Astier Nicolas and Babylon de Gamma. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Astier Nicolas is down to one horse in the running for the yet-to-be-named final French team ahead of their home Olympics in Paris next month. The 2016 team gold and individual silver medalist announced that he had withdrawn Babylon de Gamma from consideration after a minor injury stemming from a lost shoe was sustained at Marbach in Germany in May.
His statement posted on social media, which has been translated from German (please forgive any translation errors!) is as follows:
“The small injury sustained from his cross-country course in Marbach, which was run mostly unbeaten, leaves us a little less time than initially planned to prepare him for the Olympic Games. After discussions with federal staff, his owners and I resolved with great disappointment to remove him from the competition. We are all competitive bitten but we love our horse more than anything. No doubt he will come back stronger to face new challenges together.”
“Ultimately, it turns out that the timing won’t be perfect,” he also told Cheval Mag. “I don’t want to take him if the conditions aren’t ideal.”
Astier was named to the French longlist with two horses, the other being the 14-year-old Anglo Arabian gelding, Alertamalib’or (Summer Song – Dambine, by Prince Ig’or). Alertamalib’or achieved his final MER for Paris in the 4*-S at Luhmühlen earlier this month. The gelding also came second in the 4*-L at Saumur in April and won at the same level and same venue in 2022. Alertamalib’or was also Astier’s partner for the most recent FEI World Championships for Eventing in Pratoni del Vivaro.
So while it could be argued that the 13-year-old Babylon de Gamma (Mylord Carthago – Sunshine Des Ka, by Happy Vergoignan) may have been the more competitive of the two, being a confirmed 5* horse, Astier is by no means out of the running for what would be his second Olympic appearance, and the experience of Alertamalib’or should not be discounted.
Astier Nicolas and Alertamalib’Or. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
“[Alertamalib’or] qualified like the great champion he is with an extremely demanding season where qualification and selection had to be cumulative,” Astier wrote. “He had no fault and never failed in each of his three qualifying outings, and he took on the challenge beautifully.”
The full French longlist can be viewed here as we eagerly await the final selection of the “home team”. Definite entries are due on July 8, so we will have all teams and individuals by or before then. Stay tuned.
View more of EN’s coverage of the Paris Olympics here. We are pleased to bring you our Olympic coverage with support from Kentucky Performance Products.
