Britain primed for gold and a veteran horse who jumps ‘like a deer’: 9 stories you need to read from Saturday at the eventing Europeans
It’s been a day of drama at the European Eventing Championships cross-country in Avenches, but it’s looking golden for the Brits ahead of the final phase tomorrow (26 September). Here’s the lowdown on nine big stories from today’s action…
1. Britain holds team and individual gold overnight after an almost flawless cross-country display from the girls and the tiniest setback for dressage leader Ingrid Klimke.
2. British team rider Nicola Wilson crept up from third to take pole position individually.
3. Riders were worried how twisty Mike Etherington-Smith’s track looked, but the early riders showed both the track and the time were fair.
4. Kitty King secured a stunning British team completion with the third clear round for the team with Vendredi Biats.
5. Britain’s pathfinder Piggy March was only the second rider inside the time, riding Brookfield Inocent, to take fourth.
6. British rider Sarah Bullimore had a dream round as an individual and slotted into fifth spot.
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7. Dressage runner-up Ros Canter dropped out of the reckoning with two late run-outs on the great Allstar B.
8. Ireland hiked up the leaderboard from 11th to fifth with a stunning round from Padraig McCarthy.
9. Can’t wait to see how it all ends?
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Britain on target for double gold after stunning cross-country display at eventing Europeans
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Ros Canter on her European Championships run-outs: ‘I think he was weary – and demoralised’
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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.