The legendary Marcus Ehning stepped in to ride for the German team at the European Showjumping Championships at the 11th hour after a team-mate’s horse was ruled out.
The 47-year-old, who has been on the gold medal-winning team at five senior championships, was brought in when Maurice Tebbel’s ride Don Diarado was pulled out with a suspected hoof abscess.
Marcus and his own and Elm Rock BV’s 10-year-old stallion Stargold crossed the finish line in today’s speed class in a superb 72.32 seconds, which would have been good enough for second place had two poles not fallen, Stargold showing his spirit and enthusiasm in some exuberant bucks en route.
“It was bad for the team that Maurice couldn’t ride but the decision had to be made for the benefit of the horse,” said David Will, who won today’s class on C Vier. “But if you’ve got Marcus as your fifth, you’re pretty well off!
“We’ve got a good team and good team spirit; we’re working well together and we’ll see where this week leads us.”
“I have to try to concentrate on myself,” Marcus added. “On the one hand, you already want to ride, sure. But when it happens like this, it’s not so nice in the end.”
Marcus also finished in ninth place in today’s CSI3* competition, a qualifier for Saturday’s (4 September) three-star grand prix, on Comme Il Faut. The 16-year-old stallion was his partner on the silver medal-winning German team at the 2019 European Showjumping Championships.
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