Michael Jung and fischerChipmunk FRH
Germany leads the way at the Longines FEI Eventing European Championships in Luhmühlen but Team GBR are chasing as we head into the cross-country phase of competition.
Great Britain is second (85.70) behind the host country Germany who has a commanding lead with a combined score of 68.90 and Belgium,a country looking for a Tokyo Olympic Games berth, is currently in third place (90.90)
Germany also hold the top individual standings with Michael Jung riding fischerChipmunk FRH in the lead on a score of 20.90 and Ingrid Klimke riding SAP Hale Bob in second place (22.20) topping the individual standings. Britain's Laura Collett, who led the field after day one of dressage with her own, Keith Scott and Karen Bartlett’s London 52, is now in bronze medal position. She’s joined by three other Team GBR riders in the top ten – Oliver Townend (7th), Kitty King (8th) and Tina Cook (9th).
Laura commented that competing as an individual might help ease the pressure tomorrow as “I’ll be able to do my own thing and concentrate on my own horse”.
She also revealed that she’ll be wearing her lucky gold horseshoe in the cross-country “I was given it by a friend at a Junior competition years ago and I found it when I was getting packed for coming here the other day, so I’ll definitely be wearing it.”
Michael Jung, who has smashed pretty much every record in the sport, has just put himself in line for another – a fourth European title on a fourth horse. The double Olympic champion, who never gives away a mark if he can help it, has a great reputation for getting the best out of all sorts of horses. With his Luhmühlen ride fischerChipmunk FST, he has the added benefit of the 11-year-old by Contendro having been well established at top level by his former rider, Julia Krajewski (GER).
Jung’s outstanding score of 20.9 – despite a break of pace in the free walk – could not be bettered, even by defending champion Ingrid Klimke (GER)
“Chipmunk is a fantastic horse. He’s so intelligent and extremely well trained,” said Jung, who blamed himself for the mistake. “He has a lot of power and sometimes there’s a difficult balance between that and keeping him relaxed. Maybe I risked a little bit too much in the walk so he accidentally broke into trot.
“I nearly liked everything in the test today, just not really the walk – the extended walk especially!”
“The cross-country course is going to be fantastic. It has been built beautifully, however, the time will be crucial and should not be underestimated. Riding too fast might cause run-outs, so concentration throughout is going to be needed. There are many interesting but very clear questions, making this a fabulous championship course.”
Klimke produced a reliably stellar performance on her regular team partner SAP Hale Bob OLD to score 22.2. Their test reflected a beautifully trained horse and a happy partnership, and Klimke even had time to pat her 15-year-old bay gelding in reward for a smooth flying change.
“Bobby was proud as a Spaniard coming into the arena where the atmosphere has been fantastic today. He was perfectly relaxed, which made riding the test so easy” laughed Ingrid
Ingrid Klimke and SAP Hale Bob
German team member Kai Ruder (Colani Sunrise) is now in fourth place and and France’s Lt Col Thibaut Vallette (Qing de Briot) while the Dutch team rider Tim Lips has slotted into sixth place on Bayro on a score of 26.0 and three British riders occupy the next three places.
They are headed by team anchorman Oliver Townend, who has been grounded for some weeks after a fall. He put in a solid performance, bar a slight stumble in trot, and is in seventh place on his dual Kentucky winner Cooley Master Class (27.6). Individual runner Kitty King (Vendredi Biats) is eighth on 27.9.
The 2009 champion Kristina Cook, currently ninth on 28.3, is back on the team with a well-behaved Billy The Red. They were dropped from the team last year due to the Balou de Rouet gelding putting in some occasionally explosive Dressage performances.
Tina and Elisabeth Murdoch’s Billy The Red was the first Team GBR rider to perform in the dressage arena on the second day of competition, and she posted a score of 28.3 to stand ninth after the dressage phase. Commenting afterwards, Tina said that “He [Billy The Red] has the potential to do a really amazing test. He was born sharp and bright, and you can’t take that out of him – for a little horse, he’s very elegant. I have to be so relaxed myself to make it seem as though we’re in the school at home and there are not thousands of people watching him.”
Kitty King, on Diana Bown, Sally Eyre, Samantha Wilson and Sally Lloyd-Baker’s Vendredi Biats, is competing at Luhmühlen as an individual. She posted a score of 27.9 and lies eighth going into the cross-crountry phase.
“It’s probably the biggest atmosphere [Vendredi Biats] has been in and he coped really well,” she said after her test. “He may not be the finished article just yet but it’s exciting and there’s more to come. He’s just getting stronger and more mature.”
Laura Collett and London 52
The Belgian team, which is seeking one of the two precious Olympic qualification slots for Tokyo 2020, is in third place with a team total of 90.9; France, Ireland and Italy follow, with just 3.4 penalties covering the four nations.
Attention is now focused on tomorrow’s Cross Country test designed by Mike Etherington-Smith, who has re-routed the track, allowing plenty of alternative routes while warning that they will cost in time penalties. “It’s beautifully designed and built,” commented Townend.
“It’s a proper course – beautifully designed and beautifully built. Sometimes, you get a gimmicky course where you feel they’re trying to catch your horse, where for me I prefer one where, if you’re on your line and your horse is 100% switched on and focussed, then you should do well.”
Other thoughts on the cross country
Karin Donckers: “It’s a beautiful course as always in Luhmühlen. The ground is perfect and the questions are challenging but fair and clear. Should anything not go according to plan, then there is always an option for plan B or C.”
Chris Bartle: “This is a challenging championship course with many technical questions to answer. Time is going to be a deciding factor too as riders will have to choose direct routes to be in with a chance to stay within the optimum time whilst staying absolutely focused to avoid unexpected run-outs.”
Josefa Sommer: “I am really looking forward to tomorrow. I have a very safe cross-country horse and all questions are very clear, which is why I plan to ride direct routes at least for now.”
Kristina Cook: “The way the fences are situated it is very easy to make mistakes. It’s going to be a proper gold medal winning performance if you manage to go round clear and stay within the optimum time tomorrow. You have to be very open-minded – there are so many options. You can’t predict now which option you are going to go for, you have to be flexible as a rider.”
Sandra Auffarth: “I am really looking forward to tomorrow’s cross-country. The course looks awesome. It’s definitely challenging but the questions are fair and clear.”
Tim Lips: “The cross-country course is very cleverly built. I think Mike Etherington-Smith wanted to make sure we concentrate all the way round. You need to read the course really well.”
The cross-country phase begins at 10:00CET on Saturday 31 August. The Team GBR riders will begin their rounds at the following times:
10:32CET Pippa Funnell – Majas Hope
11:48 Piggy French – Quarrycrest Echo
12:24 Laura Collett – London 52*
13:44 Tina Cook – Billy The Red
14:04 Kitty King – Vendredi Biats*
15:04 Oliver Townend – Cooley Master Class
* denotes riding as an individual
