‘The challenge of a championship held on grass sifted out all but the very best riders,’ says William Funnell
William Funnell on Aachen’s clever course building and a dramatic individual final
In this modern era of characterless, flat, sand showjumping rings, how refreshing for a championship to be held on grass where the natural undulations – not just the technicality of the fences – sifted out all but the very best riders.
So hats off to the organisers, the Aachen ground crew and course-designer Frank Rothenberger, who must have had some sleepless nights when faced with nearly 150 horse and rider combinations, 30 teams of varying abilities and the forecast of some challenging and changeable weather. We went from shorts to raincoats very quickly!
Luckily the thunderstorms weren’t as severe as we feared, but Frank had to make allowances for them nevertheless, which meant the courses for the first two days were on the lenient side, with a huge 49 clears on round one of the team final.
We were told that certain jumps would be moved if needed during the rain, but that’s why the water jump wasn’t used until the team final. The option of moving the fences also meant the time allowed had to be more generous. A tighter time in that first team round would have produced a very different result.
With the surfaced dressage ring still sited in the middle of the arena, Frank was limited with the lines he could use. There was one rollback on day one, but otherwise the course consisted of a lot of smooth turns – it was the nicest course I’ve seen to open a showjumping World Championship.
There were faults everywhere in Friday’s team final – even fence one, which was big and had a long, slightly uphill run to it – and the atmosphere was unbelievable. The Brits came to win team gold, but bronze is still a great achievement. Gaining qualification for the Olympics with a year to spare is also a huge advantage as it means Di Lampard and the riders can already start to focus on Los Angeles.
Aachen, like Hickstead and other grass venues, has so much character. Showjumping needs to keep that identity.
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“Best horseman in the world”
Coming into Sunday’s individual decider there was just one fence between first and 10th; not even two rails split the entire field of 25 and I’ve never seen it that close. Over two rounds of jumping, even those down the bottom of the leaderboard had a chance for a medal, and so it proved with Harry Charles winning bronze.
Harry’s championship record is unbelievable – he’s won seven junior and senior medals and he’s only 27. He has great horses, the inspiration to do it and I can see him becoming world number one at some stage.
Steve Guerdat has long been the best horseman in the world. The way he is with his horses, his impeccable balance and the freedom he gives his horses in the saddle, make him a great ambassador for our sport.
It was an exciting week in my role as chef d’equipe with the UAE riders, and Omar Abdul Aziz Al Marzooqi and Enjoy De La Mure finished 13th individually. Since getting the individual final in Paris under his belt, he’s gone from strength to strength and Enjoy was a horse I sourced for the team.
None of the riders had done a championship before Paris and, having trained them now for three years, we’re a much closer unit and there’s lots to be proud of.
A super initiative
I don’t know if it was the FEI or Aachen’s idea to have 50 young riders competing in Aachen alongside the championships (report in H&H magazine, 27 August, p66) but what a super initiative for these under-21s, who were selected by their countries to take part in a grand prix and team competition in the main ring.
It offered a great opportunity for our future championship riders to compete in the main ring, walk the courses and to feel a part of it all.
Overall, first-rate horse welfare was on display and we could show how much these horses mean to us. With so many equestrian disciplines together at these World Championships, it’s been a superb, two-week long celebration of horses.
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The British international showjumper is the only rider to have won the Hickstead Derby five times. A British showjumping team regular, William won team gold at the 2013 European championships on his home-bred stallion Billy Congo. He has been chef d’equipe and team trainer for UAE showjumping since November 2023. He and his wife, five-star eventer Pippa Funnell, run the successful Billy Stud in Surrey.