Two Irish riders have finished in the top 10 in the individual final at the European Showjumping Championships in Reisenbeck, Germany.
In a nail-biting conclusion to the competition today (5 September) Eoin McMahon and Chacon 2 finished eighth and Daniel Coyle and Legacy were 10th. Germany’s Andre Thieme won gold with DSP Chakaria, Swiss rider Martin Fuchs took silver with Leone Jei and Sweden’s Peder Fredricson and Catch Me Not S took bronze.
Frank Rothenberger’s final track called for accuracy and provided the horses with plenty to look at with a wall and the reappearance of a big vertical made up of colourful planks (fence eight), which had already caused a number of problems on the first day of competition (1 September). But it was a treble combination at fence 5 that caused the biggest issues, with seven out of 12 combinations picking up faults across the three elements.
Jumping in reverse order, 27-year-old Daniel was the first to go with his own and Ariel Grange’s Legacy. The pair produced a lovely round but knocked the first part of the combination and had one time-penalty to add. They finished on a final score of 18.39 penalties.
Entering the ring in 10th, Eoin and the 15-year-old gelding, owned by Madeleine Winter-Schulze, rattled the first but it stayed in place. They went on to expertly navigate the combination without issue, but picked up an unlucky four faults after getting a little long into the planks. The pair had one time-penalty to add to finish on a final score of 16.70.
Both riders have been delighted with their horses throughout as they enjoyed their championship debut at the European Showjumping Championships. Daniel and Eoin helped Ireland to 5th in the team final (4 September) alongside Michael Duffy with Zilton SL and Mark McAuley and Jasco VD Bisschop. Daniel and Legacy produced clear jumping rounds in both days of the team competition, while Eoin jumped clear in the final team round (3 September).
“We always knew she was special,” Daniel said about the 11-year-old mare, whom he has been riding since she was eight.
Eoin, 26, who has been based with Ludger Beerbaum in Riesenbeck since 2018, said he was “thrilled to bits” with Chacon 2.
“My horse has jumped so good all week, there’s been a few rider errors but I’ve learnt an awful lot about championship showjumping,” he said.
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