The victorious Australian team - Sonja Johnson, Chris Burton, Sammi Birch and Shane Rose. This isn't the first medal at Aachen for Sonja - she won team bronze here at the 2006 World Equestrian Games
Well, goodness gracious me. For the first time since the start of the new FEI Nations Cup Eventing Series in 2012, Germany was beaten on home soil. It wasn’t just any old soil, it was the Holy Grail of Aachen and it wasn’t any old German team, it was Michael Jung, Ingrid Klimke, Andreas Ostholt and Dirk Schrade
The Australian team of Sonja Johnson, Sammi Birch, Chris Burton and Shane Rose held a very small margin of a lead heading into the cross country where any of the four top teams could have taken the biscuit. Michael Jung on his team horse La Biosthetique Sam was first out, coming home with 5.2 time penalties and his compatriot Ingrid Klimke went one better by returning home on her individual ride Horseware Hale Bob without time or jumping penalties but it was a while before that would be achieved again.
Ingrid Klimke and Horseware Hale Bob
Suddenly, things didn’t look so easy with Sweden’s Ludwig Svennerstal falling on Franzipan at Fence 17C, the experienced New Zealander Blyth Tait being eliminated at 22B, having had a run-out and then apparently missing the B element altogether, and Britain’s Franky Reid-Warrilow retiring on Dolley Whisper after all sorts of trouble. Back at home base, most of the team riders must have been steeling themselves to try and finish the job
Sonja Johnson and Parkiarrup Illicit Liaison
However, in the middle of all of this, Australia’s Sonja Johnson had not only made it around the course on Parkiarrup Illicit Liaison but had made it look easy. They didn’t make the time but just four time penalties put them into an exclusive club of ten that gained less than five time penalties on cross country and set the Australian team up with an excellent start
Sammi Birch last rode on an Australian team at the World Equestrian Games in Jerez in 2000 but her re-appearance here, after having a baby just last year, was a very good one. Sammi and her homebred Hunter Valley II also coped very easily with the skinnies and mounds that were causing grief for many others and they too were fast – just 3.6 time penalties and Sammi couldn’t wipe the grin off her face as she came into the main arena and then through the finish flags
Intense! Sammi Birch and Hunter Valley II
Britain’s Zara Phillips was riding as an individual but she looked determined as she guided a very strong High Kingdom around the track. It was seat of the pants type riding at times but they came home with just eight time faults to move up from 38th after a bad first day to finish in 22nd place. The British team were one woman down with Frankie having had trouble at three separate fences including the very difficult 22B which also caught out her team mate Laura Collett riding Grand Manoeuvre later on but the very experienced Tina Cook on her less experienced Calvino II and Nicola Wilson on One Two Many saved the day.
Tina brought the 11 year old Calvino II home with 9.2 time to finish 12th overall and Nicola rode an accurate and fast round with just four time penalties, finishing in eighth but, with Frankie’s elimination, Laura’s score had to count and Britain finished in fifth place in the team competition. Watching Nicola and Tina on course makes you realise how lucky the British are if they can leave them off an Olympic team
Flying Aoife Clark and Wasting Light
As Britain was going down the leader board, Ireland was coming up with the three girls Aoife Clark on the nine year old Wasting Light, Elizabeth Power on her grey stallion Soladoun and Sarah Ennis on BLM Diamond Delux all put up very good performances which eventually saw the Irish team on the podium as bronze medallists
With Australia following Germany in the draw until the top ten (which ran in reverse order), there were two very fast riders out on course as Chris Burton on the German bred horse Nobilis 18 chased Germany’s Dirk Schrade around the course. Dirk was fast, Chris was faster but neither of them could join Ingrid with zero time penalties against their name.
Chris Burton and Nobilis 18
Chris moved up from 15th to fifth with just 0.4 time penalties (oh, so close!) but the only other rider to come in under time was Phillip Dutton on Indian Mill. Phillip’s ride was a master class in guiding a not very experienced horse through Rudiger Schwarz’s track with absolute accuracy and constant forward riding. Unfortunately his team mates didn’t fare quite so well although Hannah Sue Burnett put in a very good performance at her Aachen debut to finish 11th on Harbour Pilot and the US team finished in sixth place
The final few riders provided an exciting finale with Ingrid Klimke’s second ride on SAP Escada FRH having the crowd on the edge of the seats (in the arena at least). She couldn’t match her own first round score on Horseware Hale Bob but just four time penalties on the mare meant she finished in third and fourth places and Shane Rose also came very close to making the time.
Shane was kicking on for all he was worth towards the end of the course but the pair had taken the entire course completely in their stride, not missing a beat at any of the difficult combinations and looking very comfortable competing again on European soil. Shane and CP Qualified picked up just 1.6 time penalties to complete on 42.80 and, when Bettina Hoy on Seigneur Medicott had a run out at 17C, only one man was in Shane’s way of victory
Shane Rose and CP Qualified
But this man was Michael Jung and, in the words of Piggy French, “Oh Michi, you’re so fine, you’re so fine, you blow my mind”. It was a beautiful round by Michael and FischerTakinou (watch it in full here) but they did incur 5.2 time penalties, finishing on 42.20, just 0.40 ahead of Shane
Shane did get a winner’s rug however as part of the Australian gold winning team and I have no doubt that these rugs will get pride of place in the stables of Shane, Chris, Sammi and Sonja for quite a while. Australia won the FEI Nations Cup team competition on a score of 145.4 ahead of Germany and Ireland and Australia now sit in fourth place on the Series leader board
Shane Rose and CP Qualified (above) and sharing a moment with Ingrid Klimke's Horseware Hale Bob (below)
1 Australia 145.4
Shane Rose/CP Qualified, 42.8; Christopher Burton/Nobilis 18, 49.2; Samantha Birch/Hunter Valley ll, 53.4; (Sonja Johnson/Parkiarrup Illicit Liaison, 65.5)
2 Germany, 154.9
Ingrid Klimke/SAP Escada FRH, 46.9; Michael Jung/La Biosthetique Sam FBW, 49.7; Dirk Schrade/Hop and Skip, 58.3; (Andreas Ostholt/So Is Et, 62.9)
3 Ireland, 179.9
Aoife Clark/Wasting Light, 58.0; Elizabeth Power/Soladoun, 58.7; Sarah Ennis/BLM Diamond Delux, 63.2
Full results available here
Standings (after 6 out of 9 events)
1 Great Britain 465 points
2 Germany 360
3 France 295
4 Australia 260
5 Ireland 250
6 USA 205
7 Netherlands 195
8 Sweden 150
9 Italy 140
10 New Zealand 130
