It is very tight at the top in the CICO3* Nations Cup at Aachen with Australia leading (139.80), New Zealand second (142.20), Great Britain third (142.50) and Germany fourth (142.90).
With Rio the next stop for many contenders and only 3.1 penalties between the top four nations, this will be a nail biter of a finish
Shane Rose and CP Qualified, third heading into the cross country after a clear show jumping round
Yesterday we said that it would be interesting having Shane Rose go last in the cross country and, after his performance on CP Qualified in the dressage and show jumping on Friday, it is now going to be even more interesting
A German rider led after the dressage but it was one not currently short listed on the German Rio squad. Bettina Hoy certainly made a point however with her two horses, the 10 year old Seigneur Medicott leading on a score of 31 and Designer 10 in third on 36.70, especially bearing in mind that two of the judges here, Sandy Phillips (at H) and Andrew Bennie (at C) will also be on the Ground Jury in Rio.
With the German team not yet finalised, Bettina Hoy and Seigneur Medicott, currently in second place have nothing to lose
The judges liked Bettina’s test on Seigneur Medicott, with both Sandy and Andrew having her in first place; splitting Bettina’s horses in second place was New Zealand’s Jonelle Price riding the very elegant Faerie Dianimo on a score of 35.30
“When you get it right with her, it’s really special,” said Jonelle and, while it was not a personal best, having previously scored 32 penalty points at Luhmuhlen in 2015, Jonelle felt their efforts at Aachen were a far better performance
“Here we had a plan and executed it well,” she said. “She is so talented and has something not every eventing horse can do . . . but it is about getting it all right on the day and then she’s a real contender.”
Unfortunately both ladies had rails in the show jumping; Bettina on Seigneur Medicott picked up eight penalties to move them down to second and also eight penalties for Jonelle to move them to fifth but still well within striking distance of the leaders. Sadly for Bettina, Designer 10, the horse she is nominated on for the Block 1 of the German Rio squad, had 17 penalties
A clear round for Michael Jung and FischerTakinou put them back on top
Michael Jung and FischerTakinou were in fourth (37.2) after the dressage while the German Nations Cup team were not quite on their normal form with Michael and La Biosthetique Sam in 10th, Ingrid Klimke and Horseware Hale Bon in seventh, Dirk Schrade on Hop and Skip in 20th and Andreas Ostholt on So Is Et in 13th leaving the German team in second place (128.50) behind Australia (127.80) after the dressage. However they dropped to fourth place after show jumping with Dirk Schrade and Andreas Ostholt removing several rails between them while Australia maintained their lead
West Australian Sonja Johnson warms up Parkiarrup Illicit Liaison
Sonja Johnson, the first rider in for Australia on Parkiarrup Illicit Liaison, had a bevy of German dressage heavyweights before and after her. The off the track chestnut gelding can perform well in the dressage arena and Sonja was pleased with his relaxation but today was not their day with a score of 53.50 in the dressage and eight jumping faults, leaving them in 35th place. The cross country is certainly their favourite phase and it wouldn’t surprise us to see this pair come home under time
Sammi Birch and Hunter Valley II
Australia’s second team rider Sammi Birch was also between two German riders, Michael Jung and Julia Krajewski. Sammi and Hunter Valley II have been on great form lately and their score of 45.8 plus one rail in the show jumping has left them mid-field in 19th place, just behind Andrew Hoy riding as an individual on Rutherglen, in 17th place.
Britain’s Zara Tindall, also riding as an individual, had a bad day on High Kingdom who was clearly not happy in the arena and showed it when he stopped and backed up in the canter work, leaving them way down the leader board and, although Tim Price was very happy with the 10 year old Bango, who had some problems with head shaking in the arena, he feels that there is much more to come
“It is the best preparation we have had,” he said. “In the past where he was a bit green, this time it was mistakes, and too many mean an average score. It is a real shame really.”
The NZ team of Jock Paget with Clifton Signature, Blyth Tait on Xanthus III (above), Jonelle Price on Faerie Dianimo and Tim Price on Bango are hot on Australia's heels
However they jumped one of the 17 clear rounds leaving them in 24th place and the New Zealand team are currently in second place on 142.20
Chris Burton and his Olympic nominated horse Nobilis 18 were always going to be up there after the dressage and they produced the goods with a score of 40.80 for eighth place after the dressage but two rails in the show jumping at the last two fences have moved them down to 15th. This is a venue where Chris has had much success in the past and he knows the cross country course and its terrain very well which should stand him in good stead tomorrow
Chris Burton and Nobilis 18
Shane Rose was the only one to jump clear on CP Qualified for Australia and, having had a good start in the dressage with a score of 41.20 for ninth place, he now finds himself in third place
However this is no normal competition – with riders on Olympic horses, some teams yet to be decided, selectors standing by and a real sense of anticipation, the strategies are going to come into play big time on Saturday’s cross country.
Two key German riders withdrew after the show jumping, third placed Sandra Auffarth on Opgun Louvo and equal first Julia Krakewski on Samourai du Thot. There can be no doubt that Sandra now heads to Rio and maybe Julia will be joining her?
This leaves Australia’s Shane Rose in third place behind Michael Jung on FischerTakinou (37.2) and Bettina Hoy (39) on Seigneur Medicott. Bettina has nothing to lose but both Shane and Michael are on their likely Rio horses .........
Sandra Auffarth and Opgun Louvo have withdrawn - next stop Rio (above) and Ingrid Klimke will be one to watch tomorrow (below)
Team competitions are always fascinating but one so close to the Olympic Games has an extra ‘frisson’ when you try and work out what team coaches are adding into the mix.
“What do you think Shane will do?” I idly enquired of someone who shall remain nameless
“Well, Shane only knows two speeds; fast and stop and I don’t think he’ll stop until the end” said the fount of all wisdom
Frankly, I haven’t got a clue how it will unfold but it’s going to be exciting ................
View our cross country gallery here
Britain's Laura Collett and Grand Manoeuvre are 10th individually, the best of the British all lady team of Laura, Nicola Wilson, Franky Reid-Warrilow and Tina Cook
