Showjumping Aachen, Arena UK, Hartpury, South View and more
The legendary German rider gives a masterclass to take the grand prix, while young talent comes to the fore with the sole British representative
TWELVE years after his first Aachen grand prix victory, Marcus Ehning’s name was etched onto the iconic winners’ board once more, after the German claimed an emphatic win in front of an adoring home crowd.
Aboard his prolific grand prix gelding Pret A Tout, with whom he also led the German team to a third consecutive Aachen Nations Cup earlier in the week, Marcus came out on top of a thrilling five-way jump-off almost 2sec faster than his closest rival, Portugal’s Luciana Diniz, setting himself up for a shot at the Rolex Grand Slam.
“He has proved he is one of the best horses in the world, and he likes it here,” said Marcus of the 15-year-old he has partnered since 2015. “He’s very intelligent, flexible and fast, good in the turns, and I can push him all the way. He knows what I want from him and I know what he likes — we’re a good mix.”
Knowing your horse was essential as Frank Rothenberger’s grand prix track was huge and long, with many fences full-up to 1.70m and several testing lines — even if the double of oxers that skirted around the stadium’s water complex did not cause as many issues as Frank predicted.
Eleven combinations managed a clear, but only five of these repeated the feat in the second round, with several slightly misjudging the sharp angled line between the huge Turkish Airlines oxer at eight and the long-striding double at nine. Ireland’s Darragh Kenny could have come to grief here, but his gutsy chestnut mare Babalou 41 stretched to stay clear and reach the jump-off. Sadly, there they clocked up 12 faults, as did Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat, both falling foul of the same double.
Brazil’s Pedro Veniss proved that it was possible, achieving the first triple clear with a smooth, though steady, round on the Kannan stallion Quabri De L’Isle.
Marcus entered the arena to a raucous hand-clap, the passionate Aachen spectators desperately rooting for their hero. The Olympian meant business, taking the first fence on a flyer and hardly checking his experienced campaigner as he thundered down to the upright fence two. The Hiram Chambertin son answered every question as Marcus swung him smoothly but tightly into the double, daring him all the way as they approached the final line.
As they crossed the finish clear in 38.34sec, the crowds had reached the point of hysteria, and only Luciana had a chance of putting paid to a dream finale.
It was a great attempt from Luciana and the experienced For Pleasure mare Fit For Fun 13. They chased Marcus’ time all the way, but a couple of slightly wider turns and having to hook back for an extra stride in the last line left Luciana 2sec off her target — and second in the Aachen grand prix for a frustrating third time.
CHARLES PROVES HIS PROWESS
BRITAIN’S sole representative may have been competing at his first five-star event, but 19-yearold Harry Charles wasn’t one to be underestimated, having become the new European young
rider champion just the week before. And the son of Olympic gold medallist Peter proved he can compete with the best of the seniors, with some super performances through the week qualifying him for the grand prix.
Harry brought three horses out to Germany: “two ex-eventers and a nine-year-old — you don’t see that every day in Aachen,” he quipped.
It was his talented nine-yearold ABC Quantum Cruise who secured his place in Sunday’s showdown with a top-10 finish in Tuesday’s opening competition, and just four faults in Friday’s major class. The OBOS Quality son is one Harry seriously rates and he lived up to expectations round the tough grand prix track. A foot in the water and one rail down left them out of the second round, but just to be in the mix here is a serious achievement for this young pair.
“It felt pretty big out there, but I really enjoyed it,” said Harry, who is the epitome of cool. “Cruise has been my standout performer of the show — I know I’ve got a very serious horse there. Just the qualifiers here would be a five-star class anywhere else, so to come here and qualify for the grand prix was such a great opportunity.”
Harry also banked good results with Controe, an 11-yearold former ride of eventer Laura Collett’s. They fended off some of the biggest names in the world — Marcus Ehning and Pret A Tout included — to finish fourth in Wednesday’s prize of Handwerk, and followed it up with a fantastic second in the hotly contested speed class two days later.
Harry set the standard from first draw with a gutsy clear, Controe hardly blinking at the water complex and ditches. Michael Jung — withdrawn from the eventing here after La Biosthetique Sam FBW suffered lameness — looked on course to catch him until FischerDaily Impressed knocked a brick out of the wall, and it turned out to be only Ireland’s Shane Sweetnam and Cyklon 1083 who managed to pip Harry, by 0.4sec.
“Being first to go was good as I didn’t know what they were all going to do behind me, so I just did my own thing,” said Harry. “I just went as fast as I could and it nearly paid off. If I’d gone a stride less anywhere I’d have had Shane. But to be second in a rankings class at Aachen is incredible.”
HOME TEAM STILL ON FORM
WHILE there was no British team in this year’s Nations Cup, Ireland put out a strong quartet including European gold medal-winning combinations Cian O’Connor on Good Luck, and Shane Sweetnam with Chacqui Z, alongside Darragh Kenny on Babalou
41 and Cameron Hanley with Quirex. Germany were the team to beat and Ireland came within a whisker, finishing just two points behind, with every member of the squad producing a counting score across the two rounds.
“This was a good learning curve ahead of the World Equestrian Games [WEG],” said Cian. “Chef d’equipe Rodrigo Pessoa had a chance to see some newer combinations and some older ones coming back into form. Good Luck hasn’t jumped at a big show since September so he had a long break and only did a few little classes to build up to this, so I’m very pleased that he jumped it so easily and recovered well after the two rounds.
“As a team we learned to work together again, and it was a good gauge of where we are. There’s a bit more work to do to win at WEG, but it’s not a total dream.”
Every member of the German team produced a clear round to secure their third consecutive victory, and it was the youngest member of the team, 24-year-old Laura Klaphake, who managed one of just three double clears, the second round proving the most influential.
She and the 10-year-old
Catoki mare Catch Me If You Can OLD have been together for four years and the strength of their partnership showed.
“She’s not just a horse but a friend, and that’s important as I want her to fight for me in the ring — that’s what she did tonight,” said Laura, who was riding with a black armband in memory of the legendary German showjumper Hans Günter Winkler, who died earlier this month, and her friend and young Irish showjumper Jack Dodd, who was killed in a car accident in June.