The champions’ pumping fists and laps of honour at the eventing World Championships make the headlines, but further down the team results nations were battling it out for Olympic qualification.
Ireland had a tantalising tussle with the US and Switzerland for the bronze medal, eventually having to settle for the dubious honour of fourth behind America.
Medals seem like the be-all and end-all in elite sport, but Ireland achieved the key milestone of qualifying for the LA Olympics at the first opportunity as one of the top seven finishers. Other leading nations like France and Australia will have to try again for qualification next year after failing to field three finishing scores.
Ireland’s five riders (including individual Georgie Goss) all produced super clears across country – the only nation to do so – which moved the team up from seventh after dressage to fourth. Aoife Clark and Austin O’Connor both finished top 20 in the nearly 90-strong field.
Ireland briefly flip-flopped with Switzerland into the bronze slot during the showjumping phase, but the podium wasn’t to be. The US trio conjured three clears and leapfrogged into bronze.
Aoife Clark was the highest placed Irish rider in 11th on the Ace of Spades Syndicate’s 11-year-old Full Monty De Lacense. She rolled a pole on the final day, but moved up a place. A clear would have put her ninth.
“It’s pretty special. You feel disappointed to be out of the top 10 but it’s the top 10 in the world and he is knocking at the door,” said Aoife. “I’m really excited about the future with him, and it’s great for the Irish team.
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“We were maybe just nudged out of fighting for a medal today with a few unlucky rails but it’s great that we are in that position.
“We have young horses – we’ve got a 10-year-old, two 11-year-olds and a 12-year-old, and ‘Salty’ [17-year-old Colorado Blue] of course. That’s exciting.”
“We were just nudged out of fighting for a medal today, but the future is exciting”
Ireland’s Aoife Clark
How nations scooped their Olympic tickets
The top seven nations from Aachen earned their ticket to LA28. As the US has automatic qualification as the home nation in Los Angeles, their team bronze meant that Belgium, eighth in the results, also secured a berth.
Belgium had a ding-dong battle with their neighbours the Netherlands throughout the first reverse-order showjumping session as these two nations switched between the two crucial eighth and ninth places.
Lara de Liedekerke-Meier (Kiarado D’Arville) produced the clear round inside the time that put Belgium through.
“We were under a lot of pressure for the Olympic ticket and nothing was going our way from the beginning. Then this morning, [when I was sent to] the holding box I felt it was not going to be my weekend,” said Lara.
“When the first Dutch had a couple of poles down, I thought maybe if I jumped clear it would be enough. Then you have to ride for the fun of it, as well as for your country.
“But it’s so much less pressure for next year, building up the next generation without worrying about the qualification. I am so relieved.
“My horse is only 10 years old and has such a bright future ahead of him.”
Olympic-qualified nations after Aachen eventing World Championships
Germany
Britain
US (automatic qualification as home nation)
Ireland
Switzerland
New Zealand
Sweden
Belgium
Louise Romeike and Caspian 15 finish 15th and lift Sweden into seventh overall
(Image credit: Peter Nixon)
Eventing World Championships team results: the surprises
Several leading nations did not achieve qualification for LA28, including Paris silver and bronze medallists France and Japan, and four-time team gold medallists Australia.
Japan and Australia both failed to bring three counting scores home on cross-country. While France did post three cross-country clears, they had slipped from third after dressage to sixth. Shortly before the final horse inspection, Nicolas Touzaint withdrew Diabolo Menthe, and so France were out of contention before the showjumping began.
There are more opportunities to qualify next year, ahead of the deadline of 31 December 2027. The team competition at LA28 will field 16 nations, so there are still eight spots up for grabs.
Qualification routes depends on the nation is situated, but for instance France could qualify as one of the two highest-ranked teams yet to qualify from next year’s Europeans.
Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.
