Klimke leads German charge
Germany confirm their dominance ahead of the Europeans, while there are highlights for Britain in a somewhat disappointing fifth-place team finish
THEY conceded their Nations Cup CICO3* crown to Australia in Aachen last year, but 12 months on, Germany returned to stamp their authority on home turf, showing they are a force to be reckoned with ahead of the European Championships next month.
In front of an enthusiastic German crowd, Ingrid Klimke and Horseware Hale Bob OLD secured the individual honours, finishing on their 34.5 dressage mark.
Second behind teammate Sandra Auffarth after the dressage, Ingrid jumped a double clear — 13 seconds inside the time across country — propelling her to the top of the leaderboard.
“The horses had to be very focused around the cross-country, as there were plenty of questions, but the fences were encouraging and it was definitely a good warm-up ahead of Strzegom [the Europeans],” said Ingrid. “I tried to slow ‘Bobby’ down before the fences so he didn’t get too fast at them, but he had plenty of energy and it is good for me to know he is so fit.”
When dressage leader Sandra and Opgun Louvo tapped the middle element of the problematic treble in the showjumping, it dropped them down the placings and she finished fourth. Michael Jung’s double clear with La Biosthetique-Sam FBW boosted them into the runner-up spot, with young German rider Josefa Sommer finishing 13th.
For the riders with the Europeans on their horizons, it was a good opportunity to “test drive” a cross-country course devised by the championships’ course-designer Rüdiger Schwarz.
The typically twisting track at Aachen once again made the optimum time difficult to achieve with just five combinations returning home inside the time — British team member Oliver Townend, drawn 27th to go, was the first rider to do so.
It was the Australians’ turn to settle for second in the team standings this year, and it was the 2016 runner-up Shane
Rose, aboard CP Qualified, who prevented a German one-twothree podium whitewash by finishing third.
“We came to Aachen knowing that myself and Chris [Burton] were fairly experienced but it was the first time Katja [Weimann] and Emma [McNab] had been on
the Australian team — we were so pleased with how they coped and it was a great experience for them,” commented Shane.
“CP Qualified had a break over the winter following our disappointing result at the Olympics, where we had trouble at the water — today I made sure I left enough in the tank for the final water combination.
“I was happy with our clear showjumping round, particularly as he tripped and fell over in the warm-up. At 14, he’s getting older now and I’m just starting to get to know him,” Shane quipped.
Sweden landed third with a team of just three riders comprising Niklas Lindbäck, Louise Svensson Jähde and Sara Algotsson Ostholt.
BRAGG IS BEST OF BRITS
IT was a rollercoaster few days for the British contingent with a mixture of highs and lows.
On the plus side, individual rider Alex Bragg (see box, above right) finished best of the Brits in a commendable eighth — consolidating his Badminton performance, where he went well in the first two phases but had to withdraw at the final trot-up.
Pippa Funnell and the 12-yearold grey Billy The Biz got initial proceedings off to a great start by posting a 38.3 dressage score to leave them seventh going into the second phase.
However, a dramatic showjumping ensued when the pair came to grief at the penultimate double, having been jumping with ease around Frank Rothenberger’s testing course.
After having the first element down, the grey gelding stumbled on take-off coming out of the double and pecked on landing, unseating Pippa, who was left nursing a cut chin.
“Billy The Biz is the best jumper out of the team we had in Aachen,” said British chef d’équipe Richard Waygood. “They were foot-perfect until that point and it was so frustrating for Pippa.”
The British team therefore headed into the cross-country fielding three riders and they held onto their overnight fifth position courtesy of two cracking rounds from Oliver Townend aboard Ballaghmor Class (eventual 16th with two down showjumping) and Piggy French riding the 10-yearold Quarrycrest Echo.
Piggy was delighted with how her relatively young ride coped with the overwhelming atmosphere at Aachen.
“He’s been fantastic, he is quite new at this level but it is really exciting for me to have a horse at this standard,” said Piggy, who
came home clear with just 0.4 of a time-penalty to finish ninth. “He slipped coming into the arena at the end and I wasn’t sure if he had lost a shoe, so I wasted a few seconds there.”
The pair had a “spooky
moment” at the water tray during the showjumping, resulting in an unlucky four faults.
The trailblazer for the Brits, 26-year-old Tom McEwen, produced a flawless clear round showjumping with the 10-yearold Toledo De Kerser, but a slight “lack in concentration” from the gelding saw them pick up 20 penalties across country at the ditch-to-box-brush combination.