But then in the ring I felt the concentration was a bit down….but luckily everything went well and the points were also nice so that’s why we are here now!” he explained. 

Minderhoud described this afternoon as “really crazy because we were counting all the time for the scores”, and pointed out that this result means a lot to the host nation. “It was four years ago we had a medal, and I can tell you it’s not so nice to travel to Tryon (USA, for the FEI World Equestrian Games 2018) and to travel to Rio (BRA, 2016 Olympic Games) and not have a medal in your suitcase when you come back!” So today felt pretty good. 

Sweden’s Patrick Kittel was also delighted to find himself and his team that included Therese Nilshagen and Antonia and Juliette Ramel, on the podium. “Today was quite something, like Hans Peter said it was like a roller-coaster. At first I was almost biting the sand - I thought it was going to be another Tryon again, 0.2 away from the medal, but in the end it worked out and we’ve had amazing sport and seen amazing horses!”

The individual standings in the Grand Prix showed Werth, Schneider and Rothenberger with the top three scores followed by Gal in fourth, Denmark’s Daniel Bachmann Andersen in fifth and Britain’s Hester just ahead of Kittel in sixth place. The top-30 individuals go through to Thursday’s Grand Prix Special in which Werth and Rothenberger will be defending the gold and silver they won in Gothenburg (SWE) two years ago.

Results here 

Watch highlights here 

Team Germany took the first step on the road to their 24th team title when Dorothee Schneider and Jessica von Bredow-Werndl posted the two best scores on the opening day of the Longines FEI Dressage European Championships 2019 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands today.

Von Bredow-Werndl’s 76.894 with TSF Dalera BB topped the leaderboard until the closing stages when Schneider overtook her with a mark of 80.233 for a fabulous test with Showtime FRH. And with team-mates Sonke Rothenberger riding Cosmo and the legendary Isabell Werth riding Bella Rose still to come when the competition resumes tomorrow, it seems the destiny of gold is all but already assured.

“I’m very happy to be in this team, I’m proud to be here and I’m very happy with my test!” said double-Olympian Schneider. Talking about her horse’s performance she said there were “some very, very good parts, and in other parts he was a bit nervous, but altogether I am happy to have this result for the team and to be here and to have a fit horse!” she added.

That’s because the 13-year-old gelding with which she won team gold at the Rio 2016  Olympic Games is making a very significant comeback. 

“Showtime was two years out, but at the beginning of this year we started him again and he’s getting better and better - in his concentration he was very good at the  German Championships (in June) and he was very, very good in Aachen (in July) so it’s very emotional for me to have this horse under me again, and to feel how motivated he is!” she explained.

A superb personal-best Grand Prix score of 76.351 from Gareth Hughes with Classic Briolinca helped put Great Britain into silver-medal-spot going into the second day. “I couldn’t be happier!” he said at this evening’s press conference. 

“She’s had her injuries as well, she’s had a stop-start career at Grand Prix so she’s still quite inexperienced, but we’ve had a good season up to this. She suffers sometimes from nerves, she’s usually not very good at halting or walking, but today she was excellent, she was focused so I just had to point, keep her head up and use my leg when I needed to, and she took care of the rest!” said the rider who was a member of Britain’s silver-medal-winning team at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 in Caen, France. 

His compatriot, 23-year-old Charlotte Fry, produced a stunning senior championship debut to put 74.317 on the board with Dark Legend earlier in the day, and Hughes said, “Lottie did a great job, her first championship and she’s so young, she has nerves of steel….she’s another Charlotte (Dujardin)! She laid down a really good score to start with, and that always gives the second rider confidence. It’s a long day to hang around and wait, it’s a big build-up to going into the arena but we’re in a good position, and now it’s up to the two famous Brits to come out tomorrow and show what they can do!” he pointed out, referring to the remaining two British team members Charlotte Dujardin and Carl Hester.

And Sweden lies third going into the second day of action following a 74.224 for pathfinders Antonia Ramel with Brother de Jeu and 75.466 from Therese Nilshagen riding Dante Weltino OLD. This leaves Nilshagen in individual fourth spot behind Hughes, “but I’m not super-happy with my own ride today because I made a very big mistake in the one-tempis” she said. “I think I must have done something wrong, and that cost us a lot of points and that’s a pity….but the rest was quite good and I hope that my team-mates will be much better than I was so we’ll see!” she added this evening.

It’s still all very much to play for, with The Netherlands lying a close fourth ahead of Denmark in fifth, Portugal in sixth, Switzerland in seventh, Spain in eighth and Russia in ninth place. And apart from the European medals up for grabs there is massive tension between the countries as yet not qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games who are battling for the three places on offer in this European team contest.

Chasing down those three spots are Denmark, Portugal and Switzerland along with Ireland, France, Austria, Belgium and Finland - the latter five nations holding 10th to 14th places on the team leaderboard going into tomorrow’s medal-deciding second-half of the competition. A total of 15 nations started today but the three-member side from Luxembourg are now out of contention after elimination for their pathfinder, Nicolas Wagner (Quater Back Junior).

Results here

Watch highlights here 

FEI researches equine health and performance at Tokyo 2020 test event

With optimising performance in challenging climatic conditions high on the agenda during the numerous Ready Steady Tokyo test events, the FEI had already put in place a major research study aimed at identifying best practices and management of horses training and competing in hot and humid environments.

Long travelling times and distances, time-zone disruptions, and heat and humidity pose specific challenges to horses and of course to human athletes. Monitoring of the combined effects of all these factors was put in place prior to the horses’ departure from their home countries en route to Tokyo and throughout last week’s equestrian test event in the Japanese capital. Data collected will be used to provide the FEI, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee (TOCOG) as well as National Olympic and Paralympic Committees with detailed information on equine performance in these conditions. 

“High level equestrian competitions are increasingly taking place in parts of the world where the climate poses health challenges for both humans and horses,” FEI Veterinary Director Göran Akerström said.

“The study plays a crucial role in guiding the TOCOG and other Organising Committees on appropriate facilities and support, and will be used to advise and guide athletes and National Federations on the preparation of their horses in the build-up to and during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

The study monitored horses before, during and after their journey to Tokyo, with data collected through under-tail temperature monitors and sensors that measure stable and travelling activity, as well as thermal comfort. SaddleClip sensors were used to record gait, speed and distance, and heart rate monitors were used on the horses prior to and during competition. The technology for the data collection was made possible through the FEI’s partnerships with Epona Biotec, Arioneo, Equestic and Polar.

Findings from the study will build on the existing framework for implementing measures to run equestrian sports in hot and humid climates that was developed for the Games in Atlanta 1996 and the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Hong Kong. Olympic test events prior to Atlanta 1996, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 also included organised monitoring of competing horses.

To ensure that NOCs and NFs are fully aware of the climatic challenges, the FEI included an information session on climate mitigation protocols aimed at minimising the effects of heat and humidity in the official Observers Programme, which ran concurrently with the test event.

During next year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, equestrian sport will be held at the Baji Koen Equestrian Park and Sea Forest venues. Baji Koen, which hosted the Olympic equestrian events at the Tokyo Games in 1964, has been extensively refurbished by the Japan Racing Association, while the cross country venue at Sea Forest that will be shared with rowing and canoe sprint is on reclaimed land and will be turned into a park post-Games.

Photo caption: A major research study aimed at identifying best practices and management of horses training and competing in hot and humid environments was conducted by the FEI during last week’s Ready Steady Tokyo test event, where Japan’s Ryuzo Kitajima and Vick Du Grisors JRA finished second overall. (FEI/Yusuke Nakanishi)

Notes to Editors

About Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) www.fei.org

The FEI is the world governing body for horse sport recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and was founded in 1921. Equestrian sport has been part of the Olympic movement since the 1912 Games in Stockholm.

The FEI became one of the first international sports governing bodies to govern and regulate global para sport alongside its seven able-bodied disciplines when Para Dressage joined its ranks in 2006. The FEI now governs all international competitions for Para Dressage and Para Driving.

The FEI is the sole controlling authority for all international events in the Olympic sports of Jumping, Dressage and Eventing, as well as Driving, Endurance, Vaulting and Reining.

The next generation do themselves proud…

The Viking raiders from Denmark claimed all before them in Dressage, Team Great Britain swamped all-comers in Eventing and Irish eyes were smiling when they claimed all gold in Jumping at the FEI European Pony Championships 2019 staged in the Hippodrome at Morawa in Strzegom, Poland.

A total of 153 riders aged between 12 and 16 years and representing 18 countries competed over five days of fast and furious action that began on 14 August and concluded today (18 August).  

Dressage

The Danes were first to stand on the top step of the podium when taking Dressage team gold on Thursday. Their final scoreline of 226.829 gave Alexander Yde Helgstrand (Adriano B), Liva Addy Guldager Nielsen (D’Artagnan), Nathalie Thomassen (Lykkehoejs Dream of Dornik) and Thilde Rude Hare (Morgensterns Dakar) a narrow advantage over the Dutch side of Micky Schelstraete (Elin’s Noncisdador), Floor van der Kuijl (Champ of Daily), Robin Heiden (Colourfull Cannonball) and Evi van Rooij (King Stayerhof’s Jango) who had to settle for the silver on 25.771.

Bronze went to Team Germany’s Shona Benner (Der Kleine Sunnyboy We), Lana-Pinou Baumburtel (Zinq Massimiliano FH), Antonia Busch-Kuffner (Daily Pleasure) and Rose Oatley (Daddy Moon). And such was the pure quality of the performances on all of the medal-winning teams that only 1.914 penalty points separated the gold medallists from their rivals in bronze who totalled 224.915.

Helgstrand made it a triple celebration when going on to take both the Individual and Freestyle titles. In both cases it was team-mate Nielsen who finished in silver medal position ahead of Germany’s Benner in bronze. 

This was the perfect finale to Helgstrand’s pony career, as the talented young man who turns 16 in November is ready to move onto horses next year. His father is double-Olympian Andreas Helgstrand who took team bronze at the Beijing Games in Hong Kong in 2008 and individual silver at the FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen (GER) in 2015, and his mother Marianne is also a highly competitive rider so Alexander has Dressage in his genes. 

The Individual class was run over two days, and he had an anxious wait before the first of his two individual victories was confirmed. “It was really exciting until the last moment, and after last rider I was so happy, so it’s incredible! Adriano B is super sweet, he is a nice and relaxed pony, but when he is on a track at the show he is fighting!”, the new individual champion explained. And then the pair went on to do it again, posting a magnificent 82.140 to win the Freestyle in fine style. 

Eventing

In Eventing the British took command in the Dressage phase and didn’t let go, pinning France into silver medal spot while Ireland claimed team bronze. And Team GBR very nearly filled all three steps of the individual podium too, with Finn Healy (Midnight Dancer) taking the gold ahead of Ibbie Watson (Bookhamlodge Pennylane), while Freya Partridge (Master Macky) lined up in fourth.  

However it looked as though it was their team-mate Daisy Bathe (SF Detroit) who was destined for the Individual honours when she went into today’s showjumping phase with nothing to add to her fantastic Dressage score of 26.8. But the track proved testing all morning, and when she had a stop late on the course and then a fence down, the addition of 10.28 penalty points saw her drop to seventh in the final analysis.

Bronze went to Italy’s Camilla Luciani (Camelot Damgaard) who moved up from seventh after Dressage to third after a brilliant cross-country run, and whose single showjumping error still left her secure on the third step of the podium and well clear of fourth-place Partridge.

The final British team score was 101.8, so they had a significant winning margin over the French side of Lisa Gualtieri (O Ma Doue Kersidal), Louise Petitjean (Versailled des Morins), Jonas de Vericourt (Vidock de Berder) and Lilou Ducastaing (Winnetou) who completed with 120.1 on the board. Ireland’s Grace Tyrell (Fiona’s Fionn), Alex Connors (Millridge Buachaill Bui), Brian Kuehnle (Tullibards Sixth Sense) and Tiggy Hancock (Coppenagh Spring Sparrow) moved up from fourth to third after good cross-country performances and stayed there when completing on a tally of 131.6.

Reflecting on a brilliant result for himself and his team, newly-crowned individual champion, Britain’s Finn Healy, said “it was a testing cross-country track yesterday, very technical, it required some reactive riding, but we all did that and got ourselves into the position to win. It hasn’t really sunk in yet - it’s a dream come true!” 

Jumping

The Jumping team Championship was a real thriller, with two separate jump-offs to decide both gold and bronze. 

France and Germany, each carrying 12 faults, contested third place and it was the French foursome of Jeanne Hirel (Armene du Costilg), Ilona Mezzadri (Callas Rezidal Z), Pauline Scalabre (Sligo de Mormal) and Romane Orhant (Quabar des Monceaux) who squeezed their German opponents off the podium. Both sides added four faults to their scorelines but the French were considerably faster, posting 136.75 while Germany returned in the combined time of 148.32 seconds.

As if that wasn’t exciting enough it was edge-of-the seat stuff when Ireland’s John McEntee (Little Smithe), Niamh McEvoy (Ardfry Skye) and brothers Tom Wachman (Ocean des As) and Max Wachman (Cuffesgrange Cavalidam) took on Britain’s Shaunie Greig (Casino Royale), Claudia Moore (Elando van de Roshoeve), Lily Bremner (Lapislazuli) and Holly Truelove (Rexter D’Or). 

Tied on a two-round total of four faults, and with gold hanging in the balance, both teams produced three more clear rounds and it was Max Wachman’s breath-taking last-to-go run that swung it in Ireland’s favour. Breaking the beam in 40.22 seconds he rounded their total to 129 seconds which left Ireland just 1.72 seconds quicker than Britain in silver medal spot. 

And then Max Wachman made it double-gold today when the grandson of world-famous thoroughbred horse producers John and Sue Magnier from Coolmore Stud in County Tipperary was the only rider to complete all five Championship rounds on a zero score. 

It took yet another jump-off, this time between Great Britain’s Holly Truelove and Italy’s Ilona Mezzadri to decide Jumping silver and bronze, and, first to go, Truelove came off best when Mezzadri left two on the floor.