Latest from Horse & Hound in Sandra-auffarth

Reigning Olympic champion called up to Paris team slot after individual medal contender withdraws

Pippa Roome — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 09:47:40 +0000

Sandra Auffarth has withdrawn Viamant Du Matz from the German eventing team for the Paris Olympics. The chestnut was not 100% fit on Tuesday evening, at the last health check before moving from the training camp at Deauville to the Olympic site at Versailles.

Julia Krajewski will be promoted from the alternate spot to compete with Sophia Rössel’s Nickel 21. The rider became the first female to win the Olympic individual gold in eventing when she won in Tokyo on Amande De B’Neville, and she now has a chance to defend her title.

The German team have lost an experienced combination from their Paris Olympics eventing squad with the withdrawal of Sandra Auffarth and Nikolaus Prinz Von Croy’s 15-year-old Tokyo Olympic veteran Viamant — they were world team gold medallists in 2022 and claimed European individual bronze last year, leading the Germans to team silver.

Nickel is less experienced at just 10 years old, so the German team have sacrificed some reliability in this swap, but he is potentially brilliant. He and Julia clinched their spot on the squad with a win in the prestigious CCI4*-S at Aachen earlier this month.

Calvin Böckmann and The Phantom Of The Opera, who were second at Aachen, have been named as the new alternate combination. Calvin, 23, will be the youngest event rider at the Games.

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Olympics-bound event rider lands milestone career win – in a different horse sport

Lucy Elder — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 07:58:46 +0000

Olympics-bound event rider Sandra Auffarth showed the depth of her talents to land a major victory in a second discipline – less than two weeks before she heads to Paris 2024.

The 2014 eventing world champion won the CSIO5* 1.60m Agria Falsterbo grand prix on Sunday (14 July) with the 13-year-old Hannoverian gelding Quirici H.

The pair jumped one of just four clears in the first round from 42 starters, from which 11 went through to the jump-off.

“I thought it would be a round to gain experience at this height, and then he jumped super and was super focused!” said Sandra, who owns the horse with Evelyn and Michael Viehof.

Sandra Auffarth and Quirici H. (Image credit: creditUnknown)

Cian O’Connor was second with the exciting nine-year-old stallion Fancy De Kergane, with whom he helped Ireland to Aachen Nations Cup victory this month. Belgium’s Abdel Saïd was third with Kapitol D’Argonne mare Figueras De Laume.

Sandra has been competing Quirici H in pure showjumping since 2021, and this was the by far the biggest showjumping career win for horse and rider.

Sandra is named on the German Olympic eventing team with Nikolaus Prinz von Croy’s 15-year-old Viamant Du Matz, who has been her ride at every senior championships since 2019. The partnership were part of the gold medal-winning side at the 2022 World Championships, and took home two medals from the 2023 Europeans – team silver and individual bronze.

‘A special place’ – rider returns to scene of her greatest triumph and secures another honour

Pippa Roome — Sun, 13 Aug 2023 15:35:55 +0000

This week, Sandra Auffarth returned to the scene where she won individual world gold in 2014 – and she came home with two more medals following a fault-free performance in today’s European Eventing Championships showjumping. The German rider piloted Opgun Louvo to team and individual gold at the 2014 World Championships, when the dressage and cross-country took place at Haras du Pin – venue for this week’s Europeans – and the showjumping in the stadium in nearby Caen.

“It was a special place for me to be here in front of the castle,” she said after her showjumping today.

At this week’s Europeans, Sandra rode another chestnut, Nikolaus Prinz von Croy’s Viamant Du Matz, to his first individual medal, a bronze, as well as leading Germany to team silver.

Sandra had to showjump clear today to secure Germany’s team silver – had she had a fence down, her nation would have dropped behind France and taken bronze instead.

“My horse was amazing today. I was quite nervous in the warm-up, but I had a feeling he really wanted to give his best. I’m already a little bit longer in the business so I know that pressure and a good thing is that I’m quite relaxed with the showjumping so that helps for sure,” said Sandra, who has done a lot of pure showjumping and rode in the Hickstead Derby this year.

The pressure was on Germany today in the European Eventing Championships showjumping after their individual dressage leader, Michael Jung, had a fall across country yesterday. Christoph Wahler, who jumped clear with Carjatan S to finish fourth individually, and Malin Hansen-Hotopp – a senior team debutante who had the first part of the double at nine down and 1.2 time-faults on Carlitos Quidditch J – joined Sandra in providing the counting scores towards the silver medal.

Horse & Hound has a team of reporters covering all the action at the Europeans in Haras du Pin. To keep reading on our website after five articles, readers will need to buy a subscription. Visit horseandhound.co.uk/join to buy a Horse & Hound website unlimited subscription or, for great value, visit magazinesdirect.com/XHH-brandsite for a combined magazine and website subscription. If you are already a magazine subscriber, the cost to upgrade your subscription to include full website access is minimal – call 0330 333 1113 to find out more.

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Rider completes European Championships cross-country despite tack malfunction

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Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

Laura Collett’s score reviewed as Britain battles Germany for Europeans cross-country lead

Martha Terry — Sat, 12 Aug 2023 15:53:25 +0000

The British team’s grasp on pole position is under threat as the European Eventing Championships cross-country unfolds at Haras du Pin, France. The third team rider, Laura Collett (London 52), made it to the finish with a relatively quick 9.2 time-faults, but their round was reviewed after she knocked a flag at the corner (fence 20b), the Bivouac combination. Assuming the 15 penalties stand, Britain is likely to fall below Germany in the team standings if the final combinations for each country can go clear.

Laura set out to challenge for the podium in fourth place after dressage on 22.4, and keep Britain’s hopes of maintaining their gold-medal position alive. However, she had to draw on all her experience, skill and strength to nurse London 52 home.

The Landos gelding was careful through the first water at fence 7abc, paddling his way down the bank, which put him on an off stride to the triple brush final element, and thereafter looked a little sticky. The treble five-star winner seemed super fit, but didn’t seem to be loving the ground and Laura was urging him on verbally throughout. But he kept jumping beautifully at the fences, just not taking Laura into them as she would want. It was a brave effort from both horse and rider to get the job done when the conditions clearly didn’t suit them.

“It was tough,” said Laura. “Right from the beginning the ground is seriously testing. The jumps feel very, very big. He’s a really scopey horse and even he felt like he had to make a big jump everywhere. The combinations come up thick and fast and there’s just nowhere to let them have a breather.

“I couldn’t be prouder of him, he’s never dug as deep as he dug round there. He kept trying and was so honest. I normally love riding him cross-country but he’s just not used to that kind of ground. The fences are dimensionally very big, but on good ground it would have felt completely different. Normally you can freewheel a bit but you just can’t in this ground.

“You just have to forget about the clock, ride how you feel and get home as good as you can. I think the ones that have gone out to chase the clock have paid the penalty later. They are recovering super well, but it’s just the continuous effort in that ground which is sapping the energy, but he’s already looking perky and pleased with himself. For him to keep jumping and trusting me today makes me insanely proud. He is my horse of a lifetime.

“The flag – it was a combination on three strides and it comes up very quickly. I didn’t even look back to check because it was never in my mind that I should turn round and jump the alternative.”

Britain’s lead from the dressage phase had taken a knock when world champions Yasmin Ingham and Banzai Du Loir had a late run-out at an angled brush at the Fischer coffin. However, Kitty King’s fast clear for 3.6 time-faults on Vendredi Biats kept the team on top, after Germany’s first two riders clocked up double-figure time-faults.

Sandra Auffarth knows her way round Haras du Pin, having won world gold in 2014 on Opgun Louvo. This time, she piloted Viamant Du Matz, who burst out of the start box in his usual dynamic style and hardly let up even after eight minutes on stamina-sapping ground. They were 11th after dressage on 28.6 and this clever chestnut pinged round for arguably the round of the day – and 5.6 time-faults.

“The ground was really deep at the beginning, it was hard for the horses,” said Sandra, who added that the ground jury’s decision to cut out a loop before the cross-country started was “necessary”. “At the end it was getting better but the first half of the course was not so nice, so I decided to ride a little bit slower and then when the ground was getting better I started fighting as he’s super fit. I think he could have made the time, but I didn’t want to risk too much.

“I knew there were some combinations you cannot really plan. My horse has so much experience and he’s so safe and looking for the next fence that he makes it really easy for me. We have a super partnership.”

France make up ground on home turf in Eventing European Championships cross-country

France is creeping up the order after the third rotation of riders, moving into the bronze medal position previously occupied by Belgium, who have dropped to eighth.

Frenchman Nicolas Touzaint was joint 11th with Sandra after dressage when he set out the startbox on Absolut Gold HDC to tremendous cheers from the local fans. He rode a strong, positive round, and although the Grafenstolz gelding started to feel the pace four from home, he clocked a decent time for 11.2 time-faults.

French individual Gireg le Coz survived some hairy moments but Aisprit De La Loge kept running and jumping to come home with 16 time-faults to add to their 28.8 dressage score.

End of day update: Laura Collett is now in 15th place, with Sandra Auffarth in individual bronze, Nicolas Touzaint ninth and Gireg Le Coz 12th. Britain holds team gold. Full individual results

Sensitive soul and a British leader: dressage shake-up early on day two of eventing Europeans

Martha Terry — Fri, 11 Aug 2023 09:49:45 +0000

The leaderboard has had a shake-up on the second morning of the European Eventing Championships dressage in Haras du Pin, France. Tom McEwen and JL Dublin produced a sublime peformance for 22, a personal best for the pair, to take the lead. They currently sit just ahead of the overnight leaders Yasmin Ingham and Banzai Du Loir on 23.6.

Germany’s Sandra Auffarth has great memories from Haras du Pin as the world champion back in 2014, and this time she is riding Viamant Du Matz. This energetic chestnut thrives on the jumping phases, but he knuckled down to produce a correct test for 28.6, fifth at this stage. Although this 14-year-old Diamant De Semilly gelding is not quite in the same stratosphere as Sandra’s previous star Opgun Louvo, this is his fifth championship and he delivered one of his best dressage tests to date.

“He was really concentrating,” said Sandra. “Dressage is not his favourite; he enjoys the jumping part much more, but he had a good attitude and mindset. I also know it will not be a dressage competition, the jumping will be tough enough.”

Sandra explained how she coaxes Viamant Du Matz to perform between the white boards.

“I keep him happy by not riding him in dressage every day,” she said. “I promised him after this competition he can have a few months off, that helps! He loves going in the field, hacking, galloping around. He is very sensitive, shy, and really knows his person, but that’s something I really like in him, it’s special.”

Germany now has two team riders in the top six, Sandra and Christoph Wahler (Carjatan S), fifth. Britain has Yasmin Ingham in second, and Kitty King fourth, with Tom’s leading score not counting as he is riding as an individual.

Individual French rider Gireg Le Coz, riding the rangy Aisprit De Loge, thrilled the home crowd with a sub-30 and into seventh at this stage on the European Eventing Championships dressage leaderboard. Their loose and athletic test scored 28.8.

End of day update: Sandra Auffarth now holds 11th place. Full results here.

Germany names World Championship eventing squad – including rookie daughter of Olympic gold medallist

Pippa Roome — Mon, 15 Aug 2022 18:02:14 +0000

The German team for the World Eventing Championships in Haras du Pin, Italy (15-18 September) has been named.

The team consists of:

Sandra Auffarth with Viamant Du Matz
Michael Jung with FischerChipmunk FRH
Julia Krajewski with Amande De B’Neville
Christoph Wahler with Carjatan S

The individual rider is Alina Dibowski with Barbados 26.

Sandra, Michael and Julia all represented Germany at the Tokyo Olympics last year on the same horses, with Julia and “Mandy” taking individual gold. The German team finished fourth there.

Christoph has ridden at two championships as an individual, finishing seventh at the European Championships in Avenches last September, but this World Championships will mark his senior team debut.

Alina, the 21-year-old daughter of 2008 Olympic eventing team gold medallist Andreas Dibowski, will be riding at her first senior championship. She has previously ridden Barbados at two young rider and two junior European championships, landing young rider team gold in 2021 and junior team bronze in 2018. The pair confirmed their Pratoni spot with third individually in the Nations Cup CCIO4*-S at Haras du Pin last week, behind Michael on Chipmunk and British pair Mollie Summerland and Charly Van Ter Heiden.

Nicolai Aldinger has been named first reserve for the German World Eventing Championships team with Timmo and Sophie Leube first reserve for the individual spot with Jadore Moi.

The other reserves are Dirk Schrade (Casino 80), Malin Hansen-Hotopp (Carlitos Quidditch K) and Ingrid Klimke (Equistros Siena Just Do It).

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Tom McEwen spearheads Brits’ Aachen eventing win, plus protest over top of individual leaderboard

Pippa Roome — Mon, 04 Jul 2022 10:08:34 +0000

Triumph and heartbreak went in hand in hand for the British team as they topped last week’s Aachen eventing results (1-2 July), but the competition was marred by the loss of Ros Canter’s ride Allstar B, the reigning world champion who had to be put down after suffering an irreparable injury on the cross-country.

This is the second year in a row that Britain has won the SAP Cup, which has been dominated by the home side over the 15 years since eventing joined the competition schedule at this premier German show, after first being run at the venue for the 2006 World Equestrian Games.

Last year, the fixture ran later in the calendar, and with the Olympics and Europeans taking precedence for top pairs, nations were mostly fielding teams of less experienced horses or riders. But the Germans certainly fielded a strong quartet this year and it was all credit to the Brits that they led throughout the competition and won by nearly 30 marks.

Britain’s effort was led by double Olympic medallists Tom McEwen and Toledo De Kerser – owned by Fred and Penny Barker, Jane Inns and Tom’s mother Ali – who finished third after adding just 6.4 time-faults to their third-placed dressage score. No one made the time over Rüdiger Schwarz‘s cross-country course.

After his Olympic success last year, Tom has had a tricky start to the season with a fall at Badminton Horse Trials with Toledo and neither of his rides finishing at the five-star at Luhmühlen Horse Trials last month, but he said he didn’t feel any extra pressure.

“The horses been going really well. Sometimes in life, you make mistakes and I’ve made a good few this year, but it’s all about learning and coming out the other side, so if I can learn and move on from that, then we’ll be better and better,” he said.

“I’ve loved everything about being at the world’s best show – it was absolutely rammed for cross-country today and Toledo was super-excited to be at a big show again. He was letting rip trying to jump everything as usual. I couldn’t be happier with him and our team result.”

William Fox-Pitt provided Britain’s second-best score in seventh with his own and Jennifer Dowling’s Little Fire, while Yasmin Ingham impressed on her Aachen debut by finishing 12th on Janette Chinn and Sue Davies’ Rehy DJ. Both William and Yasmin added only time-faults to their first-phase scores.

“Aachen is more than I ever expected it would be and it’s really good for me to build up mileage and come to this incredible show,” said Yasmin. “Everything rode as I wanted it to across country. It was extremely fast and intense out there and lots of the let-up fences were quite decent as well.”

Sarah Bullimore competed as Britain’s individual on home-bred European bronze medallist Corouet – owned by his rider, her husband Brett and the Kew Jumping Syndicate – and finished 22nd with one showjump down and a few seconds over the time, plus a steadier round across country.

Aachen eventing results confusion after protest

German superstar Michael Jung looked set to top the individual Aachen eventing results on Kentucky Three-Day Event winner FischerChipmunk FRH when he led from the start on a dressage of 22.2 and held a significant lead as he headed out across country.

He crossed the finish line with 1.2 time-faults and was announced as the winner, but as he was waiting for the press conference to start, news filtered through that there had been a protest over whether he should have been penalised for missing a flag at the right-handed brush corner at fence 14. The 15 penalties were eventually added to his score card and Michael dropped to eighth.

Michael was riding Chipmunk as an individual. His team ride Kilcandra Ocean Power finished down the leaderboard after having 20 penalties at fence 16d, but the Germans had to count his score as Ingrid Klimke had 40 jumping penalties on Equistros Siena Just Do It.

Their team-mate Sandra Auffarth took top honours individually with Viamant Du Matz. She commented that Viamant Du Matz has more “life experience” than last time he was in Aachen in 2019 and “understands every question” now – an ominous prospect for Germany’s rivals ahead of the eventing World Championships with it in mind that Sandra’s last win in Aachen was in 2014 with another chestnut, Opgun Louvo, and the pair went on to be world champions that autumn.

Andrew Hoy finished second as an individual on David and Paula Evans’ and his own Olympic bronze medallist Vassily De Lassos; Australia did not field a team. The pair put in the fastest cross-country round, finishing just one second over the optimum time.

“It’s an absolute privilege to ride a horse like Vassily,” said Andrew. “I’ve worked with him since 2017 and we’ve developed a very good relationship. There wasn’t once on the cross-country when I pressed the button and said, ‘Come on, you have to go.’ He’s a horse that can just run and jump and for me it was a very nice ride.”

Britain holds team and individual gold after first day of Olympic eventing dressage

Pippa Roome — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 11:56:35 +0000

Britain holds a 6.7-penalty lead in the team competition as well as the individual gold spot after the first day of Olympic eventing dressage at the Tokyo Games.

Oliver Townend, the British pathfinder, scored 23.6 during the morning session with Karyn Schuter, Angela Hislop and Val Ryan’s Ballaghmor Class. He still holds the individual lead now that the day’s sport has concluded.

“I’m very happy with my horse – we know he’s special and I’m just very grateful for him to do a clear round in there and a very safe test on my own terms,“ Oliver explained after his test.

Britain’s second rider, Laura Collett was understandably disappointed after her test with Karen Bartlett, Keith Scott’s and her own London 52. The pair landed a mark of 25.8, which puts them fourth at this stage, but is a far cry from the 21 and 20.5 the pair have scored on their past two international appearances.

Laura said: “He just sucked back a little bit and wasn’t really taking me. Obviously I know some people would be pleased with a 25, but on a horse like him it is a bit disappointing.

“He is a show off – when we went to Bicton Horse Trials and it was the first time we had proper crowds for a bit, he definitely went in the arena and grew and loved it. Maybe that [atmosphere was] lacking a little bit and he didn’t realise that they were all watching at home on TV!”

The Swedish team hold second, led by a test that scored 28 penalties from Louise Romeike and Cato 60.

Individually Louise sits equal seventh in the Olympic eventing dressage rankings, just ahead of her compatriot Therese Viklund, who is ninth with her one-eyed mare Viscera. Louise shares seventh with today’s surprise sensation – Indian rider Fouaad Mirza, on the former Bettina Hoy ride Seigneur (usually known as Seigneur Medicott, but dropping the suffix due to Olympic naming rules).

Fouaad is based in Germany with Sandra Auffarth, who suffered some disappointment riding as the second German team competitor today. She scored 34.1 for 27th – a far cry from the mid 20s tests she and Viamant Du Matz are capable of – and the German team sit fifth overnight, not the result the reigning European champions would be expecting.

“I had good parts in it, but he was a little bit tense and at the end I had some expensive mistakes,” said Sandra, who was one of those who suffered today from the fact that the new special Olympic dressage test does not give much time for rebuilding if something goes wrong.

“The transition from walk to canter, he started in left canter [when it should have been right] and then of course the next change came quite quickly, so I had to handle that and then he made a mistake in the next change. It’s a difficult test, but I was happy with the rest. Of course it’s disappointing, but the competition isn’t finished yet and we will keep going.”

The individual top three from this morning’s session are unchanged. The German pathfinder Julia Krajewski still holds third place, behind Alex Hua Tian, whose strong test spearheads China’s effort – their team currently sit fourth.

The bronze medal position is filled overnight by the Japanese team, with Kazuma Tomoto (Vinci De La Vigne) fifth and Toshiyuki Tanaka (Talma D’Allou) 20th.

“He wasn’t a really soft mover in there, but he still did everything and I tried to make him more relaxed by not asking too much, just riding as usual, as if I was training at home,” said Kazuma, who is based with William Fox-Pitt.

“William is especially helpful at big events like championships or Badminton – he understands everything, how to relax horses or help them recover.”

The Olympic eventing dressage continues at 8.30am tomorrow local time (00.30am British time).

German Olympic eventing team named: the defending champion and a mare who’s made an impression this year

Pippa Roome — Sun, 20 Jun 2021 20:51:12 +0000

The German Olympic eventing team for the Tokyo Olympics was named this evening after a final trial at Luhmühlen Horse Trials.

The team consists of:

Sandra Auffarth with Viamant Du Matz (reserve horse: Let’s Dance 73)
Michael Jung with FischerChipmunk FRH (reserve horse: FischerWild Wave)
Julia Krajewski with Amande De B’Neville

Andreas Dibowski is the alternate rider, with FRH Corrida.

Christoph Wahler is the second reserve, with Carjatan S, and Anna Siemer (FRH Butts Avondale) is the third reserve.

The three riders named for the Olympic eventing team were the top five in the CCI4*-S Meẞmer Trophy at Luhmühlen; Michael won (and was fifth in the CCI5* on FischerWild Wave), Sandra second and Julia fifth. Andreas finished seventh and Anna 12th, while Christoph was second in the CCI5*.

Michael, who will defend his individual title in Tokyo after golds at London and Rio, said: “I am overjoyed, FischerChipmunk jumped so well today. When you compete here, of course you want stay clear. Nevertheless, it’s important to relax so that the horse can stay relaxed, too. The title means a lot to me.”

Michael added the extra time due to the Olympic postponement may have worked in his favour as he and Chipmunk only became a partnership in 2019. The horse was previously ridden by Michael’s team-mate Julia.

“For my horse and me, it was probably even a bit lucky that the Olympics were postponed,” he said. “It gave us an extra year to grow together as a team.”

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It was a particularly emotional moment for Julia, who was almost certain of an Olympic place with Samourai Du Thot until she had to retire him earlier this year when he lost an eye. “Mandy” was very much an outside chance for the team until the pair won the CCI4*-L at Saumur. They dropped from second after cross-country to fifth with a rail down today.

“For the first 10 minutes after the jumping I was still a little upset about our mistake, especially because my horse jumped so well and it was an unnecessary rail,” she said. “But then during the prize giving I realised what Mandy and I have achieved together. That’s when it really hit me.”

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Who is the best event horse in the world? Data experts build a ranking to find out…

Pippa Roome — Sat, 05 Dec 2020 17:33:57 +0000

Who is the best event horse in the world today? It’s a great subject for a bit of pub banter with your friends – in non-Covid times, of course – and at events such as the leading five-stars, the World Championships or the Olympics, we find out who is the best event horse on that particular day. But does that really tell us who’s the best in an overall, long-term way?

Now the equestrian data analytics company EquiRatings has devised a way of ranking event horses which could give us the answer to the question.

The system is called Elo, named after Hungarian physics professor Arpad Elo. The Elo rating system originates from chess and variations are now used across many sports.

“Our leading data guru at EquiRatings, Sean Murray, has taken the Elo rating system and re-designed it for our sport,” explains EquiRatings co-founder Diarmuid Byrne in an article on the company’s website. “As we have found over the past few years, eventing is pretty complex to code for. Were judges scoring easy or tough? Was the course difficult or not? Was the time tight and who was trying to make it? But rating the best competitors is actually pretty simple. It’s all about consistently beating high-quality opponents.”

The full methodology behind the eventing ELO is complicated, but to summarise, horses enter the system with 1500 points. They then gain points by taking them from horses they beat and lose them by giving them to horses who beat them. The best event horse in the world always has the most points.

“You don’t lose all your points in one go, but the changes occur gradually as you compete more,” explains Diarmuid.

“Beating horses with high Elo ratings is going to bump up your rating most effectively. Losing to low-rated horses is going to be most costly. This addresses one of the big issues when rating the ‘best of the best’ – not all competitions are equal. Winning some four-star shorts might entail beating a handful of first-timers, while winning Aachen, the same level of competition on paper, is likely to mean that a horse has beaten five-star winners and world medallists. Elo solves this problem, rewarding the better quality results with higher points.”

So, using the Elo, who are the best event horses in the world? EquiRatings have a page where you can check Elos and the current Elo rankings rate horses who have competed in the past two seasons. The top six horses are:

SAP Hale Bob OLD (Ingrid Klimke, Germany) – 2093 points
Samourai Du Thot (Julia Krajewski, Germany) – 2060 points
FischerChipmunk FRH (Michael Jung, Germany) – 2039 points
FischerRocana FST (Michael Jung, Germany) – 2028 points
Ballaghmor Class (Oliver Townend, Great Britain) – 2001 points
Allstar B (Ros Canter, Great Britain) – 1991 points

EquiRatings also let you find the out “all-time” (2008 onwards) Elo rankings. The top six in that listing are:

La Biosthetique-Sam FBW (Michael Jung, Germany) – 2173 points in 2017
SAP Hale Bob OLD (Ingrid Klimke, Germany) – 2113 points in 2020
Opgun Louvo (Sandra Auffarth, Germany) – 2108 points in 2017
Nereo (Andrew Nicholson, New Zealand) – 2084 points in 2017
Samourai Du Thot (Julia Krajewski, Germany) – 2060 points in 2020
FischerChipmunk FRH (Michael Jung, Germany) – 2055 points in 2020

The clever chaps at EquiRatings acknowledge that the rankings are skewed towards German horses – the rankings use international competitions only and German horses tend to run more in international competitions than those in countries such as Britain and the USA which have excellent circuits of national competitions, which do not count towards Elo ratings.

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What do you think? Do you agree with the Elo ratings on who is the best event horse in the world? Let us know by emailing hhletters@futurenet.com for the chance to be featured on the magazine’s letters page and you might win a bottle of Champagne Taittinger.

Germany reveals on-form eventing squad for World Equestrian Games

Lucy Elder — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 18:15:10 +0000

Michael Jung heads the on-form German eventing squad for the 2018 World Equestrian Games.

The world number six is named aboard his three-time Kentucky CCI4* winner FischerRocana FST.

He is joined by Ingrid Klimke riding the multiple three-star winner SAP Hale Bob. The pair won four internationals in a row between July 2017 and June 2018.

Julia Krajewski brings forward her consistent partner Chipmunk FRH, fresh from a hat-trick of three-star victories. The pair won Marbach CIC3* in May, before storming to victory in Bramham’s CCI3* on their dressage score of 19.4 and also took the CICO3* at Aachen.

Andreas Dibowski is named on two horses; he will ride either the 15-year-old FRH Butts Avedon or rising star, nine-year-old FRH Corrida.

Kai Rüder and his sixth-placed 2017 European Championship ride Colani Sunrise complete the squad.

Sandra Auffarth’s strong performance in Aachen and her CIC3* victory in Strzegom yesterday (12 August) have led to her being named as first reserve with the nine-year-old Viamant Du Matz.

“The horse has been in an absolutely ascending form since Aachen,” said national coach Hans Melzer.

“He has a lot of potential and, if used, would certainly be a worthy championship horse. But he is still quite young and has a great future ahead of him.”

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The World Equestrian Games take place at Tryon International Equestrian Centre, North Carolina, from 11 to 23 September.

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday

Horse who won nine medals steps down a level: ‘Championships are exhausting’

Pippa Roome — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 10:13:28 +0000

The reigning world eventing champion Opgun Louvo will not contest any more championships, his German rider Sandra Auffarth has decided after “careful consideration”.

“‘Wolle’ is in great shape and we had a very good start into the season,” said Sandra. “Nevertheless championships are very exhausting and I don’t want Wolle to compete in such events any more.

“Wolle has won nine medals at five championships and I’m more than proud of my once in a lifetime horse.”

Sandra Auffarth and Opgun Louvo finishing second in the CCI4* at Luhmühlen in 2011. Picture by Peter Nixon (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Sandra’s decision means that Opgun Louvo will definitely not defend his 2014 World Equestrian Games title at the Games in Tryon this September. The pair had been named among the first group of reserves for the German squad. Sandra does have Viamant Du Matz listed among the second reserve group.

Opgun Louvo, who is now 16, will compete at Aachen (17-22 July).

“Now I’m looking forward to Aachen — the CHIO will be our annual highlight! Wolle loves the Aachener Soers and we have had so much success at that special event. We have won the Nations Cup five times and our personal highlight was winning the individual ranking in 2014. In the other years we were also placed second, third and fourth in the individual ranking,” said Sandra. “Let’s see what this year will bring, we are more than motivated!”

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Sandra and Opgun Louvo first made an impression on the international scene when they finished second in the CCI4* at Luhmühlen in 2011. Later that year they won team gold and individual silver at the European Championships at the same venue.

The pair went on to represent Germany at two Olympics (team gold and individual bronze at London 2012; team silver at Rio 2016), one World Equestrian Games (team and individual gold at Caen 2014) and another European Championships (team gold and individual silver at Blair 2015).

The pair also finished fourth on their only appearance at Badminton, in 2013.

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday

Defending world champion to miss this year’s World Equestrian Games

Pippa Roome — Tue, 19 Jun 2018 12:53:23 +0000

World eventing champion Sandra Auffarth is likely to miss out on defending her title at this September’s World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Tryon, USA.

The German rider and her 2014 WEG ride, Opgun Louvo, have been named in the “second group” of riders for this year’s championship — effectively a reserve position as five riders have been listed in the “first group”, which is the number required for the squad.

Sandra and Opgun Lovuo have had good results since 2014 — they were individual European silver medallists in 2015 and won the competitive CIC3* at Luhmühlen in 2016 — but they had 20 jumping penalties across country at the Rio Olympics (where they still finished 11th and contributed to team silver) and were not part of the German squad at last year’s Europeans. The 16-year-old horse has had a quiet campaign this spring, finishing 14th at Strzegom CIC2* and 12th at Sopot CCI3*.

The first group named to represent Germany at WEG consists of: Andreas Dibowski on FRH Corrida or FRH Butts Avedon, Michael Jung on FischerRocana FST, Ingrid Klimke on SAP Hale Bob OLD, Julia Krajewski on Chipmunk FRH or Samourai Du Thot and Kai Rüder on Colani Sunrise.

The second group is Sandra Auffarth on Opgun Louvo, Jörg Kurbel on Josera’s Entertain You and Josefa Sommer on Hamilton 24.

The third group comprises Sandra Auffarth on Viamant Du Matz, Felix Etzel on Bandit 436, Andreas Ostholt on Corvette 31 and Claas Romeike on Cato 60.

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The Germans have also named their 10 combinations for the crack CIC3* at Aachen in July: Sandra Auffarth (Opgun Louvo), Andreas Dibowski (FRH Butts Avedon and FRH Corrida), Michael Jung (La Biosthetique-Sam FBW), Ingrid Klimke (SAP Hale Bob OLD), Julia Krajewski (Chipmunk FRH and Samourai Du Thot), Andreas Ostholt (Corvette 31), Kai Rüder (Colani Sunrise) and Josefa Sommer (Hamilton 24). The reserves are Claas Romeike (Cato 60), Sandra Auffarth (Viamant Du Matz), Bettina Hoy (Designer 10) and Andreas Dibowski (It’s Me xx).

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

Germany names likely eventing team for Rio Olympics: Ostholt to make Olympic debut

Pippa Roome — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 09:21:41 +0000

Update: the team below was confirmed on Saturday, 15 July at a press conference in Aachen, where FischerTakinou was named as Michael’s ride and Julia Krajewski and Samourai Du Thot were chosen as the travelling reserves. Dirk Schrade and Hop And Skip are the second reserves.

The Germans have released a “long list” for their eventing team for the Rio Olympics, which names their likely team and reserves.

Team trainer Christopher Bartle confirmed to H&H that the final squad is subject to confirmation after Aachen (15-16 July), but that the four riders named first are the likely team, with the reserves then named in two blocks indicating their current priority order.

The likely team is:

Sandra Auffarth on Opgun Louvo (pictured)
Michael Jung on FischerRocana FST, FischerTakinou or La Biosthetique-Sam FBW
Ingrid Klimke on Horseware Hale Bob OLD
Andreas Ostholt on So Is Et

Assuming this team is eventually named for Rio, Badminton runner-up Andreas will be making his Olympic debut alongside three riders from the London 2012 gold medal-winning team. Ingrid also won team gold in 2008 in Hong Kong, where Andreas’ brother Frank rode on the team.

The first block of likely reserves is:

Bettina Hoy on Designer 10
Julia Krajewski on Samourai Du Thot
Dirk Schrade on Hop And Skip

The second block of likely reserves is:

Claas Hermann Romeike on Cato 60
Andreas Dibowski on It’s Me xx

Claas Hermann’s father Hinrich was the 2008 individual Olympic champion on Marius Voigt-Logistik.

The four riders named as the likely team will compete in Aachen, with Michael piloting FischerTakinou and La Biosthetique-Sam FBW. In addition, Bettina will compete on Designer 10 and Seigneur Medicott, who missed his run in the CCI4* at Luhmühlen after suffering bruises and superficial cuts when he got loose while grazing and slipped over galloping back to the stables.

As well as “Bobby”, Ingrid will start at Aachen on FRH Escada SAP, who is not in the running for Rio as she is not at full fitness after an injury earlier in the year.

Julia Krajewski will perform the guinea pig test at Aachen on Samourai Du Thot.

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Andreas Dibowski wins Luhmühlen CCI4*; Louise Harwood best Brit in eighth

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“I’m delighted with how the weekend went,” said Christopher, looking back at Luhmühlen. “I’m particularly chuffed for Andreas Dibowski [who won the CCI4*]— he performed fantastically from beginning to end on It’s Me after the disappointment of losing the horse he had on the Olympic list [FRH Butts Avedon, due to injury]. He came back with a bang.

“Julia Krajewski [third] was equally impressive and really came to the fore, not just for the German squad but as a new name on the block.

“It was also great to see Sandra and Ingrid on form, as well as Dirk and Bettina.”

Full report of Luhmühlen in H&H this week, out 23 June.

Britain in team silver and individual bronze after influential Europeans cross-country day VIDEO

Carol Phillips — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 17:27:06 +0000

Britain retains its team silver medal position after a hugely influential and extremely wet cross-country day at the Longines FEI European Eventing Championship at Blair Castle. Izzy Taylor is the best placed Briton in individual bronze with KBIS Briarlands Matilda (pictured top).

Germany now hold an almost unassailable lead in the team competition with Michael Jung in gold, and Sandra Auffarth in silver, plus Ingrid Klimke in sixth and Dirk Schrade in eighth place. Their score of 112.7pen means they have 11 fences in hand ahead of Britain (169.3) with France in bronze (179.7) going into tomorrow’s showjumping.

Britain got off to a good start when team pathfinder Kitty King went clear on Persimmon, collecting just 8.4 time-penalties after taking the long route at the last water fences 18ab/19ab. But unfortunately Nicola Wilson and One Two Many were one of a number of combinations to collect 20pen at the second corner fence in the main arena.

Pippa Funnell’s inexperienced nine-year-old Sandman 7 galloped ears pricked all the way around the course to collected just nine time-penalties. But after a lacklustre performance in the dressage, there was further disappointment for William Fox-Pitt when Bay My Hero glanced off the narrow Joules Brush Arrowhead at fence 17 twice. William then retired.

German precision

The German team extended their lead with all four riders producing clear jumping rounds. Michael Jung had a near perfect ride with eight-year-old FischerTakinou to achieve one of only three clear rounds inside the time.

Michael Jung and FischerTakinou at the Longines FEI European Eventing Championships at Blair Castle (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

British riders Izzy Taylor on KBIS Briarlands Matilda and Gemma Tattersall on Arctic Soul, who moved up from 35th place to seventh, were the only other riders to stay on their dressage score.

Michael said: “I know that FischerTakinou is a very fast horse who is easy to handle in front of the fences. I lost not many seconds [setting up]. He jumped every fence very powerful and strong. The feeling was brilliant. He was still fighting for me at the end.”

Michael has two fences in hand going into the showjumping ahead of his compatriot, current world champion and overnight dressage leader Sandra Auffarth with Opgun Louvo. Sandra was stopped on course after fence 4abc, the House of Bruar Shepherds’ Bothies, due a frangible pin being broken at the Silver Birch Oxer further round the course. Her adjusted time gave her 11.2 time-faults, but as this report went to press these were being disputed by the German team.

Sandra said: “It was OK being held. These things happen. I got a rug for my horse so that was not a problem. Then he started really fast so I had a really good feeling. But my opinion is that I felt a lot faster than my time on the board, so [officials] are still checking my time.”

Izzy Taylor had a great round on KBIS Briarlands Matilda with just one worrying moment at the angled brushes close to home.

Izzy said: “She’s an older wiser horse so she didn’t notice the mud. I didn’t expect it to go that well. She just tripped on the corner to the second last, which really took it out of her. She put two strides in there, so she was really good to jump it.”

Germany and Britain hold all of the top 10 individual places on the leader board overnight with the exception of Lt. Col. Thibaut Vallette of France, who is in fourth with Qing Du Briot ENE HN.

The Netherlands, Sweden and Spain hold fourth, fifth and sixth place in the team competition, but sadly Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland and Russia did not manage to get three riders home.

How the Blair cross-country course rode

The weather played a significant part in the day’s action with the ground becoming increasingly slippery as the day went on.

Three riders fell in quick succession when their horses slipped on the slope at the Haggis fence at 21b. Work was done to add stone to the ground both before and after this fence, which appeared to improve the situation, but after two more riders had jumped it, course-designer Ian Stark decided to remove that element. This left the Neeps at the top of the hill and the narrow Tatties at the bottom of the slope for the remaining riders to jump.

Ian said: “It was my decision to take it out, in agreement with the ground jury. Three people fell in a row and I was there for all three. We fixed the ground a bit, but they were still sliding a little, so we couldn’t risk another fall. That would have been stupid. I was sorry to lose the haggis though.”

Otherwise problems were shared around the course with the UK Sport Corners in the main arena and the House of Bruar Shepherds’ Bothies also causing a number of riders to collect penalties.

When asked how we felt about his first championship course, Ian said: “I am pleased. We couldn’t have seven days without rain in Scotland, but it was unfortunate it happened today. There was trouble all around the course – some great names went out and some inexperienced riders got round.

“I was delighted to see how many went straight at fences 18/19. In particular I thought the German riders were excellent at that fence. They rode with great balance and feel.”

Re-live today’s action with H&H Live

Full report from the European Championships at Blair in H&H next week, out Thursday, 17 September — 19 pages of analysis and photographs, plus columns from Anna Ross, Harry Meade and Mike Etherington-Smith.

Britain in double silver after dressage at Blair Euros, but disappointment for William Fox-Pitt VIDEO

Pippa Roome — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 16:25:37 +0000

Britain holds team and individual silver medal positions after dressage at the Longines FEI European Eventing Championships at Blair Castle.

But there was disappointment for Britain’s final rider William Fox-Pitt this afternoon.

Although he and Catherine Witt’s Bay My Hero scored steadily at 7 and above in the canter, in the trot the horse seemed to be showing some irregularity in the rhythm, with the marks as low as 5 and 5.5 at times.

William went back to the stables with the horse afterwards and did not come over to talk to the press.

Bay My Hero’s best score at three-star is 35.2, but today he scored 43 and sits 23rd after the first phase. This means William is the team’s drop score.

This morning Pippa Funnell put in a good test for the team to score 41 on her own, her mother Jenny Nolan and Ruth McMullen’s Sandman 7. They are 19th, their test only marred by a break into canter before the shoulder-in left and an unwanted flying change on the final centreline.

Pippa Funnell and Sandman 7 at the European Eventing Championships at Blair 2015. Picture by Peter Nixon (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

“It’s his first test with grandstands like that and I could feel he was a bit nervous,” said Pippa. “He was trying hard. For a young horse and where he is in his career, I’ve got to be really pleased.

“The first time the horses really feel this atmosphere is just before the test as they don’t work near here the rest of the time. Another time maybe I would get him out more, but he had had plenty of work and it’s a balancing act as if you do too much they get sore.”

Overall, the dressage has been a brilliant two days for the British riders. All 12 pairs are in top 35, with seven in the top 12.

Individual rider Holly Woodhead still leads the way for the Brits. She held pole position last night with DHI Lupison and currently sits in second place.

Team rider Nicola Wilson is fourth on One Two Many and fellow team competitor Kitty King holds sixth on Persimmon. Francis Whittington lies seventh on Easy Target and Laura Collett ninth with Grand Manoeuvre. Sarah Bullimore holds 11th (Lilly Corinne) and Oliver Townend 12th (Fenyas Elegance).

Germans in line for double gold

Only world champion Sandra Auffarth on Opgun Louvo could break into the top three riders today. She has taken the top spot individually, just 0.3 of a mark ahead of Holly on 31.4.

Sandra Auffarth and Opgun Louvo at the European Eventing Championships at Blair 2015. Picture by Peter Nixon (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

“I was very very pleased with my horse,” she said. “He was perfect. I could really enjoy the test. It’s always a nice feeling to hear I’m the world champion from the commentators as I’m trotting round — I think, ‘Oh, that’s me.'”

The other German counting scores come from Michael Jung, third on FischerTakinou, and Ingrid Klimke, who is eighth on 37.8 after riding this afternoon on Horseware Hale Bob.

“He was excited and when the wind was blowing outside he thought he was going across country, but he was so soft and supple I could think about my position and enjoy it,” she said.

Britain (112.5) is 9.8 penalties behind Germany (102.7), with France (115.2) currently holding the team bronze position less than three marks behind the home side. Sweden is fourth and also well in touch with the medals on 119.4.

France and Sweden are among the teams here who have not yet qualified for next year’s Olympics. They are currently in line for the two Rio tickets on offer to the top two unqualified nations.

Rain is forecast for tomorrow’s cross-country day, which is likely to make Ian Stark’s course more influential. Blair is renowned as a hilly track, so stamina will be essential for those wanting to stay at the top of the leaderboard.

Re-live the dressage with H&H Live

German eventing squad named for European Championships at Blair

Pippa Roome — Sat, 15 Aug 2015 10:06:45 +0000

The following pairs will represent Germany at the Longines FEI European Eventing Championships at Blair (10-13 September):

Sandra Auffarth and Opgun Louvo
Michael Jung and FischerTakinou or Halunke FBW
Bettina Hoy and Designer 10
Ingrid Klimke and FRH Escada JS or Horseware Hale Bob
Dirk Schrade and Hop And Skip
Peter Thomsen and Horseware’s Barny

The reserves have been named in the following order:

Andreas Dibowski and FRH Butts Avedon
Niklas Bschorer and Tom Tom Go 3
Claas Hermann Romeike and Cato 60

These combinations all competed in the Nations Cup at Aachen this week, where German won the team competition, fielding Ingrid (FRH Escada JS), Sandra Auffarth (Opgun Louvo), Michael Jung (Halunke FBW) and Dirk Schrade (Hop And Skip). Ingrid also finished first individually on Escada and second on Hale Bob.

The squad pairs all jumped clear across country at Aachen and finished in the placings. Of the reserves, Andreas had a run-out at the second angled tractor at fence 16b, an influential combination. Niklas and Claas both came through the finish flags, but were later eliminated for jumping the wrong side of flags at corners, the same fate that befell British rider Holly Woodhead on DHI Lupison. Niklas also had a run-out at 16b.

The Germans have won the team and individual gold at every senior eventing championship since 2011. The last team to beat them were Britain at the 2010 World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Kentucky.

The last non-German individual gold medallist was Britain’s Tina Cook on Miners Frolic at the 2009 European Championships in Fontainebleau, France. Michael Jung has won every individual gold since then except for last year, when his compatriot Sandra Auffarth took the top spot at WEG in Normandy riding Opgun Louvo. Michael took the individual silver on that occasion with FischerRocana FST.

Full report from Aachen in H&H this Thursday, 20 August.

Leading German riders set their sights on Badminton Horse Trials

Pippa Roome — Tue, 17 Feb 2015 14:55:19 +0000

Ingrid Klimke will head up the German challenge at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials (6-10 May) this year.

Ingrid — who has competed at Badminton several times before, including finishing second in 2006 on the lovely grey Sleep Late — will bring her Pau CCI4* winner Horseware Hale Bob (pictured) to the Gloucestershire four-star.

She will be joined on the starting list by Bettina Hoy and Designer 10, who makes his four-star debut, and young British-based German Niklas Bschorer. Badminton first-timer Niklas brings forward his Bramham under-25 runner-up Tom Tom Go 3, as well as Lord Shostakovich, who jumped a double clear at Blenheim last year.

Also heading to Badminton for a first tilt at “The Great Event” is Claas Hermann Romeike, 22, whose father Hinrich Romeike was sixth at Badminton in 2007 on Marius Voigt-Logistik who went on to be Olympic champion in 2008. He rides Cato 60, with whom he had good CIC3* form in 2014.

German superstar Michael Jung’s plans remain up in the air, although he definitely intends to run both La Biosthetique-Sam FBW and FischerRocana FST at a four-star this spring. The decision on whether he heads to Badminton or Kentucky (23-26 April) rests on finance, as the German riders do not receive central funding for competition trips to America.

Badminton final scores

Andreas Dibowski has secured the support to make the journey this year and will be off to Kentucky with his European team gold medallist FRH Butts Avedon.

More Germans head to four-stars this spring than in other years because the later placement of the European Championships in the calendar, as well as the fact it is sometimes considered a less important championship than an Olympics or World Championships, means it is more feasible to also fit in a big four-star run in the spring.

However, world champions Sandra Auffarth and Opgun Louvo will stick to CIC3*s in their preparation for the European Championships at Blair (10-13 September).

“That’s what the riders are planning at the moment, but of course with horses everything can change in five minutes,” said team trainer Christopher Bartle.

Sandra Auffarth to take on Ispo in Benjamin Winter’s memory

Ellie Hughes — Tue, 18 Nov 2014 13:00:08 +0000

German eventer Sandra Auffarth is to take over the reins on Ispo, the horse Benjamin Winter was riding when he suffered a fatal fall at Luhmühlen in June 2014.

The reigning world champion said that the decision was not an easy one given the circumstances and emotions involved, but that she will ride the horse in Benjamin’s memory.

“Ben was not only a colleague, but also a very good friend,” she said. “At the request of the Winter family I am taking on Ispo. Ben was always convinced of this horse. I will do everything with Ispo in his name and in his spirit.”

Benjamin had taken on the 10-year-old Westphalian gelding as a five-year-old from the Warendorf stable. The pair made smooth progress through the levels, coming eighth at Boekelo CCI3* in 2012, winning the CIC2* at Luhmühlen in 2013 and going on to finish 18th at the European Championship in Malmo later in the year.

The combination were taking part in their first CCI4* at Luhmühlen when the accident happened.

Sandra, who was competing her top horse, Opgun Louvo, in the CIC3* at the time, withdrew from the competition after showjumping while in the lead because she was so upset about her friend’s death.

She and her family auctioned a training course earlier this month, which coincided with a sale of top event horses, which they host annually at their base in Ganderkesee, near Bremen. Proceeds went to the Benjamin Winter Foundation benefit, which campaigns for greater safety in competitions.

Ispo will be a third string to Sandra’s international bow. As well as Opgun Louvo the 27-year-old also has the Irish-bred The Blue Frontier to campaign. The 13-year-old gelding recorded several CIC3* top 10 placings last year, including finishing fourth at Renswoude.

Gillian Rolton: my first 10 [H&H VIP]

Horse & Hound — Fri, 05 Sep 2014 08:00:52 +0000

We saw some lovely tests, but even the best horses showed tension in that arena. All the tests had mistakes where the competitors had to ride more defensively than normal. Sometimes a bigger arena is easier, because horses are further from the crowds and the noise.

The cold and wet on the first day caused tension too, and a few horses lost rhythm in the lateral work, perhaps due to the soggy ground.

But by and large the standard is getting better and better, even among the less experienced riders.

The extended walk and the transition into the medium walk happened towards the covered stand. It was difficult for riders to get the horses to step through into the contact.We saw few horses with a good overtrack really reach in the extended walk and then there was tension as riders picked them up again.

The half-pirouette is tricky — it’s one mark for the transition to walk, the walk, the pirouette itself and the transition to trot. In the half-pirouette, we look for the horse to maintain the bend, engagement, activity and walk rhythm as it turns around the hindleg. Most horses stepped out or got stuck behind, lost the walk rhythm or the bend. A couple did it well — then cantered out of it.

The young Finn Elmo Jankari surprised and impressed me. He sat well and his ride Duchess Desiree had good movement, although she was against the hand at times.

I gave my first ever 10 for Sandra Auffarth’s last centre line — the horse’s sophisticated carriage (balance) and quality of canter deserved it. She looked dead straight to me down the centre line and into halt, although judge at E Alain James said one hindleg was a fraction out behind. That’s why you have three judges, in different places.

First published in H&H magazine on Thursday 4 September

WEG eventing: Britain wins team silver and individual bronze

Pippa Roome — Sun, 31 Aug 2014 16:38:09 +0000

Britain claimed team silver and individual bronze in the eventing at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games today.

William Fox-Pitt held the lead overnight, but Christopher Stone’s Chilli Morning hit fence two and the pair fell to bronze.

“I feel very lucky to have got a bronze — when the competition is this tight I could just as easily have lost any sort of medal,” said William.

Zara Phillips jumped a fantastic clear today on Trevor Hemmings’ High Kingdom to help Britain secure silver and finish 11th individually.

Third team member Tina Cook had two down with Jim Chromiak’s De Novo News for 16th.

Harry Meade stood on the podium with the other riders to receive his medal, smiling bravely after the loss of his ride Wild Lone yesterday on the cross-country.

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Germany’s Sandra Auffarth showjumped clear to move up from individual silver to gold with Opgun Louvo.

Her team-mate Michael Jung was also faultless on FischerRocana FST and rose a rung to silver.

This pair combined with Ingrid Klimke — also clear on FRH Escada JS — to win Germany’s fourth championship team gold in a row.

The Dutch were the big winners of today’s showjumping, rising to bronze with clears from Merel Blom (Rumour Has It) and Elaine Pen (Vira), plus eight faults from Tim Lips (Keyflow NOP).

“We didn’t take all the risks but played it safe, and that made us strong,” said Tim.

British individual Nicola Wilson had an unfortunate time in the showjumping when Annie Clover seemed a little overwhelmed. She had three fences down, before stopping at the last, but completed in 25th place.

Ireland held onto their sixth place today to secure their Olympic qualification. France (fourth) and Australia (fifth) also qualified, as well as the medal-winning teams.

Full report on the eventing from WEG in H&H this week, out Thursday, 4 September.

WEG eventing: Britain’s William Fox-Pitt poised for individual gold

Pippa Roome — Sat, 30 Aug 2014 17:19:59 +0000

William Fox-Pitt leads individually and the British team provisionally holds the team gold after cross-country day at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Update at 10pm: Britain in team silver

The day was a major triumph for British eventing — until the awful news at the close of competition that Harry Meade’s Wild Lone had collapsed and died after finishing the course.

“I’m very happy and proud of my horse, but I’m devastated by Harry’s news,” said William. “With him being in the team and a close friend, it’s hard to celebrate much.”

The soft going was just as tough as anyone expected — although Harry was at pains to state he did not feel this was connected to Wild Lone’s death — and no one made the 10min 32sec optimum time.

William finished with 12.8 time-faults after a fantastic round on Christopher Stone’s Chilli Morning, whose only risky moment was at the final water fence, where the step up with a bounce to a skinny fish was influential all day.

“Yogi Breisner said there was no point going well until the eight minute marker and then not getting home and he was right,” said William. “Chilli came home jumping well, but I’ve never finished a course on him as tired as that. He was amazing at the last water.”

Fellow British team members Tina Cook (Jim Chromiak’s De Novo News) and Zara Phillips (Trevor Hemmings’ High Kingdom) also jumped clear, with Tina lying 13th (17.6 time-faults) and Zara 14th (14.4 time-faults).

“The ground really is soft — you’ve just got to look after them out there because they don’t travel as easily as they normally do,” said Zara. “The first bit is really intense, then there are longer stretches where you can back off them a bit.”

Tina said: “The main thing was to make sure you had enough horse to get over the last water. Yogi [Breisner, British eventing performance manager] did say to think about going the long route if he was tired so I had to make an executive decision, but I decided to go straight and he was very good.”

At the end of the day it looked like Britain would be in team silver overnight behind the Germans, but Ingrid Klimke was then given 20 penalties on the scoreboard, which had also briefly appeared during her round. Ingrid had a wild ride through the first water on FRH Escada JS and could have been given the penalties either for presenting to the third part before taking the alternative or crossing her tracks at this point. At the time of publication, these result had not been officially confirmed. Update at 10pm: Britain in team silver

In the individual race, the German dressage leader Sandra Auffarth now sits second after 16.8 time-faults on Opgun Louvo.

“I watched this morning and talked to the German riders. I saw the difficult fences and that the time was of secondary importance,” said Sandra. “I tried to get in a good rhythm and have a good round because they needed me for the team.”

New Zealand and USA drop out

The teams who lay second and third after dressage failed to record a team score today. For New Zealand, Mark Todd had a fall at the final water with Leonidas and Tim Price was pulled up on a very tired Wesko two fences from home. With team chances gone, Jock Paget retired Clifton Promise after an early run-out and decided to head to Burghley with the horse.

The bright spots for New Zealand were individual Jonelle Price recording the fastest round of the day — four time-faults on Classic Moet — for fourth and Andrew Nicholson slotting into fifth with the second-fastest (7.2 time-penalties).

“I haven’t had her that long so I didn’t go out with much of a plan, just to see how she answered the questions and see how she went, but she kept answering them and travelling well,” said Jonelle.

Andrew said: “Nereo is probably the most experienced horse here, but he’s a big powerful sort who likes top of the ground. He’s not the ideal type for deep going — I’m proud of him.”

The USA’s challenge was also over after the first two riders — Buck Davidson pulled up a tiring Ballynoe Castle RM, who had problems at the final water, and Phillip Dutton had a similar experience earlier on course with Trading Aces.

Britain’s individuals

The only British rider who did not complete the course was Oliver Townend. His ride, Karyn Schuter’s Black Tie II, prefers firmer going and Oliver pulled him up after a couple of problems.

Nicola Wilson, the second British individual, had a great round with 18 time-faults on her parents Mary and Barry Tweddle’s Annie Clover. She lies 11th.

“She was just mega — straight and on a line and she had it all sussed out before we even got there,” said Nicola.

Keep checking horseandhound.co.uk for more from WEG. Full report on the eventing in the magazine out this Thursday, 4 September.

Full results

WEG eventing: Germany holds double gold after dressage; William Fox-Pitt in silver

Pippa Roome — Fri, 29 Aug 2014 16:36:31 +0000

Germany holds team and individual gold at the close of the eventing dressage at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

Sandra Auffarth leads individually with her multi-medallist Opgun Louvo (above), after scoring 35.2. She scored a 10 from Gillian Rolton at C for her final centreline and halt.

“I know he can do a very good test, but I also knew it was a difficult arena and atmosphere and that going last could be tricky, with being left alone in the warm-up,” she said. “He was a bit affected by it, but it gave him a bit more pizzazz.”

Sandra is 2.3pen ahead of William Fox-Pitt (Chilli Morning), who led last night and now holds the silver position. New Zealand’s Jock Paget, who rode this morning, lies third.

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Harry Meade was Britain’s final team member this afternoon (right) and, as expected, he is the drop score after this phase. His mark of 56.3 puts him 59th. Charlotte Opperman’s Wild Lone was a little fidgety in his mouth in the trotwork, but settled in canter for some good work.

“He’s notoriously difficult in the dressage and the atmosphere is quite close in there with the grandstands being so near — that rather got to him,” said Harry. “But there were no disasters and in the circumstances it was as good as we could have hoped for with him being a bit fractious.”

Ireland’s disappointment

Perhaps the biggest disappointment of the two days of dressage was for Aoife Clark, who should have been Ireland’s strongest performer, but had a horrible time today with the Blenheim and Bramham winner Fenyas Elegance. She is 83rd on 63.5 with her problems including an unscheduled extra rein-back at the end of the walk.

“She was lovely outside, but when the clap went up for the rider before she just didn’t know what to do with herself,” said Aoife. “She got extremely tense and there wasn’t time to settle her.”

To a lesser extent, New Zealand’s final rider Andrew Nicholson also had issues with a couple of mistakes in his canterwork with Nereo, but was not too upset with 45.3 for 13th.

“His trotwork was probably the best he’s done to be up with the leaders and he got over his mistakes each time,” said Andrew. “He’s a big horse to make elegant.”

The other big drama in the final rotation of team riders was the withdrawal of Italy’s star combination, Vittoria Panizzon and Borough Pennyz.

Just 8sec from bronze

New Zealand lies second to Germany in the team standings, with the USA holding the bronze position. Britain is in fifth, 25.1pen behind Germany, but just 3.2pen off the bronze — the equivalent of just 8sec of time-penalties on the cross-country.

No one expects this World Championship to be decided on the dressage with Pierre Michelet’s cross-country course in the mix. Two fences have been taken out of the track because of the soft ground and the route shortened to the tune of 58sec being taken off the original 11min 30sec optimum time (subject to confirmation).

Andrew Nicholson said: “They’ve taken one hill out, which will be a big help, and that hill had a lot of soft patches. There was quite a sizey jump [fence 23] on it too, which would have been difficult to jump on soft ground. The other fence [20] was in a bit of a bog so it’s good that’s been taken out.”

Other riders warned that the changes may not actually make a lot of difference.

“In some ways it could be more difficult as they’ve taken out a galloping stretch, so it makes it more intense,” said Jock.

More updates from the eventing at WEG over the weekend. Full report in the magazine out next Thursday, 4 September.

Individual placings after dressage

1. Sandra Auffarth on Opgun Louvo (GER) 35.2

2. William Fox-Pitt on Chilli Morning (GBR) 37.5

3. Jock Paget on Clifton Promise (NZL) 38

Other British placings

16. Nicola Wilson on Annie Clover (GBR, individual) 46

21. Oliver Townend on Black Tie II (GBR, individual) 47.2

34. Tina Cook on De Novo News (GBR, team) 50

53. Zara Phillips on High Kingdom (GBR, team) 54.5

59. Harry Meade on Wild Lone (GBR, team) 56.3

Team placings after dressage

1. Germany 116.9

2. New Zealand 125.5

3. USA 138.8

4. France 139.9

5. Britain 142

6. The Netherlands 142.8

Full results

Michael Jung to make his Badminton debut

Pippa Roome — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 11:19:21 +0000

Germany’s Olympic champion Michael Jung and his gold medal-winning team-mates from London 2012 head up the entry list for this year’s Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials, revealed this morning.

Michael will field two horses on his Badminton debut, his European, Olympic and world champion La Biosthetique-Sam FBW (pictured) and last year’s Luhmühlen CCI**** winner Leopin FST. He stands a good chance of being the first person to win on their first attempt here since Mark Todd triumphed back in 1980.

Three more of the German team from the Games will come to Badminton: the individual bronze medalists Sandra Auffarth (also a first-timer) and Opgun Louvo, Dirk Schrade (who is looking for a first completion having withdrawn after dressage in 2006) on his London ride King Artus and Hop And Skip and Ingrid Klimke — who was second here in 2006 with Sleep Late and rides FRH Butts Abraxxas this time.

All the British silver medal winners have entered their London horses. Nicola Wilson and Opposition Buzz have been in the top eight three times here, while Zara Phillips’ ride High Kingdom makes his debut.

Tina Cook will want a first completion as well as a high placing for Miners Frolic, who fell in The Lake in 2010 and was withdrawn before dressage in 2011 with the wither lump which went on to trigger his serious health issues that year. Tina has a second ride in the home-bred De Novo News.

Badminton final scores

Mary King has a choice of three rides (riders can only start on two horses): Imperial Cavalier, Kings Temptress and Fernhill Urco, who all have strong four-star results to their names.

William Fox-Pitt has an impressive line-up of five horses entered as he seeks to complete the valuable Rolex Grand Slam: London ride Lionheart, Bramham winner Chilli Morning, world silver medallist Cool Mountain, Burghley and Kentucky winner Parklane Hawk and Oslo, the 2011 Pau winner who is returning from injury this season.

Four of the riders who took team bronze for New Zealand compete, three of them potentially on their London horses. Andrew Nicholson has Nereo, Avebury and Mr Cruise Control entered, Mark Todd also has three (new ride Ravenstar, Major Milestone and NZB Campino). Jock Paget has Clifton Promise and Clifton Lush, while Caroline Powell has Boston Two Tip and Onwards And Upwards, but will miss the recently-retired Lenamore. If Jonelle Richards and Flintstar get in from the waiting list (22nd), all five of the Kiwi London team will be here.

Seven riders who have won before are entered: Paul Tapner, William Fox-Pitt, Pippa Funnell (who, excitingly, has Redesigned on the list), Mary King, Oliver Townend, Mark Todd and Lucinda Fredericks. Lucinda is 23rd on the waiting list with Prada, but if the numbers from previous years hold true, she is likely to get in (see more below).

H&H eventing diarist Lauren Shannon is entered with Zero Flight, while first-timers to watch include 2011 young rider team gold and individual silver medallist Willa Newton with Neelix (second on the waiting list) and Tom McEwen, 19th on his four-star debut at Burghley 2011 with the horse he rides here, Dry Old Party.

How many will get in from the waiting list?

In all, 141 horses were entered for Badminton — an identical number to last year. Fifty are on the waiting list, just one more than last year.

Ninety-one horses have been accepted, but a maximum of 85 will start — the extras take into account that four riders have more than two horses accepted, but they can only start on two.

Horses are accepted into Badminton on the basis of which have won the most FEI points at three- and four-star level in the past two years, so the horses with most points are accepted and then the others are wait-listed in points order.

Since this system was brought in 2008, between 17 (in 2011) and 43 horses (in 2009) have been accepted from the waiting list into the competition. Badminton was cancelled in 2012 before the cut-off point so there are no comparable statistics. The average from the four years between 2009 and 2011 is 32 horses accepted from the waiting list.

If that average applied this year, Emily Llewellyn and Pardon Me II, 32nd on the list, would be the final combination to get in, while those who miss out would include Georgie Spence with Running Brook II (42nd on the list), a rider who has previously won the best under-25 prize here, and vet Tony Warr (44th) on his popular horse Coolgrange Merger.

The wait-listed entries will replace horses which are withdrawn up until 2pm on Monday, 29 April.

Badminton entries and waiting list

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At this week’s Europeans, Sandra rode another chestnut, Nikolaus Prinz von Croy’s Viamant Du Matz, to his first individual medal, a bronze, as well as leading Germany to team silver.

Sandra had to showjump clear today to secure Germany’s team silver – had she had a fence down, her nation would have dropped behind France and taken bronze instead.

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“He was really concentrating,” said Sandra. “Dressage is not his favourite; he enjoys the jumping part much more, but he had a good attitude and mindset. I also know it will not be a dressage competition, the jumping will be tough enough.”

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Individual French rider Gireg Le Coz, riding the rangy Aisprit De Loge, thrilled the home crowd with a sub-30 and into seventh at this stage on the European Eventing Championships dressage leaderboard. Their loose and athletic test scored 28.8.

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“I’m very happy with my horse – we know he’s special and I’m just very grateful for him to do a clear round in there and a very safe test on my own terms,“ Oliver explained after his test.

Laura said: “He just sucked back a little bit and wasn’t really taking me. Obviously I know some people would be pleased with a 25, but on a horse like him it is a bit disappointing.

The bronze medal position is filled overnight by the Japanese team, with Kazuma Tomoto (Vinci De La Vigne) fifth and Toshiyuki Tanaka (Talma D’Allou) 20th.

“William is especially helpful at big events like championships or Badminton – he understands everything, how to relax horses or help them recover.”

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