Emily Moffitt provides Team GB with a timely boost at European Showjumping Championships

Great Britain’s Emily Moffitt returned home with just four faults to add on day two of the 2021 European Showjumping Championships in Riesenbeck, Germany, on Thursday (2 September).

Riding her brilliant five-star performer Winning Good, owned by Poden Farms and her parents Neil and Heidi Moffitt, she just fell foul of the oxer immediately after the water jump.

The 12-year-old Winningmood gelding was fighting for his head round Frank Rothenberger’s 1.60m track, but Emily did well to hold him together in the lovely turf arena at Ludger Beerbaum’s Riesenbeck base. Adding four penalties to yesterday’s individual score of 8.12 gave Emily a total after day two of 12.12.

“It was such an extravagant jump at the water,” she said. “I think that was definitely going to be our difficult line and I should have maybe just spoken to him a bit or held him off — I thought I did enough but I didn’t.

“Winnie never has a day in his life that he isn’t strong. I was just speaking to Ben [Maher], we had got him into such a great system these past few shows and for some reason he came here and was like ‘party time’! He’s gone back a bit to how he used to be, so we have had to make good of what we have and make good out of a not-so-ideal situation but I think we did that today.”

Emily had said that the format of an opening speed round on the first day hadn’t suited the forward-going gelding, who “is a tank’.

“He felt better than yesterday as right from the start I could focus on the jumps and didn’t have to worry about the time and that made all the difference,” she said. “He’s already so forward that if you ask him to go more forward…well, I haven’t cracked that side of him yet!”

Emily, who is trained by the Olympic showjumping champion Ben Maher, was the second of Great Britain’s riders to jump in day two of three rounds to decide the team medals at the European Showjumping Championships.

She followed Great Britain’s pathfinder Georgia Tame and Z7 Ascot, who produced a nine-fault total round. Emily was followed in to the ring by her team-mates Joe Stockdale (Equine America Cacharel) and William Whitaker (Galtur).

Great Britain’s performance manager Di Lampard has selected a relatively young and inexperienced squad for these European Showjumping Championships and her riders were up against some of the world’s leading athletes. Day two’s contest was proving particularly tricky, with clear rounds very thin on the ground, especially in the early stages.

The team medals are decided tomorrow (Friday 3 September) with the individual championships concluding on Sunday (5 September).

You may also be interested to read…

What time the Brits are in action at the Europeans today, plus how to watch

Britain and Ireland reveal teams for European Showjumping Championships

Tough start for British pathfinder at European Showjumping Championships

How to watch the European Showjumping Championships live – your full guide for 2021

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