Tilly Berendt

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Monday News & Notes from FutureTrack

By Tilly Berendt on Aug 28, 2023 5:39 am -

At Scotland’s Blair Castle International, top-level sport wasn’t the only thing on the agenda (actually, very far from it – you should see how many rings and competitions they’ve got on the go up there!). Beyond all the high-flying action was a great initiative to help promote equestrian sport in Scotland, and part of their efforts included a course walk with friend of EN, Jamaican eventer Lydia Heywood. Lydia’s an outspoken advocate for diversity in the sport, which we love, and she’s also a business-minded, savvy woman who’s always looking to bring the sport to larger audiences. We love seeing her being put in the position of ambassador for eventing.

National Holiday: It’s Honey Boo Boo’s birthday. Apparently these days she’s at college, studying nursing. The more you know.

U.S. Weekend Action:

MARS Great Meadow International (The Plains, VA): [Website] [Results] [EN’s Coverage]

Shepherd Ranch Pony Club H.T. II (Santa Ynez, CA) [Website] [Results]

Town Hill Farm H.T. (Lakeville, CT) [Website] [Results]

U.K. Weekend Results:

Defender Blair Castle International (Pitlochry, Perthshire): [Results]

Scottish Grassroots Eventing Festival at Blair Castle (Pitlochry, Perthshire): [Results]

Shelford Manor (Shelford, Notts.): [Results]

Wellington International (Hook, Hants.): [Results]

Your Monday Reading List:

I can think of few riders more deserving of a broadsheet long read than Nicola Wilson. And that’s not just because of the extraordinary drive she’s shown following her spinal injury last year — though that’s certainly the focal point of this piece in The Times, which sees her tackle the tough topic with tetraplegic journalist Melanie Reid, who also sustained her injuries while riding. The two women in conversation make for a real powerhouse read, and while it’s behind a paywall, it’s well worth signing up for a free trial or a short-term membership just for this one. [Life after a spinal injury]

Here’s a novel one: a donkey with a pacemaker. After a number of fainting incidents, the two-year-old donkey was diagnosed with bradycardia — a too-slow heartbeat. In what is the first instance of this kind of use of a pacemaker in a donkey, vets were delighted to report that seventeen months later, all is well with the donk and there have been no repeat occurrences of his fainting spells. [It’s all quite impressive, actually]

When it comes to feeding, there are a few rules we all know to be true. Feed to a consistent schedule, for one thing; be careful feeding alfalfa, for another. But what if these aren’t actually the truisms we think they are? Get ready for some feed-room myth-busting with EQUUS. [How’s your nutrition knowledge?]

Turns out, we’re all actually vets. Kind of. Okay, maybe not so much — but being a horse owner definitely does necessitate learning how to spot, diagnose, and treat a number of little ailments, most of which are gross and most of which give us all minor heart attacks every time. This funny piece reminds us all how ridiculous the whole thing sometimes is. [An ode to gazing at snot colours]

Morning Viewing:

Sneak a peak at some Burghley fences with Kitty King:

On the Ground in Versailles: Everything We Learned at the Operational ‘Test Event’

By Tilly Berendt on Aug 25, 2023 11:30 am -

A view down the Grand Canal from the front of the Chateau de Versailles. The arena will be situated at the very back end of the estate, abutting the end of the Canal. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

It’s a bright, sunny day at Versailles, the palatial former seat of Louis XIV, France’s Sun King – so sunny, that at 9 a.m., the heat is beating its way through the thick avenues of historic oak and chestnut trees and the gilding, visible in the distance adorning so much of the chateau and its countless fountains, is shining bright enough that you could probably use it to signal passing planes over Paris.

It’s an extraordinary spot to find yourself on any given day. As the largest and most opulent of Paris’s royal residences (a memento of a monarchy that ended, mostly, in guillotines, though whether they’ll work that bit of history into a jump at next year’s Olympics remains very much to be seen), the Chateau de Versailles isn’t just one of the most beautiful, capacious estates in the world, it’s also among the most popular. With 15,000,000 estimated annual visitors, it’s a must-visit destination — and for horse folks, its status has been raised indelibly over the course of the current Olympic cycle.

Though a number of impressive venues, including Chantilly and Fontainebleau, were put forward as potential hosts for the equestrian disciplines at next year’s Paris Olympics, due to begin July 26, 2024, Versailles was ultimately chosen as the most emblematic of a crucial juncture in the country’s rich cultural history. And that, of course, has always been as important to the Games as sport itself – even if, in the case of Versailles, it’s come at a cost of roughly €27,000,000.

But that not at all insignificant sum of money has done a few things. First of all, it’s allowed the Paris 2024 organising committee to plot out a truly horse-friendly Games — more details on this to follow, so keep reading — and, too, it’s ensured that the UNESCO World Heritage site, and its abundance of deeply historic and important flora, can be preserved, without limiting access to those tourists and locals who make such cherished use of the site all year ’round.

And on this sunny summer’s morning? We’re here ourselves, by invitation of the Paris 2024 organising committee and the FEI, to see firsthand exactly what work is being undertaken — and to get the first glimpses of horses in action in the park, too, as the operational test event gets underway.

Welcome to the ‘backstage’ area of Versailles’ cross-country course – and turf that is being protected from harm a year out from the Games themselves. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Our day begins, not at the chateau end of the estate, but over two kilometres across from it, at the ‘Grille Royale’, a quiet entryway at the far end of the enormously long Grand Canal. Down here, you’d never know you were in one of the busiest tourist attractions in the world; there’s a small, scarcely-used road leading in, a single, unmarked gate, and then just trees, greenery, and, in the distance, the view of Versailles that we all know so well.

But while all’s quiet on the western front right now, in twelve months’ time, this’ll be a hive of hustle and bustle. We’re standing on the site of the ‘back of house’ area, where athletes, grooms, horses, and support teams will conduct all their business except the competition itself. While it’s a greenfield site at the moment, there’s already an extensive amount of work that’s been done to ensure the major build, which will begin next month, goes smoothly.

Lorick Joseph, general manager of the site for Paris 2024, takes us on a visual tour of what’s to come – starting with a hotel for grooms and vets, being constructed alongside the airy stabling along a quiet avenue along the treeline. Here, too, he explains, is where the day-to-day working areas will be — the schooling arena, the lunging pens, and, further along and in a specially set and maintained stretch of terrain, a 600 to 800m gallop track. One priority for the site’s team, he explains, is proximity: even the lorries will be parked very close by, ensuring that all support staff have everything they need as close to hand as possible to allow the whole competition to run smoothly — and to allow the quick, easy, and safe transfer in and out of horses, who will vacate the premises at the close of each competition before the next discipline’s batch of competitors moves in, so as to minimise biosecurity risks.

Along another avenue, or allee, in this back of house area is another batch of working facilities, which will no doubt include drug testing areas, spaces for bodywork, and so on, but will also house lounges and hospitality areas for support staff and riders to make use of.

As we get closer to the site of the main arena, which is set to house 20,000 spectators, we come to the end of the primary back-of-house area and move into the media back-of-house. The arena will be flanked on three sides by seating, leaving the front end open to include the view down the Canal to the Chateau, and behind the middle of these grandstands are the media centres and broadcast hubs, where coverage of the Games will be produced without necessitating an hour-plus journey to the main Games media centre in Paris proper.

Here’s a composite image showing the full set-up as it’s planned:

The ‘back of house’ area, with the Grille Royale to the right hand side, the stabling and working areas on the ‘allee’ in the upper right-hand corner, and a view of the arena and main water jump at the tail end of the canal. Photo courtesy of Paris 2024.

And another, from an angle that shows how all this relates to the location of the Chateau itself.

A different angle of the ‘back of house’, showing the view down towards the canal. Photo courtesy of Paris 2024.

One of the things that you might find most striking about these images is how thickly bunched the trees on the estate are. With its protected status, you’d also be right in thinking that these trees absolutely cannot be removed or damaged in the process of putting on the Olympics. Similarly protected? The ground itself. Those two things tie into one another intrinsically; while any good course designer can mastermind the slalom-style passages and creative turning exercises needed to wend a course through areas of parkland and woodland, incorporating plenty of straightaways through established pathways, it’s often another thing entirely to ensure any consistency at all to the footing when doing so.

But Paris’s organising team has done their research here. They know that one of the major risk factors for equine injury while on a cross-country course is a change in going, and so one of the earliest tasks they undertook with course designer Pierre le Goupil was to plot out the route the 5.3km cross-country course would cover. Then, they installed metal gates and ropes to keep the public off these tracks, before undertaking an extensive stripping, draining, and reseeding job to ensure that the entirety of the course is covered with a denser-than-average, robust species of grass that’ll hold up to wear and tear and guarantee a greater degree of consistency.

Here’s a closer look at the planned route through the estate, which will allow 40,000 spectators to enjoy cross-country day on July 28, 2024:

The map of the cross-country track that’s been extensively prepped for 2024, with the chateau on the right-hand side and the back of house area on the left.

If you rewind to the 2012 Olympics in London, you might remember that the equestrian sports, similarly, were held on a piece of protected parkland – Greenwich Park, to be precise, with its Royal Observatory and residence and National Maritime Museum framing proceedings. To get around damaging the turf there, the organisers built the arena on a raised platform — but while that approach was considered for Versailles, the organisers here have ultimately gone with a different tactic. In late September, they’ll cut the top layer of turf — about 20cm deep — from the area upon which the arena and grandstands will be built, allowing for a temporary, stable foundation to be set into the space, and taking out of the equation any sloping ground. Then, the turf itself will be preserved and recorded, using GPS and extensive photographs to ensure it’s very clear which sections came from which areas, so that after the Games wraps, it can be relaid and restored.

It’s a major undertaking, and one that speaks to a real labour of love surrounding the preservation of the estate of Versailles and its 2,000 acres of space. It’s also one of the primary reasons a huge portion of the ‘big build’ will be undertaken this year, because there’s simply quite a lot to do. We can expect to see the grandstands actually grand and standing by March, a quarter of a year before the Games actually begin.

But that’s not all the organising committee has arranged with Versailles’ advocates. They’ve also done extensive archaeological mapping of the areas they propose to build on, because with an estate this old – its history as a royal residence and hunting lodge alone goes back to the 1600s — there’s always a significant chance of uncovering something of major interest. Doing so mid-build could damage the find, but also put a spanner into the works of what’s being built, and so in-depth prep work has been done to avoid any such issues.

They’ve also worked together to create an artificial mound on the course, which is otherwise pretty much entirely flat. We caught a glimpse of it from a distance – it’s certainly ripe with potential for no end of interesting questions to be posed by the man who created such a clever, tough track at this month’s European Championships.

The reinforced mound that’ll afford further possibilities for interesting questions on cross-country.

There are also several water jumps being built on the site, because using the canal itself as a water complex is out of the question — the depth can’t be managed safely, the footing isn’t designed for safe sport, and the potential both for damage and injury is too high. But one of these water jumps is particularly exciting: it sits at the open end of the main arena, right at the tail end of the canal, and will no doubt provide the images we think of as emblematic of Paris 2024 for decades to come. Here’s how that’s looking:

The ‘main’ water complex begins to take shape.

With all this useful information in mind, it’s time for the day to really begin. We’re used to seeing full test events held a year or so prior to the Olympics, ordinarily at a level below, which allow the facilities — often purpose-built just for the Games — to be put into action with enough time to action any changes needed. But this year, Paris has opted out, partly because of budgeting, but also, in part, because running a full event at Versailles a year out would be to intrusive to be doable. Instead, much of the operational logistics have been put to the test at Fontainebleau – but this week, a full delegation of global chefs d’equipe, Pierre le Goupil, the Paris organising committee, the FEI, and our small group of media representatives bore witness to the sole round of testing happening on the site itself.

Four riders — young riders Justine Bonnet, Camille Collet Vidal, and Sophie Souvestre and Republican Guard Fabrice Lucas — gathered on site with a simple task. They’d pick up a hand-gallop in a small warm-up area, cross the Canal via a pontoon, travel up along one of the fully-prepared areas of turf alongside the canal, pop two jumps, turn, and return to where they began via the pontoon. This was a simple test, and one that didn’t take long, but it was crucially important for a number of reasons.

Firstly, while not all the terrain and tracks of the course have reached their final preparation stages, the ground covered is, in effect, totally ready, and so running horses at speed along it allowed the organising team to check how the new grass responded to the trauma of hooves, and it gave them a chance to check the ‘give’ of the footing, too. It also let them test how they’ll go about affixing fences safely, without undue damage. And, finally — and arguably most importantly — it gave them a chance to really see if the pontoon situation was going to work.

Kai Steffen Meier, chef d’equipe for newly-qualified Belgium, watches on as the terrain test unfolds. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Much has been made of Paris’s pontoons in pre-Games press material, and in person, they’re impressive. They’ve been hired from a company that specialises in these kinds of river crossings, but even for them, it’s a new ask – the Paris committee is certain that at 63m, they are the longest temporary bridges ever used in equestrian sport. In testing this one, they weren’t just testing the stability of them (very, very important, and also, happily, very sound — Sam Griffiths observed that “you can’t even see the water ripple when a horse crosses over”), they were also testing the efficiency with which they could be installed and then dismantled. Plus, of course, the surface on top — what to use, how to lay it, how much should be installed. It’s all the fine details that add up to a happy end result.

Horses and riders cross the pontoon after finishing their test rides. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

The result, on the day, certainly was a happy one. Two pontoon crossings will be used in the Games proper, allowing for access to more of the parkland (and a jolly nice view for riders as they cross, too). Interestingly, though, it wasn’t just the basic functionality of the pontoon itself that was put to the test; as we arrived at the Canal’s four-way junction, we spotted a number of emergency services in the water itself, looking, at first, as though they were dredging it.

What they were actually doing, though, was a repetition: they’ve been practicing how they’ll deal with the very unlikely situation of a horse falling in the canal, whether that’s by somehow getting over the high pontoon railing or slipping over the edge while cantering alongside it. It’s a multi-person operation that’ll involve swimming in to rescue the rider and reroute the horse to one of several sturdy temporary ramps that have been installed simply for this purpose — and though they hope that the time and money spent will never actually be needed, it’s reassuring to know they appear to have a plan for every eventuality.

Part of the operational test: repetitions of rescue routines.

Étienne Thobois, Director General of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, was delighted with the outcome of the day.

“It’s important for us to have this test session with the delegations who are here today to look at the quality of the course on a technical level, because it’s fundamental in the context of cross-country. We imagine 40,000 people in the park to cheer on the athletes will be an extraordinary moment.”

So, too, was Catherine Pégard, Versailles’s (democratic, these days) head honcho, who enthused that she was “amazed by what we saw this morning; we are amazed by what the horses will offer as a spectacle in this iconic setting of the Palace of Versailles. And then we are very proud of the teams of the Château de Versailles who have worked hard to make these Olympic Games in Versailles possible. We are very proud to see what was a dream come true for many and what I believe will be among the great memories, one of the great images of these Olympic Games.”

The view from the bridge: looking at the Chateau de Versailles from the middle of the pontoon. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Finally, Tim Hadaway, the FEI’s own Olympic Director, says, “I think the very fact that it’s got to be a temporary venue, everything that will be built here next year for the Games will, of course, have to be taken away afterwards. So it’s a massive logistical exercise of putting all of that in place, and crucially, to do that in a way that a) doesn’t impact the environment, this very special environment, in the long term, but also in a way that respects the everyday users of this park. And it’s a living, breathing park that enjoys hundreds, thousands, of visitors every day from around the world, to walk, to cycle, and to use the boats on the lake. And the important thing is not to compromise that any more than is necessary; to keep that period of disruption as short as possible. The teams here working on this are respecting these challenges and working to come up with the solutions to ensure that the impact both from the environment perspective, and the user’s perspective is kept to an absolute minimum.”

Roll on Paris, we say.

The entrance point onto the pontoon crossing.

Test riders putting the turf into action during the test event.

Here’s where it’ll all happen: delegations gather on the site of the back of house area at Paris 2024.

What dreams are made of! Welcome to Versailles.

EN’s pre-Paris coverage is brought to you with support from Zoetis Equine.

Hot Favourite Withdraws from Burghley Contention

By Tilly Berendt on Aug 25, 2023 9:30 am -

Brookfield Inocent takes the Grantham Cup with Piggy March in 2022, giving his connections plenty to celebrate ahead of his Badminton debut. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Reigning Defender Burghley Horse Trials champion Piggy March, who won the event’s 2022 renewal on Vanir Kamira, has announced she will not return to fight for her crown next week as intended with her Hartpury winner Brookfield Inocent, after the 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding (Inocent 3 x Shalies Pet, by Kings Servant) picked up a ‘minor bone injury’ in his preparation.

“Very sadly we have had to withdraw Brookfield Inocent from Burghley this year,” she writes in a statement on her social media channels. “He has come back to top level competition in flying form but has sadly incurred a minor bone injury which requires a short period of rest. Thankfully it isn’t serious and our dream of him getting to the big B’s can still live on! Gutting for all concerned especially his owners John & Chloe Perry and Alison Swinburn as we all long for him to have his chance at this amazing venue but it’s just not meant to be this year. Best of luck to everyone going there — it’s such a great event and looking forward to an exciting week’s sport.”

Brookfield Inocent won his final prep run, the tough CCI4*-S at Hartpury earlier this month, and was second in his comeback international, a CCI3*-S at Aston-le-Walls in July, which followed over a year out of action. He’d been one of British eventing’s ‘ones to watch’ prior to ‘a very small injury’ that saw him withdrawn from Badminton contention last spring, after having won the CCI4*-S season opener at Thoresby. The previous year, he was individual silver medalist and team gold medalist at the European Championships at Avenches, and in 2020, he finished second in his five-star debut at Pau. In his 19 FEI runs with Piggy aboard, he’s finished on the podium 13 times.

Brookfield Inocent was statistically the favourite to win this year’s competition; according to data company EquiRatings’s Prediction Centre computer model, he led the field on a win chance of 19% and a top ten chance of 62%. The withdrawal moves Oliver Townend up to the top spot in their predictions with Swallow Springs, followed by Ballaghmor Class, another of his four entered ride options.

Burghley begins on Wednesday, August 30, and will conclude on Sunday, September 3. Keep it locked on EN for all the news and updates in the lead-up, and during the week of, the event.

Thursday Video: Blazing a Trail for Female Equestrians in Saudi Arabia

By Tilly Berendt on Aug 24, 2023 6:54 pm -

It might not be riding quite as we know it, but there’s no denying that Noura Al-Jabr, a mounted archer and trainer, has an extraordinary set of skills — and one of the most independent and capable seats I’ve seen in a long time. But beyond her ability to ride, and ride seriously well, is the cultural significance of what she’s doing. She’s from Saudi Arabia, a country in which being a woman isn’t quite the experience it is in the Western world, and being a woman in a position of some authority, as she is in her capacity as a trainer and sportswoman, is nearly unheard of. She’s not letting that stop her, though – and through her example, young woman across the country will, she hopes, be inspired to take up the male-dominated sport, too. Go get ’em, Noura.

“I’m Feeling Unbelievably Lucky:” British Rising Star Bubby Upton Withdraws from Burghley After Major Injury

By Tilly Berendt on Aug 24, 2023 11:30 am -

Bubby Upton and Magic Roundabout IV. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

While most of the eyes that have been fixed on Burghley over the last few days will have found plenty to occupy them, with the reveal of the 2023 course and the release of the drawn order of go both popping up in that span of time, those with an eagle eye on the entry list will have spotted something else of significance. That was the withdrawal of 24-year-old Bubby Upton, who had two entries in Cola, with whom she finished fourteenth at the event last year, and Magic Roundabout IV, her Bramham under-25s CCI4*-L winner of this year.

“Five days ago I sadly had an accident riding on the flat leading to a complete burst fracture of L3 and a horizontal fracture of L2, which required [six hours of] surgery to stabilise the spine, decompress the vertebrae and fuse L3,” writes Bubby in a statement on her social media profiles. I simply cannot thank my surgeon and the whole NHS team enough for working absolute wonders.”

“I think it goes without saying that I am totally distraught for my team, owners, horses and sponsors about missing Burghley 5* when both Cola and Magic were on such flying form. But to be quite honest, considering the severity of the break I am just feeling unbelievably lucky that someone above was looking out for me, as the outcome could have been very different. There is now a very long road to recovery ahead of me, but I will give it my all to get fighting fit again.”

Bubby, who has previously held the British under-18, under-21, and under-25 national titles, is no stranger to sensible rehabilitation: two years ago, she had a fall while cross-country schooling with a young horse, which ultimately resulted in eight fractured vertebrae and a broken collarbone. She teamed up with the Injured Jockeys Fund therapy centre in Newmarket, close to her home base in Suffolk, to undertake an extensive rehab plan that involved hydrotherapy.

A burst fracture, which Bubby sustained on her L3 vertebrae, is a complete and complex break: it’s a full crushing of the vertebrae from all directions, and as a result, is a high-risk break if not immediately stabilised because of the probability of bone interference with the spinal cord. When such a break occurs in the lumbar spine — the lower half of the back — as Bubby’s did, it can have major ramifications on lower-limb mobility.

Bubby, it would appear, is a very lucky lady indeed – and we already knew she was a particularly determined one, balancing, as she did, her university studies with professional eventing over the last number of years. We have no doubt she’ll take her rehabilitation to come every bit as seriously, and we look forward to seeing her return to the saddle (and, hopefully, she’ll get a dryer and rather more fun season when she does return!). From EN to you, Bubby – we wish you a speedy, straightforward recovery.

Wednesday Video from Kentucky Performance Products: Bit Fitting – Demystified

By Tilly Berendt on Aug 23, 2023 6:23 pm -

You probably spent plenty of time — and money — ensuring your horse’s saddle fits perfectly; likewise, you’d never get your farrier to put the wrong size shoes on his hooves. But have you put the same thought and attention into how his bit fits, or have you eyeballed it, checked the level in his mouth by counting the wrinkles in the corners of his lips, and called it good? There’s actually loads more to bit-fitting, including a deeper understanding of oral anatomy (like, yes, low palates and chubby tongues absolutely do affect the kind of mouthpiece you can comfortably use!), and this video from the FEI is aiming to make the whole thing a little bit more clear. And if all else fails? There’s a growing industry of bitting experts who’ll just bring a load to your barn for you to try, which is quite cool, all things considered!

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‘There Are So Many Ways to Use Ground Differently’: Driving Around Burghley’s Course with Derek di Grazia

By Tilly Berendt on Aug 22, 2023 9:30 am -

What a view! The extraordinary façade of Burghley House will usher competitors home as they approach the eleventh hour — or fence 27, the Lion’s Bridge — on this year’s course. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

We’re driving across this year’s Defender Burghley Horse Trials course — myself and Lucy Elder of Horse and Hound in the back; Event Director Martyn Johnson at the wheel, joyfully, recklessly, but maintaining an air of serious professionalism — and all I can think is how this means of doing things really pulls into sharp focus the way that terrain is the main character at Burghley. When you’re walking the course, you do feel it: certainly, the way that I walk it, gaspingly, stopping at each peak to turn to whoever is walking it alongside me and say, “are you kidding me? Shall we stop for a fag and some water?” does force you to feel those hills and dales, even as, inevitably, Tom McEwen jogs past you while you’re hunched over, hands on your knees, and he just looks… fine. He looks fine. Spritely, even. I will never understand it. The hills are serious.

Anyway, in these blacked-out spy cars — the very Land Rover Defenders from which the event gets its new-look full name — you begin to feel some validation for all those arduous walks. These are serious all-terrain vehicles, and this is serious terrain, which becomes even more evident every time Martyn opts to park up on a nearly-vertical knoll, big, square, matte black nose to the sky, and every time he feels for the floor with his accelerator foot and we gently, tentatively go into orbit for a second before swinging back down to meet something like flat ground.

Meanwhile, we’ve got course designer Derek di Grazia, returning for his sophomore year here after taking the mantle from longtime designer Captain Mark Phillips in 2022, radioing us all in from the head of the convoy, pointing out landmarks along the way as though they’re mildly interesting blue-plaqued buildings of some minor historic significance, rather than the very questions that’ll have competitors looking both inward and outward, facing their greatest fears, challenges, and dreams in just a couple of short weeks.

That’s not to say, though, that di Grazia doesn’t understand the magnitude of what he’s been tasked with — and certainly, his track record of designing courses that riders robustly praise precedes him. In taking on Burghley, he knew he had an important task at hand: preserve what makes Burghley unique — the terrain, those achingly big jumps, the need for gallop and stamina above very nearly all else — while bringing his own unique spin on the challenge.

Derek di Grazia takes on the mantle of course designer at Burghley for the second year in 2023. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

“First of all, I think Burghley has quite a few iconic fences, and so they’re always going to probably work into the mix,” he says, explaining that his starting point for understanding how to build upon the Burghley estate begins simply by walking its loops and routes in every direction to get a feel for the little secrets the ground is hiding. “Obviously you have a track that’s pretty dedicated here. And actually, last year, I sort of went off of that and added a new loop, which we had to think about that and get done early. But beyond that, you sort of go and you design like you would design normally, because that’s what you’re here to do. Not every designer is the same; everybody has sort of their own flair. But it’s just a matter of trying to find ways to use the kind of the terrain and to use the park in a way that is going to produce something so that you’re giving a different look, year after year.”

Figuring out inventive ways to recycle a familiar bit of ground, and less-than-obvious ways to place fences on it, is the driving force behind di Grazia’s enthusiasm and motivation for the job, which has seen him design a number of top-level courses — most notably, the Land Rover Kentucky track, year in and year out.

But designing, he explains, isn’t just about being the most inventive person in the room at any given point on the track — it’s also about being cognisant of how each piece of terrain will fit together, and the cumulative effect that’ll have on horses as they wend their way through your course.

This year’s Trout Hatchery complex.

“I try to look at things from all different sides, and to see the best way that that it could work, because it’s like fitting all the pieces together and creating a flow throughout the course. — and then thinking about what the horses are going to be feeling at each section of the course, which sort of determines a little bit about what you’re going to place in that part of the course,” he says. “The way I look at it is that there are so many ways to use the ground differently, year after year, and because there are just so many lumps and bumps and the ground moves here like no other place. So I think you have to just see how you want to present it that year, and also the types of jumps that you’re going to put in different places. And really, it comes down to having to have a balance: a balance of jumps, and a balance of how you’ve used terrain in different places. That work is enjoyable; it makes it fun.”

Inspiration can come from all sides. Di Grazia, like other designers, spends plenty of time studying others’ work — but he also trains riders, and in the process of doing so, often stumbles upon interesting new ways to set them challenges, oftentimes working those discoveries into his tracks. After all, it can be argued that if a top-level course designer has one responsibility, it’s this: to set questions that riders then have to train for, effectively filling in holes in their education that have become trends across an industry and, in turn, keeping everyone that bit safer in the long run.

When riders begin to analyse and break down the questions he’s asking and prove that they have the capacity for adaptability in any given combination, that’s when he knows he’s going in the right direction — and that’s when an athlete can truly consider themselves a five-star rider.

“When you have a piece of interesting ground, and you set a question up on it, you can go ‘well, this is set up as X number of strides’ — but that, to me, isn’t the way to look at it,” he says. “Instead, you have to think, ‘what does the ground allow me to do?’ Then, the riders, as they do, will want to go through that and have a stride pattern between everything, and to me, that’s not really how it’s going to work. It may walk as X strides, but on the day, it could ride completely differently. The riders have to be good enough to understand that and be able to react to that. That’s what makes a course interesting, and that’s sort of the whole thing about when you have courses that are on terrain. You can’t totally predict what each horse is going to do, because they’re all going to do something a little bit different. That’s the challenge for the riders.”

Derek di Grazia points out the line through Defender Valley on this year’s Burghley course. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

This philosophy carries us out onto the course proper, which we’ll give you a fence-by-fence rundown of in the week of the event itself. Instead, today, we focus our walk on the overall feel; a couple of the major combinations; and whether or not, exactly, di Grazia is managing to build a ‘proper Burghley’. (Spoiler alert: he is. It’s massive, as it always has been, but it’s also smart, and in front of you, and though the places where a rider can get it wrong and exist out the side door are numerous, nothing we see on our first glimpse looks unfair. Plus, the ground feels great right now, which isn’t something we’ve said often this year.)

Though the final distance and wheeling hasn’t happened yet, we’re looking at a course that’s roughly 6400m, and with a predicted optimum time of 11:11 (make a wish — that’s the same as in 2019). As always, the course will begin over a couple of simple single fences, including the familiar face of Lambert’s Sofa at two, and a seriously beefy table with a 1.90m top spread at three that’ll “really get horses up in the air”. The first combination of sorts will come in the main arena at 4AB, which is a pair of open rails set on a long enough distance that there’s wiggle room for different stride patterns, and really just serves as a set-up for the first significant combination at 5ABCD.

A view through Defender Valley, with the A element on the right and that final corner on the left.

That first significant combination is the first pass through Defender Valley, which begins with a tall upright rail, goes on to a ditch, and then down to a wide corner. There’s an alternative route here that’s going to add plenty of time early on, so it’s more likely to be used as a back-up for those who pick up an early issue here than as a real ‘plan A’.

“This is the first real question on the course,” says di Grazia. “They’ll come down the hill, which is actually part of the problem, because when they come down the hill, they’re really going to have to make sure they get the horses in the right canter and the right balance before they come to the rails here. Leading into the combination, the rails are on a MIM clip, so it’s another situation that the riders don’t want to have a clip broken here so early in the course. They really want to make sure they ride those rails correctly; jump in, as they jump in, the horses may just back off the ditch a little bit, but they want to really ride across the ditch up the slope and then be able to keep on moving to the corner at the top. That’s the straight way; there are a couple of different alternatives, but to me, I expect them all to go straight this early in the course. They’re not going to want to be wasting a lot of time taking alternatives.”

The Leaf Pit is early on again this year, and appears at 7ABCD. First, they’ll pop down the enormous, famous drop, then they’ll pop a double brush before picking one of two angled brushes, either a left-handed one, or a right-handed one. Something that’s notable is the composition of the brush itself — while it’s long been common to use tough, rigid black birch atop fences in the UK, di Grazia has spearheaded a real push for softer, younger green birch, which comes at a greater cost and must be installed at the very last minute, but which is kinder to horses, with less chance of lacerations as they push through it.

Event Director Martyn Johnson, Derek di Grazia, and the first of a double of cabins on a bounce distance at the Trout Hatchery. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

The Trout Hatchery water will come up at 10ABC and 11AB. First, competitors will jump a kayak store at the top of the hill on dry land, before cruising down to the first of the two ponds, running through it, and then popping a bounce of houses at 10BC. That’ll take them into the second pond, which they’ll cross, jump up a step at 11A, and then over a narrow, brush-topped cabin at 11B, though with long route options peppered throughout — a boon to those riders who may feel they’ve done enough bounces into water this year and found them less than fun.

The Maltings complex, home of some of the widest white corners and most sprawling white oxers we ever seen in the sport, is no less intimidating this year. It begins with a rather sweet carved wooden hare, though dimensionally, ‘sweet’ and ‘adorable’ aren’t the first descriptive words you’d go for. After popping that, the straight route goes over a right-handed corner to a left-handed corner on a fiendishly tricky line — though once again, di Grazia hasn’t just set alternative routes, he’s also kindly lettered the complex so that riders can change their mind and go long at any point within their route.

The Maltings combination at 14ABC. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

That sympathetic bent towards giving horses and riders options continues through the bulk of the course. There’s an option everywhere you look — even at the truly iconic, unfathomably fearsome Cottesmore Leap, which comes after the 400m or so of slow uphill pull that is Winners’ Avenue.

“They’ll hit the eight-minute mark just before they get to the Cottesmore Leap,” explains di Grazia, while Martyn Johnson points out the kind, sloping profiles of the fences in this chunk of the course: “he’s been conscious, here, that horses will be starting to take a bit of a blow,” he says, “so he’s giving them a bit of a breather with the profiles.”

There’s no messing around at the Dairy Mound.

20ABC is the Defender at the Dairy Mound question, and though it’s relatively late on the course, it’s arguably one of the most serious questions on it. First, there’s a sharp upward slope to tackle en route to the first element, an enormous oxer — though, di Grazia explains, “that’s helpful, because it’ll keep them coming and give them the power for what they want to do”. Then, they’ll ride three strides on to an eye-wateringly narrow triple bar, down the slope, and left-handed to another narrow triple bar on ‘whatever they get’. As usual, there’s a long route, but di Grazia is conscious here that any addition time spent moving between fences will ask extra effort of an already tired horse, and so expects many to try to go straight — or have saved enough in the tank to allow for some wiggle room for a greener mount.

Sometimes, you need a person in there for scale and some sense of how enormous the fences — in this case, the narrow triple bars at the Dairy Mound — are. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

In all, the course gives the impression of extraordinary toughness — but also conscientious fairness. We won’t share all its secrets just yet — instead, we’ll be bringing you a fence-by-fence analysis in the week of the event, and before then, you can get a seriously in-depth view of what’s to come by signing up for the highly-praised Burghley TV, which, at £20 per annum, gives you access to the only place you can see all the live-stream action, but also provides you with behind-the-scenes and round-up programming, access to decades of highlights programmes, and much, much more besides.

This year’s Defender Burghley Horse Trials will take place from August 31 – September 3, and as always, you’ll be able to follow along with every bit of the action via EN. Stay tuned for lots more content from us in the lead-up to this year’s event, and until next time, Go Eventing!

EN’s coverage of Burghley is presented by Kentucky Performance Products. Click here to learn all about their full line of science-backed nutritional support products, including Neigh-Lox Advanced for digestive support.

Defender Burghley Horse Trials Links: Website | Live Stream | Entries | EN’s Coverage

Tuesday News & Notes from Kentucky Performance Products

By Tilly Berendt on Aug 22, 2023 2:39 am -

Welp, somehow we’re here again: kind of, inexplicably, nearing the tail end of the season, and with it, looking ahead to the events that fill its final month. I’m basically having a full-blown existential crisis today because Maryland, the penultimate 5* of the year, opens its entries today — and while I can’t wait to see who’ll line up at this amazing competition, I’m also crying inside that it’s nearly time to pack up for the winter. (Also, between those 67 amazing Burghley entries, a Blenheim that’s swiftly stacking up with names, Maryland to come, Pau to follow in the week after, the Pan-Ams looming, and a European Championships just behind us…do we have enough horses?! Watch this space, I guess!)

Events Opening Today: MARS Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill, Ocala Fall Horse Trials, WindRidge Farm Fall H.T., Middle Tennessee Pony Club H.T., Miami Valley H.T. at Twin Towers, The Maryland Horse Trials at Loch Moy Farm

Events Closing Today: Applewood Farm YEH & Mini Event, Larkin Hill Fall H.T., CDCTA Fall H.T., Flora Lea Fall H.T., Five Points H.T.

Tuesday News & Notes from Around the World:

It’s not often we see journalists interviewed, but this one’s an interesting one. I’ve bumped into Jan Tönjes plenty of times while reporting around the world, and on his journey from young professional rider to respected magazine editor and media multi hyphenate, he’s picked up a few (million) observations about equestrian sport at large, including eventing, on the way. Find out more about them here.

For a lot of reasons, keeping horses out 24/7 just isn’t always doable. I did it for several years with my mare — while feeling guilty every time the weather took a rough turn — but now, due to lack of grazing, she has to spend half her time in the stable. If you’re faced with similar boxing requirements, never fear: there are ways you can improve the experience for your horse and reduce stress. All it takes is a little bit of knowledge about the science of stabling and horse psychology.

One thing that IS made easier by stabling? Keeping bright whites sparkling. (Well, most of the time, anyway, unless you have a horse who likes to rest his delicate paws on fresh piles of poo.) In any case, if you have a chrome-y type, getting them looking their best is probably one of your most constant headaches. Steal a few tips from the pros and make your next outing (relatively) stress-free.

I’ve really been enjoying Rosie Napravnik’s blog en route to the Thoroughbred Makeover. I’m not enjoying it any less now that she’s announced her intention to defect from this year’s competition. Sometimes, the best thing we can do is sit a plan out, even if that plan was our big annual goal. Sometimes, it really helps to get in another rider’s head and find out why they made that call in order to bolster our faith in our own decision the next time we need to pull the plug. Get inside Rosie’s here.

Sponsor Corner: The fall season is in full swing and boy is it busy. The Defender Burghley 5* Event is right around the corner! Check out the newly released order of go. Coverage of Burghley is sponsored by our friends at Kentucky Performance Products.

Watch This:

Eventing folks have been trying to get into the mainstream for, well, ever — and this documentary designed to do just that from the 1980s is an interesting insight into how far we’ve come, and how far we have left to go.

Monday News & Notes from FutureTrack

By Tilly Berendt on Aug 21, 2023 6:56 am -

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A post shared by Jérôme Robiné (@jerome_robine)

One of the most exciting parts of a championship is the newer faces and names that work their way through to the business end of the leaderboard – or simply make a statement about who they are, and why you need to keep an eye on them, with a seriously excellent display of riding and horsemanship. I’d like to think that devoted readers of EN will already be aware of Germany’s Jérôme Robiné — after all, we’ve covered him quite extensively over the last couple of years at events such as Luhmühlen and Aachen — but still, to crack the top ten with the biggest of names, as he did at the FEI European Championships, is no small feat. Rewatch his XC round to find out why we’re so excited about him and his ‘COVID project’, Black Ice, and to feel that buzz of excitement that he did upon hearing the legendary Lucinda Green praise his horse. It’s all very cool stuff, actually.

National Holiday: It’s National Tooth Fairy Day today. Imagine if a similar concept existed for lost shoes. We might all actually be able to afford to get them tacked back on.

Major Global Events:

Arville CCIO4*-S: [Website] [Results] [Watch On Demand]

US Weekend Action:

Caber Farm H.T.: Website | Results

The Event at Archer: Website | Results

Waredaca Farm H.T.: Website | Results

Genesee Valley Riding & Driving Club H.T: Website | Results |

Ocala Summer H.T. II: Website | Results

Full Gallop Farm: Website

Your Monday Reading List:

Here at EN, we know Allie Heninger as one of our badass team of editorial staff. You, though, might be more familiar with her by her social media presence as The Autoimmune Equestrian (or from the brilliant column she started and runs here on EN, ‘Come As You Are’!). Like many of us, Allie’s entire identity growing up boiled down to her sense of herself as a horse girl, whether training an unruly young Bashkir Curly in rural Alaska or tackling the eventing circuit – but when a bout of low energy, prevalent illness, and body pain sent her and her doctor down the rabbit hole towards an autoimmune disease diagnosis, everything changed. Or did it? One thing we all love about Allie is that she’s all about adapting and overcoming, and it’s not slowed her down. Check out her story here.

It’s been impossible to escape football fever over the weekend in the UK. And rightly so: for the first time ever, the Lionesses — the English national women’s football team — made it to the final of the World Cup, far surpassing their male counterparts’ efforts since the 1960s. While they didn’t ultimately win (that accolade went to Spain), they did just about unite a nation, which was pretty cool. And, thanks to H&H, we also found out that captain Millie Bright actually intended to be a professional rider, rather than a footballer. Meet her here.

We all love a good save photo, but actually breaking them down into the mechanics of WTF happened is pretty fascinating, too. That’s what Molly Koch did after seeing this photo from show ‘tog Charlie Mann, who captured her slithering out the back door after a refusal in the water, before somehow managing to find her way back aboard and go on to a top ten finish in the event. Now, she’s deep-diving into the little details to help improve her performances, and her horse’s comfort. Check it out.

The devastating wildfires in Maui are affecting horses, too. Fortunately, the Foundation for the Horse has stepped in to raise vital funds and provide aid for horses and their people – and you can help with their mission here.

Morning Viewing:

Treat yourself to a long rewatch of yesterday’s cross-country from the Nations Cup at Arville!

Friday Video: Sunday Stylings with the Women of the British Team

By Tilly Berendt on Aug 18, 2023 6:20 pm -

Okay, okay, I promise this is the last time I share something from the European Championships (this might be a lie) — but I couldn’t resist this roundup from the final day of competition, wherein the four women of the British team secured themselves another gold medal and Ros Canter, with her two-and-a-bit fence margin, nabbed herself the title of European Champion with Lordships Graffalo. Sometimes, in the fast-paced, manic working environment of an event, it’s hard to take everything in as it happens, on an emotional level, anyway, and so watching back from the comfort of my sofa brings all those big feels right back to the surface. What a day.

Friday News & Notes Presented by Stable View

By Tilly Berendt on Aug 18, 2023 10:06 am -

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A post shared by Faye Füllgraebe (@faye4.4.21)

Welcome to the world, sweet Mara Jung, and congratulations to mum Faye, dad Michael, and big brother Leo — now, with a new addition to the global roster of eventing babies, I can’t wait to see what the Olympic roster looks like in 24 years or so. Someone save one of those Rocana babies for this sweet girl!

U.S. Weekend Preview

Caber Farm H.T.: Website | Entry Status | Ride Times | Live Scores | Volunteer

The Event at Archer: Website | Entry Status | Ride Times | Live Scores | Volunteer

Waredaca Farm H.T.: Website | Entry Status | Ride Times | Live Scores | Volunteer

Genesee Valley Riding & Driving Club H.T:
Website | Entry Status |Live Scores | Volunteer

Ocala Summer H.T. II: Website | Entry Status | Ride Times | Live Scores | Volunteer

Full Gallop Farm: Website | Volunteer

News & Notes from Around the World

I have so many thoughts percolating in my brain box after last week’s European Championships. Some of them are good — we know now that course designer Pierre le Goupil is very good at championship tracks, for instance — and some are… more reflective. I’ll be bringing some of these to you soon, but in the meantime, it’s always worth reading Andrew Nicholson’s opinions, which are always smart and salient.

Lauren Sprieser’s blogs are reliably excellent. This throwback from 2018, about how Young Riders success doesn’t really have a jot of bearing on whether you’ll be successful as an adult rider, is a particularly good one. I used to really beat myself up for having no Young Rider results to speak of, and I wish this piece had been around then. Check it out.

Five of the FEI Eventing World Top Ten riders are women right now. And not a single person will be taken aback by that fact. That’s worth reflecting on: not only are we in a gender-equal sport, it’s proven to be a totally balanced system of success, too. Read more reflections on this, the thing that arguably makes equestrian sport so special, here.

Can’t stop thinking about Walter; won’t stop thinking about Walter. Let’s throw it back to that Badminton round, shall we?

Thursday Video: Relive Cross-Country Day at the European Championships

By Tilly Berendt on Aug 17, 2023 5:13 pm -

I’ve still not quite emotionally recovered from Saturday, a day that saw actual Michael Jung fall off in an actual Championship — a moment that really feels, in hindsight, like just the tip of the iceberg on a day we didn’t necessarily think would go ahead, thanks to all that rain. I’m all worded out from writing about it in such depth, which is why it’s a real joy to relive the whole shebang via video, thanks to our pals at Horse & Hound. Settle in, press play, and watch the action unfold, with interviews and smart analysis — it’s just as exciting doing it all over again, I can tell you that much.

Who Jumped it Best: That Frightening First Water at the FEI European Championships

By Tilly Berendt on Aug 17, 2023 12:00 pm -

Saturday’s cross-country challenge at the FEI European Eventing Championships didn’t boil down to style, really: with achingly tough conditions and a seriously challenging championship track, it was all about two things: horsemanship, and function. Throughout the day, we were delighted to watch riders put their horses first, taking a foot off the gas and letting their mounts fill their lungs without being chased around the course. We also saw horses and riders alike dig deep and find that classic cross-country grit and gumption that allows you to stay balanced, safe, and effective throughout all sorts of hitches and wobbles.

And so our short and sweet WJIB? today looks at those qualities, rather than, say, a perfect line from elbow to bit. The fence we’re looking at today is the first water complex at 6ABC and 7 — and, specifically, that final element. At this point, horses and riders alike had had a bit of a slap ’round the face from the course; the footing in the very early stages was arguably the worst of the day, though the warm-up arena’s ground hadn’t been terrible, so as they jumped the first couple of fences, riders had to be extra conscious of keeping their horses’ confidence up through the dishearteningly heavy going. As they approached this first water, they did so knowing they were coming to one of the toughest questions on course — but the huge throngs of enthusiastic crowds picked them up and carried them through, and many riders found making it to the other side of this question an enormous confidence boost, both for themselves and the horses.

First, they popped a large table atop a hill, before cantering down to a large drop, followed swiftly by a brush-topped wall into the water with a huge drop on the landing side. Then, they had to gather up the knitting to meet this fence, a big, brush-topped skinny in the water, on a stiff left-handed turn. After that, they could gallop freely on out of the water.

With all that in mind, take a look at this selection of horses and riders. They’re jumping the final element – so which do you think has brought the most energy and efficiency through the question with them? Who’s showing the best balance, and the most confidence? Which pair, to you, gives the impression of security in the midst of a tricky question on an enormously tough course? Cast your eye over them, and then scroll down to cast your vote!

Andrew Heffernan and Gideon (NED). Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Giovanni Ugolotti and Swirly Temptress (ITA). Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Malin Hansen-Hotopp and Carlitos Quidditch K (GER). Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Robin Godel and Grandeur de Lully CH (SUI). Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Kitty King and Vendredi Biats (GBR). Photo by Tilly Berendt.

EN’s coverage of the FEI European Championships for Eventing is brought to you with support from Kentucky Performance Products.

“He Was Meant to Be With Me”: Catching Up with Burghley Sophomore Phil Brown

By Tilly Berendt on Aug 17, 2023 9:30 am -

Phil Brown and Harry Robinson. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Though he’s moved back home to Yorkshire recently to base his business closer to his family, for many years, eventer Phil Brown was based just next door to Burghley: so close, in fact, that he could see the famous façade of the house from his arena as he worked his horses, day in and day out, come rain or shine.

“That was major motivation,” he says with a smile. “You could see it from our fields, from the arena — and having that there made it all the more special when I finally got there as a competitor.”

That ‘finally’ moment came last year: riding the then-fourteen-year-old British-bred gelding Harry Robinson – and yes, a horse with a human first and surname IS the most charming thing you’ll stumble upon today — he didn’t just make a long-anticipated debut at the event that had fuelled his drive for so many years, he completed the thing, too.

“We went quite steady!” he laughs, referring to the 62 time penalties he picked up while piecing together their clear round. “We were a good two minutes over, but he just kept plugging along, because he really loves his job.”

Harry’s not alone in that: as a local rider, Phil came to Burghley — which wasn’t just his debut at the event, but his debut five-star, too — with a large and enthusiastic support crew of friends and family. But as the week unfolded, and as everyone on site universally fell in love with the sweet, floppy-eared, splashy-faced gelding, it was impossible not to take note of how much Phil, too, was relishing the moment. Their dressage score, a respectable debut of 35.3, didn’t have them challenging the leaders, but Phil returned to the mixed zone for a post-ride debrief with journalists with the joy of someone who’d taken the lead; likewise, when he returned from cross-country, he did so buoyed by sheer thrill, gratitude, and a palpable love for his horse. By the end of the week, it was impossible not to root for Phil, and not to catch that contagious smile as he embraced both the extraordinary learning opportunity around him, and the realisation of a dream he’d held throughout his career.

“We had a bit of a laugh about it in the talk area last year, but I chose to do Burghley as my debut because — well, nobody in this country dreams of Pau, do they? That probably sounds like quite a bad thing to say, but we do grow up dreaming of Badminton and Burghley. I’m from Yorkshire, and so Bramham was always a really big thing for me, and once we’d done that [Phil jumped a swift clear in 2016 with Miss Brodie], I thought, let’s try for a five-star. Because I was down in the same area, it felt like the obvious one — but also the most scary!”

Phil Brown and Harry Robinson. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Part of what made last year so special for Phil was the realisation that no matter how tightly you hold onto a dream, and how close you think you’ve come to grasping it, it’s never guaranteed that you’ll get there.

“I actually came so close to getting here six years previously,” he says. “But then that horse broke down; the rules had changed and we had to do another long format event for our qualification, and the horse picked up an injury there. So we never got our chance, and it’s taken six years to work myself back to that stage.”

If someone had told him that it would be Harry Robinson with whom he’d finally tick the box, Phil admits, “I wouldn’t have believed them!” Though they’d been together since the gelding’s six-year-old year, he was sold when he stepped up to Advanced — but within nine months, he’d bounced back to Phil’s yard, “because they just didn’t get on with him that well; they found him a bit much,” he explains. “They rang me and asked if I’d like him back, and because my horse had picked up an injury, I said, ‘yeah, why not?'”

Nigel and Susie Bushby, who are old family friends of Phil’s and live just down the road from his parents’ house, decided to join in on the gamble, and bought the horse under the banner of their own family business, Orbit Electrical Services Ltd. And then, everyone got to work, building a partnership with a horse that, Phil confesses, is a bit of a quirky soul.

“He’s so kind on the ground, like a really lovely, big Labrador,” he says fondly. “He’s the most loveable horse and everybody that works on the yard loves him — and I love him; his owners love him. But to ride he’s a real hothead. He’s kind of a Jekyll and Hyde — there’s absolutely no nastiness in him, but he’s always so overeager to get the job done that if you try to over-control him, he can have a bit of a tantrum.”

But, he continues, that’s what makes him a great partner for the biggest courses in the world: “Because he’s like that, he loves his cross-country. He just wants to get on with the job and do it for you — and one thing about Harry is that he just keeps trying, no matter what. When you look back at photographs and videos from last year, from the beginning to the end of that course, his ears are pricked and he’s loving what he’s doing.”

Phil Brown’s handsome Harry Robinson. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

There’s a wobble of emotion in Phil’s voice when he talks about what Harry means to him — not just as the horse that found his way home, nor just as a rallying point for his family and family-by-proxy in the Bushby clan, but because he carried him to the zenith of his dreams.

“Joanne, who was the woman who bought him for that nine months or so, sends me messages saying, ‘it was just meant to be’ — it’s so special,” he says. But he’s not resting on his laurels, either: with that dream accomplished last year, he’s got his sights set on a return for this year’s Burghley, with everything he learned last week guiding and influencing him.

“Last year, my goal was just, ‘let’s just get there’,” he says. “When we arrived, I was like, ‘whatever happens…”, but then it went so beautifully that we came away thinking, ‘wow, I’ve done that now, what now?!’ But then to go into this season not just knowing how to prepare, but also not having to chase down qualifications and MERs, that’s felt a bit weird! It’s been the goal all year, and we’ve been steadily building up to it with some four-star runs. The biggest thing, though, is that I now know I’m capable, and I know he’s capable. Getting him fit enough was a big priority for me last year; I thought, ‘even if it means he blows up in the dressage, he has to be fit enough’. And now, knowing that that system works gives me so much confidence in the fact that it can happen.”

But, he adds sagely, “it’s five-star. Just because you’ve done it once, doesn’t mean you can take that for granted. But I do feel a bit more relaxed about it. Last year was the unknown; you think you’re doing everything right, but you can never actually know for sure until you’re doing it. He’s not a lot of Thoroughbred — he’s warmblood and Irish, but I found that he’ll just keep going. But until you’re in that situation, you just don’t know if they’ll cope with that next step. You have to go into it thinking, ‘we’ll give it a go and just be sensible, and if it’s right, it’s right, and if it’s not, I’ll pull up’.”

Smart clears in the CCI4*-S classes at Bramham and Aston this year will put them well on the right track, while Harry’s once-annual 20, which he picked up at Hartpury last week, will give them those last-minute sharpeners to work on — but whatever happens, Phil and his ‘boomerang’ horse will be enjoying every step of the way. And if you want to follow along with them and give them a cheer as they tackle Derek di Grazia’s tough track, just follow the cheers — as the young rider coach for the East Midlands, he’ll have voracious support scattered throughout the track. Lend them your voice, too; you’ll be rewarded with a display of horse-first eventing and a tangible, ineffable love for the sport.

Wednesday Video from Kentucky Performance Products: Ride Around Burghley with Piggy March

By Tilly Berendt on Aug 16, 2023 5:00 pm -

I’m buzzing around on pony-mad cloud nine this afternoon, for one very simple reason: this morning, I got to make the long, sunny drive up to Burghley House to take a first look at the cross-country track that Derek di Grazia has laid out for this year’s competitors. It’s a seriously cool track — more on that in the coming days! — but what was even more special was getting to sit down with the likes of Andrew Hoy, who shared his memories of competing there way back to the seventies; Phil Brown, who competed there for the first time last year after a lifetime of dreaming; and younger rider Greta Mason, who’ll make her Burghley debut this month. And on the subject of memories? Who could be more interesting to chat to than the remarkable Piggy March, who vlogger Victoria Brant got the once in a lifetime opportunity to go hacking with over the estate recently. Tune in to the video to find out everything they spoke about on their ride (and try not to be as achingly jealous as I am!).

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“It’s Walter’s World And We’re Just Living In It”: Ros Canter Becomes European Champion

By Tilly Berendt on Aug 13, 2023 4:20 pm -

Ros Canter: your new European Champion. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

She’d bought herself such an exceptional margin — two rails and four seconds in hand, to be precise — by delivering the only clear round inside the time yesterday that Ros Canter‘s ascension to European Champion with Lordships Graffalo seemed almost inevitable today. But that’s not how sport always pans out; there are tricky courses, tired horses, always, at the back of one’s mind, the prospect of a serious miss and an opportunity to inspect the arena footing rather closer than planned. All of that boils down to an extraordinary, almost indescribable pressure — but Ros, who became the World Champion in 2018 after revolutionising her style of riding with Chris Bartle, making her the girl who came ‘from nowhere’ to rule the world — has always been very, very good at dealing with pressure.

“I’m very relieved, though,” she laughs, having used one of those rails in hand at the first element of the treble combination, but holding it together to confirm her new title as European Champion. “There’s quite a lot of pressure, and when you have a bit of a margin it almost makes it worse, because you’ve got further to fall. I mean, the expectation was that I should win it today, so I’ve had to try and keep myself in my own bubble a little bit, remind myself who I’m sat on and, and just try and do the best job I could in that situation.”

Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Who she’s sat on is, now, arguably one of the best eleven-year-olds the sport has even seen. ‘Walter’, as he’s known at home, isn’t just making his name for the first time here: as an eight-year-old, he strode into the spotlight when taking second in the prestigious Blenheim eight- and nine-year-old class, historically a feeder route for five-star winners; that was his four-star debut, and early the following season, he took the win in the Chatsworth replacement CCI4*-S at Aston-le-Walls, finished second in the Bramham replacement CCI4*-L at Bicton on his debut at the level, won the CCI4*-S at Blair Castle, and finished second in the CCI4*-L at Blenheim — all in his nine-year-old year. As a ten-year-old, he stepped up to five-star, finished second, took second at Hartpury’s CCI4*-S, and then went on to the World Championships, finishing fourth and best of the British team.

Oh, you think we’re done here? Let’s not forget Badminton this spring — the wettest, toughest, and most maligned since that 2014 renewal, in which many horses retired on course and those that did finish did so with significant time penalties. Watches were cast aside; feeling the ground, and the horse beneath you, became the priority — but still, a baby green Walter got stuck in, pricked his ears, and came home with just 11.6 time penalties, the second-fastest round of the day, and won the whole damn thing.

Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

And this? This is his first international event since then, and from the get-go, he’s been at his very best. Though Ros has always kept his inexperience at the forefront of her mind — ““I think we’re still coming across situations that are new to him, and this was definitely the most challenging ground,” she said yesterday – she’s also always felt confident that there’s nothing he wouldn’t tackle; no challenge he wouldn’t relish. That’s been resolutely the case at Haras du Pin, an event that has been, admittedly, something of a slog for everyone, thanks in large part to inclement weather and subsequent tricky conditions. But on day two of dressage, as the penultimate horse to perform his test, he was exceptional, putting up a 21.3 that had him second to Michael Jung and fischerChipmunk FRH; yesterday, when chaos and time penalties reigned, he added nothing and moved into the slot vacated by the eliminated leaders — even though, she admits, his warm-up saw him become ‘a bog-standard eleven-year-old’ with his eyes on stalks. But as she entered the arena and began her tour of the fences, he quickly gained in confidence, and after that mid-round rail, he became good old Walter again.

“I just feel a very lucky girl to have a horse like Walter in my life,” says Ros, who’s had the ride on the gelding since the start of his career and has always considered him her perfect stamp of a horse — a designation he’s worn well by making himself the biggest character on her yard. “We all say that it’s Walter’s world, and we’re lucky enough to live in it, so he’s had a fantastic time, too. I’m extremely proud of him; I was relieved to finish the showjumping, and now I’m excited!”

Champions again: the Brits take gold at Haras du Pin. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

In tipping just that one rail today, they didn’t just claim their own title — they also led the British team, who’d enjoyed their own significant lead following cross-country, into the gold medal position, defending the title they’d so decisively claimed in 2021 and redeeming themselves after a disappointing team result in Pratoni.

“It’s amazing. I mean, the team for me, has always come first,” says Ros. “That’s why I love riding on a team. It’s what I do it for. It’s what I dream of doing. It’s always been about trying to ride for Great Britain. I think you after Badminton, that was such a massive box ticked for me that I don’t think I ever thought it could get much better. So I’m just thankful that I’ve got Walter — he’s unbelievable.”

Kitty King and Vendredi Biats add individual silver to their team gold. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

There was so much to celebrate for the Brits: though they couldn’t quite manage the full individual podium that they’d clinched in Avenches in 2021, they did take the top two spots. Kitty King and Vendredi Biats once again proved that they’re extraordinarily reliable in a team situation, concluding their pathfinding week with a clear round to hold onto the second place they’d clinched yesterday. They did, however, add 1.2 time penalties — an addition that Kitty chalks up to her own performance in the ring.

“It’s amazing, but I was a twat in there, I rode so badly!” she says with a laugh. “Luckily Froggy remembered all the good rides I’ve given him, and he just did it. It just means so much — luckily, when I came out I was so cross with myself, I didn’t cry, but now…! Now you begin to realise it’s been a long time coming and he deserves it so much. I just didn’t give him a very easy job — I kept him guessing the whole way; I kept missing. Normally he’s so smooth, and it’s so easy, and I just messed it up for him every time we came to a fence, basically; I kicked when I should have pulled and I pulled when I should have kicked. I was a muppet.”

Kitty King and Vendredi Biats. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Kitty isn’t, perhaps, giving herself enough credit for the exceptional performer she’s developed the Selle Français into: from leading Burghley, to coming second at Luhmühlen, to being the best of the Brits at the Europeans in 2019 and on the gold medal winning team at Avenches in 2021 — and that’s just the tip of the iceberg, really. But if he’s been slightly overlooked in the past, Kitty has now ensured that ‘Froggy’ is an undeniable contender for the biggest of challenges.

“It’s been a roller coaster with him,” says Kitty. “I always think he’s in the shadow of the other team horses; you know, he’s not as flashy, but he’s gritty and he gets the job done, and he’s proven himself today.”

The women of the British team and their remarkable horses: two five-star winners, a World Champion, and a silver medalist. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Even when she was named to the team, Kitty didn’t imagine it was as anything other than a reliable leader of the pack.

“When I came out here, I know the British horses so well and they’re absolutely amazing, so I thought I’d be coming just to get a score on the board and be a good pathfinder,” she says. “I thought it’d be up to the rest of them with their amazing horses, so to come home with an individual medal of any colour is a huge honour and achievement, and I’m very, very proud of my horse. I’m delighted with silver, and Ros really deserves the gold — her horse is fantastic.”

Sandra Auffarth and Viamant du Matz. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

The top three after cross-country remained unchanged, despite the reasonable influence exerted by today’s course — and as the third-last to go, Germany’s former World Champion Sandra Auffarth and Viamant du Matz certainly put the pressure on those above them, throwing down an excellent clear round when Kitty, next in the ring, didn’t have a rail in hand.

“My horse was amazing today again, like yesterday — he did a super round, and it was a special atmosphere,” says the bronze medallist, whose World Champs win came at this venue back in soggy 2014. Even with that behind her, she still didn’t feel immune to the pressure on her today, though — especially as the silver medal-winning German team began today just 0.2 penalties ahead of the bronze-medallist French team.

“I was quite nervous, I must say, in the warming up arena. But I had the feeling he really wanted to give his best, and I’m already a little bit longer in the business, so I know that pressure.”

“A good thing,” she says, “is that I’m quite relaxed with the show jumping so that helps for sure” — and she’s not kidding when she says that, as she maintains a string of show jumpers and competes in majors classes such as the Hamburg and Hickstead Derbies. “But it was a special atmosphere and it was a special place for me, of course, as well, to be here in front of the castle.”

Christoph Wahler and Carjatan S. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Christoph Wahler cemented his position as one of the most reliable members of the formidable German forward guard, once again getting the job done with ineffable Carjatan S — with whom he was second at Luhmühlen CCI5* and part of the gold medal winning team at Pratoni — to complete his journey from first-phase tenth to a final fourth place. His week began with some frustration: though he’d coaxed a beautiful test out of the occasionally tempestuous son of Clearway, a break in the extended trot had cost them, and they went into yesterday’s cross-country on a score of 28.3. Then, though he described it as “not the most pleasant round I’ve ridden”, he supported the gelding through the tough conditions, romping home with 13.2 time penalties and incrementally creeping up the scoreboard. Today, it was perhaps that touch of frustration that led to a sedate celebration as he cleared the final fence, having executed a faultless round – but while it’s the role of the sporting perfectionist to always look for room for improvement, from the outside, he’s secured his position as a cert for teams to come indefinitely.

France takes the bronze medal — and four spots in the top ten. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

All four of the enormously celebrated bronze medal winning French team secured their places in the top ten: Nicolas Touzaint delivered a sparkling clear, despite Absolut Gold HDC‘s unusual jumping style, which moved him from ninth to fifth, while yesterday’s best-placed Frenchman, Stéphane Landois, slipped from fourth to sixth after pulling a rail with Ride for Thaïs Chaman Dumontceau, deputising for his old friend, the much-missed late Thaïs Meheust, on the horse on which she’d lost her life several years ago. British-based Gaspard Maksud remained in eighth place having pulled a rail, just behind Germany’s debutant and individual competitor Jérôme Robiné with Black Ice, who delivered an excellent clear under pressure for seventh place. Just behind Gaspard was Laura Collett, who redeemed a frustration weekend — she’d received 15 penalties for a missed flag yesterday — with London 52 to take ninth on the strength of their stylish clear round today, which team head honcho Dicky Waygood described as “possibly the best I’ve seen the horse jump, both in the warm-up and in the ring.” Finally, crowd favourite Karim Florent Laghouag took tenth place with Triton Fontaine, also having delivered a clear round that nearly brought the house down with its raucous show of support. That completed a weeklong climb from seventeenth for the perennially sunny elder statesman of the home side, and also helped the nation to secure the bronze medal — giving them much to celebrate, but also plenty to work on, ahead of their home Olympics next year.

Nicolas Touzaint and Absolut Gold HDC jump clear to be the best of the French. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

14 of the 37 competitors today jumped around the final phase without tipping rails; just eight did so without time, too. Notable of those were first-session competitors Tom Jackson and Capels Hollow Drift, riding as individuals for Great Britain, and Sweden’s Amanda Staam and the expressive Corpoubet AT, making their team debut.

We confirmed it yesterday, but today it truly was set in stone: following the elimination or retirement of all three Austrian competitors, and the elimination of two of the Italian team riders, Belgium and the Netherlands booked their tickets to Paris, and though each nation had moments to rue and build upon, each was palpably delighted by the result. For Belgium, it’s a first team qualification since London in 2012; for the Netherlands, it’s a first since Rio in 2016, which they qualified for by taking a surprise bronze medal at the World Equestrian Games here in 2014.

That means that there are just three Olympic team tickets remaining: two will be awarded at the Pan-American Games in Santiago in October, and one more will be awarded at the finale of the 2023 FEI Nations Cup series at Boekelo to the highest-placed unqualified team in the series. We’ll be bringing you lots more news and analysis on this in the coming days — but for now, it’s time to celebrate the exceptional efforts of our new champions. Raise a glass to Ros and the British line-up — if, of course, they can get their lorries out of the mud to get to their celebration parties.

For now, from us, it’s over and out from the 2023 FEI European Championships at Haras du Pin. As always: Go Eventing!

The individual top ten in the 2023 FEI European Eventing Championships.

The team podium at the culmination of competition.

EN’s coverage of the FEI European Championships for Eventing is brought to you with support from Kentucky Performance Products.

Delightfully Uneventful Euros Final Horse Inspection Still Sees Field Thin By One

By Tilly Berendt on Aug 13, 2023 4:14 am -

Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

‘The morning after the night before’ takes on a whole new meaning at a three-day event, and especially at one in which the ground and terrain played as important a part as it did here at the European Championships at Haras du Pin yesterday. We saw an afternoon full of serious exertions, tired horses, and some near misses that could have led to any number of knocks, bumps, and bruises — and so all of us approached this morning’s final horse inspection with no small amount of trepidation.

Nine nations and 37 competitors — down from 38 after the withdrawal of Belgium’s Karin Donckers and Fletcha van’t Verahof, which will have no effect on the Belgian’s qualification efforts for Paris — came forward to present in front of the ground jury of President Judy Hancock of Great Britain, Katrin Eichinger-Kniely of Austria, and Seppo Laine of Finland for the final time this week.

But the scenes on the strip weren’t at all what you might, fairly, have imagined: all 37 remaining horses looked fit, well, and ready to tackle the final day of sport, which meant that every one of them was accepted on the spot, and at the end of the horse inspection, one very bored holding box vet simply shrugged and went off in search of the first grand biere of the day.*

(*This is a guess, and also a wild inaccuracy, probably.)

French hero Karim Florent Laghouag presents Triton Fontaine. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

Now, we’re looking ahead to the start of the showjumping, which begins at 12.00 p.m. local time (11.00 a.m. BST/6.00 a.m. EST) with the first 13 riders, and will resume at 2.00 p.m. (1.00 p.m. BST/8.00 a.m. EST) with the top 25. Currently, we have a decisive lead for Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo, who go into the final phase on 21.3 — two rails and four seconds ahead of second-placed Kitty King and Vendredi Biats, who themselves don’t have a rail in hand over Sandra Auffarth and Viamant du Matz. Similarly, in the team stakes, the Brits are well out ahead with six rails in hand over Germany, who are just 0.2 penalties ahead of France, currently sitting in bronze. You can check out the course map here, and start times are available here.

We’ll be bringing you the full story — and news on our new European Champions — shortly thereafter, so keep it locked on EN!

EN’s coverage of the FEI European Championships for Eventing is brought to you with support from Kentucky Performance Products.

Canter’s Queen Bee on Extraordinary Euros Cross-Country Day

By Tilly Berendt on Aug 12, 2023 5:03 pm -

Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Yesterday, as the weather took a turn for the worst, pummelling Haras du Pin with over 15mm of rainfall, many of us turned to one another and said one thing: “this is Walter weather.” Lordships Graffalo, the eleven-year-old phenom piloted by Ros Canter, isn’t short of valuable experience in holding, saturated ground — after all, it was the very worst of that flavour of footing that greeted him as he left the startbox at Badminton this spring, and despite that, he crossed the finish line as one of very few horses to still look fresh at the tail end of his experience. Then, of course, he went on to win — and so he wasn’t so much the thinking man’s pick of today’s competitors as much as he was the man-who-doesn’t-really-need-to-think-all-that-hard-to-get-there’s choice.

But even so, after hours of shock moments and gasp-inducing tumbles — including one for overnight leader Michael Jung from fischerChipmunk FRH, who suffered a stumble at the final water, and Tom McEwen from reigning European Champion JL Dublin, who parted company at the same complex — we couldn’t quite have expected just how dominant a force the relatively inexperienced young talent would be. Throughout the day, we saw horses coming home beyond the usual level of tiredness, despite this morning’s decision to remove fences 12–16 and shorten the course by two minutes to 8:19, and double-digit time penalties still remained competitive. And then, as the penultimate pair out of the startbox, former World Champion Ros and her gritty partner proceeded to make the whole thing look, for all intents and purposes, like a bit of a joke. They didn’t just make the time — the only pair to do so today — they crossed the finish line an extraordinary nine seconds inside it, despite mixed emotions in the British team camp following Tom’s fall, Laura Collett‘s missed flag penalty with London 52, World Champion Yasmin Ingham‘s shock 20 at the tough coffin, and individual competitor Tom Jackson‘s 20 at the final water.

But though the round looked like the plainest of sailing on a day when just 51% of the field went clear, amassing average time penalties of 18.1, that faultless, time-penalty-free round still wasn’t easy, Ros explains.

“I mean, it was tough going,” she says. “Don’t get me wrong – I had a near-whoopsie at fence too and that sharpened us both up. The ground out there was hard work, but Walter is just unbelievable in his stamina and his desire to travel through ground like that. He’s so rideable, and that lets me keep travelling and lets me balance, and when you balance he has energy. So I think he’s the best horse in the world when it comes to doing something like this, and I was very lucky and unrelieved that I was able to give him a nice ride.”

Walter was also the fastest horse of the day at Badminton, and that speed — despite tough conditions — is something that Ros says comes very naturally to him, though his very varied fitness routine over the Lincolnshire hills, all undertaken on grass, has certainly helped.

“I think he’s very efficient – he’s very careful but he never balloons, and he never goes green,” explains Ros, who had held silver medal position after dressage. “He always lands travelling, which is very good. He’s extremely polite, which is unusual, to have a horse that travels at his speed that when you sit up, he’s responsive. So when he’s galloping he gallops low, but when you sit up, he punches up and his head comes up and it’s the best of both worlds. There aren’t many that can gallop low and then don’t want to stay down there and aren’t many that have their heads up to jump but then want to gallop low, so I think that’s where he’s just amazing. I’ve never sat on a horse like him that travels so efficiently and is so rideable and and brave — he measures every jump, he reads every jump beautifully, and he seems to know just how much he’s got to give everything. He really does make my job easy, because hand on heart, I’m not normally the fastest rider on the course.”

Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

As the fourth on course, Ros had initially hoped to stick to her usual system when there’s a long wait, but the problems caused on course meant she changed her plan and came out to watch much more than she ordinarily would.

“I always have idea that I watch five and then go back the lorry, have a sleep, do something else, and stay in my own zone. The reality is, that didn’t happen,” she says. “I watched quite a few, then I got a bit worried about the last water, so I went down and rewalked it, then I came back to watch a few more — then I got worried about the rail ditch brush, sp I went down and watched that, and then I watched the water again. Then I came back and went back the lorry and managed not to watch anymore. At that point, it was about time to get ready.”

Being fourth to go, she says, “is sometimes a fantastic place to be and sometimes a hard place to be — but I just had to try and stick to my own plan today. I watched quite a bit and supported the others but at the end of the day, there’s only one Walter and I had to ride him today and try and stick to everything that I knew we could do.”

Knowing the issues that some of her compatriots had faced on course, she wasn’t sure whether she’d receive team orders to go slow and steady, or be encouraged to chase the time she thought she might be able to catch.

“Just as we were walking down with Chris Bartle I said, ‘are you still happy for me to go for this?’ And he said ‘absolutely — for the team as well. You must commit; we’re going out to be the best, so ride by feel — but if it feels good, then do your thing.'”

As she crossed the finish, she realised — not for the first time — what a special horse she’s got in her string to fill the huge shoes left by her 2018 World Champion, the late Allstar B, even despite his young age.

“I think we’re still coming across situations that are new to him, and today was definitely the most challenging ground — we thought Badminton was bad, but I didn’t think it was a patch on how they had to travel through quite gloopy going today. He surprises me time and time again — literally, there isn’t another horse I’d rather walk a course for, and I haven’t found a course yet where I’ve thought, ‘I’m not sure how Walter will tackle this’, or ‘I’m not sure I’d want to have a go on him’. There isn’t a jump I don’t think he can jump.”

Now, Ros will head into tomorrow’s finale with 9.5 penalties — or two rails and four seconds — in hand.

Kitty King and Vendredi Biats step up from overnight ninth to second. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Apparently there’s something to be said for bookending the British team, because while the anchorman snuck in to usurp her at the end of the day, it was British pathfinder Kitty King and Vendredi Biats who held the lead throughout the day after leaving the startbox in the first half hour of the competition. Though she was initially disappointed to pick up 3.6 time penalties, fearing she’d let down the team as a result of them, theirs was one of the rounds of the day — and an extraordinary display of the kind of trust that’s amassed over a long partnership like theirs.

“We know each other inside out, so when he kind of said ‘I don’t like this very much’, I was like ‘it’s okay Froggy, we can do it together’,” says Kitty, who was surprised at how much the difficult ground took out of her Luhmühlen runner-up.

“It was hard work. Froggy lives for his cross country and today he wasn’t enjoying himself quite as much as he normally does, which is a huge shame, just because I know how much fun he normally has. Today he had to really dig deep and try hard, and he kept jumping for me even when he was finding it a little bit trickier. I’m very proud of how hard he tried for me – he’s a five-star horse; he’s done Badminton and Burghley, and this is the tiredest he’s ever finished.”

Kitty King and Vendredi Biats. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Feeling that effect on him meant that Kitty found it prudent to slightly adjust her usual way of riding to prioritise keeping ‘Froggy’ happy and comfortable in his efforts.

“I just tried to keep moving as much as I could as well as just slightly backing off him a little bit at times to try and let him find his feet — he was just unsure of the footing,” she explains. “On the approaches to the fences, he just was a bit more unsure of himself compared to normal, and his stride pattern changed a bit, which I think threw both of us — so when I’d normally set up, the stride would just kind of keep coming up nicely whereas today, we’re always just a bit of a half stride off, either half deep or long, and it was just trying to get our eye in with how the ground took their stride away from them more than normal. I was trying to just give him a little bit of time to find his feet and find his confidence with the ground. He’s normally such a springy little horse, and it just took all his all his spring away from him.”

The footing, which she described as ‘very dead’ and totally different to that of the warm-up, also required her to adjust her lines, too.

“I wanted to put a few more curves in to make some of the lines a little bit easier, but because of the ground he wasn’t as manoeuvrable, so I had to straighten a few things out,” she says. “But I know he’s really genuine, so I wasn’t too afraid that I was taking things on a little bit more of an angle than ideal, just because I know that he’ll be looking for the flags for me and he’s very experienced. So that was okay, but he just hated the ground and he didn’t travel, which was just such a shame. But I went as quickly as I felt he could go to get him home in one piece and without making any kind of horrible errors along the way.”

Sandra Auffarth and Viamant du Matz. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Haras du Pin – astutely nicknamed ‘the house of pain’ by one unnamed media representative who ‘enjoyed’ the famously wet and tough World Championships here — has been as happy of a hunting ground for Germany’s Sandra Auffarth as it can possibly be, considering how tricky it always seems to be in Championship situations: in 2014, she became the World Champion with Opgun Louvo here, and today, in not dissimilar conditions, she dashed home with just six time penalties with Viamant du Matz, helping the Germans cling on to silver medal position overnight and moving her up from eleventh to third.

“I must say, the ground was really, really deep in the beginning of the course, and so that was hard for the horses — but in the end, it did get better, and then I felt I could really fight,” says Sandra. “He’s super fit, so I think he could do the time, but I was a little shy and I didn’t want to risk anything in the beginning. It’s smart that they cut out part of the horse; otherwise, we’d have had a really hard day. Already, we saw a lot of tired horses, so it was the right decision.”

Viamant du Matz also partnered Sandra at Tokyo — though with a blip — and to an Aachen win last year, and their shared experience meant that Sandra was full of confidence today.

“He now has such good experience, and such good overview, and he’s so safe in looking for the next fence — he makes it easy for me. I was looking forward to the cross-country, because I thought, ‘he’s ready for everything’ and we have a super partnership. I’m happy to have him.”

Stéphane Landois and Chaman Dumontceau. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

There’s arguably no nation in the world that embraces eventing quite like the French, and while they were raucous in their cheers for each and every rider that galloped past them today, it was for their own that they reserved the loudest screams of ‘allez, allez!’ — and all 15,000-odd of them determinedly sprinted after them on course, too.

And at the end of the day? What a pair to have leading the home charge, having moved up from 23rd to overnight fourth with just 8.8 time penalties. Not only is this 28-year-old Stéphane Landois‘s Senior Championship debut, he was also the pathfinder for the French with his Chatsworth-winning partner Ride For Thaïs Chaman Dumontceau — again, on incredibly tough, holding ground — but the pair cruised around with a maturity well beyond their amassed experience.

No pair could have had a more committed front riding along with them, in large part because Stéphane wasn’t riding alone — not really. He’s had the ride on the gelding for three years now, taking over from his friend, Thaïs Meheust, who tragically died in 2019 at the age of 22. She’d been riding Chaman at the time of her accident, which occurred at the second fence on the French national young horse championship at this venue – but since then, the gelding has had the chance to help her family and friends see out her legacy in the most poignant of ways. She’d always dreamed of riding at the Paris Olympics, a dream that’s not looking at all far-fetched for her horse now, and this would have been an obvious step along the way, and one which Stéphane is making sure she’s well-remembered at. Along the way, they’re also helping to raise crucial funds for improved safety measures and devices in the sport, via the Ride For Thaïs Foundation that has now become the Selle Français’s namesake.

Sarah Ennis and Grantstown Jackson. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

The first horse and rider pair on course delivered one of the rounds of the day, holding the accolade of fastest time — just 2.4 time penalties accrued — right up until Ros left the startbox. That was Ireland’s stalwart team rider Sarah Ennis, piloting Championship debutant Grantstown Jackson. The swiftness of their round saw the very-nearly-pony-sized gelding and his enormously experienced jockey rocket up the leaderboard from 54th to fifth.

“He’s a very fast horse, and we had a bit of ground to make up after our dressage yesterday,” says Sarah. “I knew that these conditions would suit him; he’s very light, he’s out of a Thoroughbred mare, and so speed is his thing, and catching up after the dressage.”

But even in that pathfinder position, Sarah admitted that the ground wasn’t easy.

“It is gluey — like, I was number one out and take off and landings are very sticky. But they’ve done an amazing job — they’ve dug out take offs, put gravel in,” she says, going on to describe the track as “like going round a tumble dryer. Like, it just happened so fast and you’re going round and round and round and round around and then it’s just fast and furious, really quick. I think I was as out of breath as he was coming through the finish line!”

Though the twelve-year-old gelding is relatively short on experience, with just one prior CCI4*-L run to his name, he proved on course what an asset he’s ready to be to the Irish effort, even over the toughest of questions.

“The first water, for me, was just a big question very early on,” says Sarah. “And I was worried about it, I have to say, but he was a good boy. I got one more [stride] coming in than I’d like, but I saw a lovely shot and just, everywhere I pointed him he just kept going. He was incredible. He’s very easy, very sharp. He lands and he wants to go.”

Like Ros and Walter, though, the pair nearly saw their day finish at the second fence.

“He got a bit of a fright at number two. That was the first sticky take off and he really got stuck and wore the fence, and then I was like ‘actually, you know what, you survived it, you learn from it’ — and he did. He knew from then on you have to pull out of the mud, and a couple of times I saw a flying one and I had to just sit back and help balance him a little bit because they weren’t really coming out of it.”

Christoph Wahler and Carjatan S. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Second-placed Germany were once again ably represented by Christoph Wahler and Carjatan S, the up-and-coming darlings of last year’s Pratoni team — and today’s sixth-place citizens after a four-place climb. They added 13.2 time penalties in a get-it-done round that required no shortage of grit.

“To be honest, it wasn’t the most pleasant round I ever had,” says Christoph. “I think it was super hard work for him; starting at fence one, he always felt like he had to dig really deep in the mud. But he’s the most honest horse you can wish for. Every time, I wasn’t really sure where to take off because his stride changed before the fences. He just did it because he’s got a lot of scope, and I can basically trust him with a longer rein that he’ll do his job. I think it was the most sensitive decision by the organisers to take some parts out that would have been even more wet. Even even with the ground being as it is, it was hard work for us and even harder work for the horses. So bless him for being such an honest cross-country horse.”

“There wasn’t a combination that wasn’t [hard work], to be honest,” he continues. “You know, you walk the course and it’s a big, nicely built straightforward, forward course with a lot of combinations that you have an idea about what you’re doing, but then the conditions change everything and the way your horse can cope with the conditions changes again and everything, so for me, I wasn’t really sure what kind of horse I’m sitting on today until he showed me that he’s just the most brave horse you can wish for. Even though he wasn’t the most adjustable horse today, because we basically had one speed all the way around, couldn’t change the gear down, couldn’t change the gear up, but that did everything I asked for.”

Felix Vogg and Colero. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Switzerland’s five-star champions Felix Vogg and Colero moved up from eleventh to seventh, coming home marginally slower than Christoph with 13.6 time penalties at the tail end of the day’s competition.

“It was pretty nice, but it was not the ideal conditions for him — like hills and the ground and all that stuff, but he did an amazing job,” says Felix, who let slip the rather remarkable detail that he uses a horse hypnosis to help Colero find his inner calm — and he, for his own part, took advantage of a long lie-in to keep the butterflies at bay before his late start time. Keep doing you, Felix.

Gaspard Maksud and Zaragoza. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

France had two further riders in the top ten thanks to the efforts of British-based Gaspard Maksud, who cruised home with 9.2 time penalties with his Pratoni sixth-place finisher Zaragoza, climbing from 33rd to eighth, and longtime team member Nicolas Touzaint and Absolut Gold HDC, who added 11.2 time penalties to move from 25th to ninth.

“It’s a hell of a job for the horses,” says Gaspard, “but she dug so, so deep. I held her hand the whole way around and after the final water I said, ‘come on, let’s go’.”

Jérôme Robiné and Black Ice. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

The top ten is rounded out by German debutant and individual competitor Jérôme Robiné, who proved that his top-ten finish in his five-star debut at Luhmühlen with Black Ice was no flash in the pan. They added 18.4 time penalties, dropping them from seventh to tenth, but keeping them in an extraordinarily impressive position heading into the final day.

As he tackled his debut senior appearance, Jérôme focused on making sensible choices above all.

“I think I started slow, because I felt, okay, the ground is tough for him, we have to get into this course — and I saw some before who started too fast and then at the end it was pretty hard work for them, so I just didn’t look at the watch,” he explains. “Just get your turns and try to really feel into your horse — and I think the jumps were all pretty good. He jumped very good for all the round, and was not getting tired, and of course if you know that you could go a bit faster… but in the end I’m pretty happy.”

That debut wasn’t his only first-time experience today: he also experienced his first-ever hold on course, just before the final water, after Dutch pair Elaine Pen and Divali had a crashing fall that resulted in a trip to the hospital for the rider — though we’re pleased to report that both are fine.

“It’s hard to get into it again [after a hold],” reflects Jérôme. “But all the coaches were in the ear pretty fast and told me what to do — just walk, and then start strong again, start quick, and I think he could breathe and start again pretty strongly. It’s never ever happened to me, so then that’s a good thing when people come to you just telling you what to do. You can really concentrate on all the other things and don’t have to focus on anything. I think on that point, it was positive because he really could come back a bit stronger especially for the last hill and for the finish. He could breathe a bit, so it was a bit better. I think for the final water it was not that good, because I had to go on the outside line, and actually I wanted to go on the inside line which is a bit faster. But in that moment I came on the outside because I thought, okay, just going the bit longer way is the right decision.”

That help during the hold is a reflection of the experience that the young talent, who’s based at the German Federation’s Warendorf training centre, has been living all week.

“The team just help me a lot; they are very experienced,” he says. “We all sat together yesterday evening. And there’s Michi, there’s Sandra, there’s Christoph, who have all been through these courses a few times and they just say ‘look after this, look after this. Sometimes that happens’. So yeah, that’s perfect for young guys like me.”

The field is down to a scant 38 from 56 starters, with three pairs opting to retire on course, and 13 eliminations. Three of those were horse falls, though none have been reported as injurious, and fence 18, a left-handed corner off a sharp turn into the second water, caused the most issues: six riders picked up a 20 here, while a further two fell from their horses. Otherwise, though, issues were well spread around the course, with 14 elements on course causing jumping penalties of some sort through the day.

Great Britain remains at the forefront of the team competition, sitting on 98.7 even after penalties for both Yasmin Ingham and Laura Collett, while Germany lags behind on 126 — or six rails and change. France sit in bronze, currently, just 0.2 penalties behind Germany, while Ireland is waiting in the wings in fourth on 136.4. The team bids for those two Olympic qualifications, which began as a four-way race between Italy, Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands, has been sewn up: after none of the Austrians completed, and two Italians failed to complete, it will be Belgium and the Netherlands who will head to Paris next year.

Tomorrow’s finale begins with the final horse inspection at 9.00 local time (8.00 a.m. BST/3.00 a.m. EST), and will be followed by the first jumping session, fielding just thirteen horses and riders, from 12.00 to 12.30 (11.00 a.m. BST/6.00 a.m. EST). The top 25 will jump from 2.00 p.m. local time (1.00 p.m. BST/8.00 a.m. EST). As usual, you can watch on ClipMyHorse — and tune back in to EN for all the news as we crown our new European Champions. Until then: Go Eventing!

The individual top ten after cross country.

The team podium at the end of a dramatic day of cross-country at the European Championships.

EN’s coverage of the FEI European Championships for Eventing is brought to you with support from Kentucky Performance Products.

Changes Made to European Championships Course and Times Due to Weather Worries

By Tilly Berendt on Aug 12, 2023 5:39 am -

Though the sun is shining bright and strong over Haras du Pin, the site of the FEI European Eventing Championships, today, yesterday was a very different story – the already soft ground took a serious hammering that continued well into the night, prompting concerns from chefs d’equipe, riders, and media alike about the conditions over today’s tough track, which has been described as ‘Luhmühlen technicality over Bramham terrain’.

This morning, we’ve had some crucial updates on how the organising committee is proposing to mitigate these issues. Firstly, the 12.00 p.m. intended starting time has been pushed back to 2.00 p.m. local time (1.00 p.m. BST/8.00 a.m. EST) to allow for further drying and, at least, hopefully make the pedestrian pathways through the course a touch safer to traverse. That means we’ll be out on course until roughly 6.30 p.m., holds notwithstanding.

A loop of the course has also been removed due to waterlogging. Fences 12AB, a pair of airy upright rails over ditches, 13, a hanging brush-topped log, 14, a wide box hedge, 15, a house, and 16, a skinny in water, which represented the furthest loop on the course, have been removed, and the optimum time has been shorted to 8:18 to reflect the new 4730m distance.

Further changes are being debated for fences 5 and 25AB, a brush fence and a pair of offset brushes, respectively, and we’ll keep you updated in due course with news of these changes.

In the meantime, check out riders’ opinions of the track to come, and stay tuned for live updates throughout the day’s action as we get to grips with the inner workings of designer Pierre le Goupil, who will also be our Paris course designer next year.

EN’s coverage of the FEI European Championships for Eventing is brought to you with support from Kentucky Performance Products.

Jung Guns Blazing in Second Day of European Championships Dressage

By Tilly Berendt on Aug 11, 2023 3:48 pm -

Michael Jung and fischerChipmunk establish their dominance atop a heavily British-leaning leaderboard. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

It’s never a surprise, really, when we see Michael Jung and fischerChipmunk FRH atop a leaderboard, particularly in this phase — and so, perhaps, what makes their decisive lead on 19.4 remarkable today is that it puts a firm stop to an almost entirely British top ten. Despite the major change in conditions today, which swapped yesterday’s balmy sunshine for a steady, ground-saturating rein, they looked every inch their consistent best — and, says Michi, felt it, too.

“My feeling is very good,” he smiles. “I’m very, very happy about fisherChipmunk. He was amazing to ride. He was super in the warm up, and in the preparation time last week; he’s given me a very good feeling.”

That ‘good feeling’ wasn’t necessarily guaranteed, though, and Michi had to revert to damage limitation tactics to ensure he was back on side before he entered the arena.

“He was very calm, but in the beginning he was a little bit tense,” he says. “But that’s the reason why I went in [the ring] so early, so that I have a bit more time. I think that was very good for him. And then when I went into the test, he felt perfect. The canter was for sure a highlight for him.”

Michael Jung and fischerChipmunk FRH. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

But if a 19.4 sounds pretty close to perfection, Michi is quick to point out that there are always improvements to be made.

“I think the walk could be better. It was a bit long and low in the neck and the connection was not perfect. But it’s difficult to have it all 100% the way you want it in a test, and I think the very powerful canter, which is so uphill, is very nice, and in the trot work he was very soft, so I had great feelings. Maybe the walk could be better, but I think there’s always something.”

And, he points out, even if you’re part of one of the most competitive partnerships in the world, “Every test is a bit different, and the preparation sometimes is different. The competition is sometimes different. So it’s always a new game, and a new start.”

Watch Michael’s test below:

Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

There’s a reason you should always stay ’til the bitter end of dressage day, even when the weather makes quite literally any other option more appealing – and today, that reason was penultimate competitor and queen of nominative determinism Ros Canter and her Badminton champion, Lordships Graffalo. They danced their way to a 21.3 – the eleven-year-old gelding’s best-ever FEI score, even despite a minor bobble in the right shoulder-in — and will go into tomorrow’s cross-country in second place.

“I’m absolutely over the moon with Walter,” says Ros, who acts as British team anchor this week — arguably the most highly pressurised role, but also the one that requires the most waiting around. “It’s been a very long wait for me these last two days — I don’t think I’ve been very easy with Ian Woodhead, my trainer, yesterday and this morning! But when I got on today I felt much better that I actually had a job to do at last.”

And she got right to work as she came into the main arena, producing a test that showcased how the gelding has matured in his short but sparkling upper-level career.

“When I had so much time on my hands I was looking back at old videos from the spring when we were building up to Badminton, and I can’t believe how much he’s come on, even from then. He’s a truly amazing horse, and I’m very, very lucky to have him,” she says. With so many accolades to his name already at such a young age, including fourth in the World Championships last year, second at Badminton last year before returning to win, and six four-star top tens, it could be easy to forget that he still has so much ahead of him – but Ros explains that keeping that at the forefront of her mind is important, even while trying to ride for a competitive result.

“When you think back to last year and even the start of this year, he was a ten year old, so physically, he’s a lot weaker than the horses that are hitting their teens. And I did have to give myself a bit of a reminder yesterday not to have to higher expectations and stick to the process and remind myself actually, he’s still a horse that physically isn’t fully matured yet. I wanted to stick within the boundaries of what he was capable of. But actually, he gets stronger all the time. It’s little things, like his changes are getting better and better. His halts and his reinback were a real weakness last year, and when I started this year, and this summer, they’re just really starting to feel like they’re getting very consistent. It’s really exciting.”

Watch Ros’ test below:

Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Still, she says, she’s taken away learning opportunities from the test, too.

“I definitely think his right to left change could be better. They’re not always regular yet, but it’s getting much, much better,” she says. “Everyone thought [the judges] were a bit harsh on my first centerline today, but I think I took it a little bit early, because he was ready to stop early and I got to the point where I couldn’t keep going much longer. So there’s little things I would tweak for next time but on the whole, I think our training is just just gradually going in the right direction.”

The big conversation of the day around the venue has been that of the ground – and what it might look like come tomorrow, after today’s consistent rainfall on what was already notably soft going. But for Ros, this is less of a concern: she and ‘Walter’ won Badminton this year in arguably the toughest conditions possible, and he both dealt with and recovered from the intensity of the ground there in fine style. After a particularly wet season so far, the British contingent is feeling calm and capable – because they’ve had plenty of chances to get used to conditions like these across the breadth of 2023 so far.

“I think that’s very important not just for the horse, but also for the rider and the rider’s mentality,” muses Ros. “It’s something that the Brits have had to cope with a lot this year, and so we’ve almost been able to override the talk on the ground and things like that. We’ve ridden in this going so many times that hopefully, we can stay in our own bubble and concentrate on our job. We’ve been very positive as a team so far about the course — our course walks have been extremely positive. There hasn’t been too much talk about the things we don’t like, or the ground that we don’t like, and I think that’s really good for team spirit.”

Tom McEwen and JL Dublin. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

All six members of this week’s British squad sit in the top ten at the culmination of dressage, including both individuals — and the best placed of those is Tom McEwen and the reigning European Champion, former Nicola Wilson ride JL Dublin. Their resultant score of 22 might not be JL Dublin’s own personal best — that’s the 20.9 he got at the 2021 European Championships with Nic — but it is the new partnership’s best-ever international score together.

“He’s just simply stunning on the flat,” says Tom, who goes into cross-country in third. “He shows a real story in there. He captures the eye; he fills the eye. He swings through, and bar the tiniest few things he was absolutely excellent.”

Those things, he says, include “probably the halt before the rein back — I could hear the judges marking it, and then he moved,” says Tom. “But I’m delighted; I thought the changes were a serious highlight. And as per usual, that extended trot – if we could do five more of those, I think we’d be in the lead by tomorrow!”

While there may be some surprise to see British team stalwart Tom riding as an individual, it’s a savvy move: this will be just their sixth international cross-country start together, and while their results so far have included second at both Boekelo and Kentucky, they also had a shock 20 at Aachen while fighting for the win. There’s every chance they can — and should, arguably — end up on the individual podium, and without the additional responsibility of having to ensure a clear for the team, they’re able to follow their own plan of action – but, Tom says, it’s still not a job he takes lightly, nor one he considers unpressurised.

“It’s still it’s very much a team. It’s still part of the wider structure. Our feedback will be just as critical to for the last two riders in the team and obviously Tom [Jackson] as well,” he points out.

Laura Collett and London 52. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Generally, when we see an entry list that includes both fischerChipmunk and London 52, we all just sit around asking one another the same question as we work away in the media centre: which one will lead the first phase? And so it was some surprise to see the ordinarily ultra competitive ‘Dan’ and Laura Collett this far down the leaderboard, in a still very respectable fourth place with 22.4 – but, as Laura explains, they were cursed with a bit of bad luck in the form of the weather and the admirable enthusiasm of the audience, who had come prepared to fend off the rain.

“He was a little bit fragile and he absolutely hates umbrellas, and obviously it started raining and then as I went in he noticed where the umbrellas were,” says Laura, who made a great effort of trying to regain his focus while working around the outside of the arena. “So he felt like he was very aware of of that, where normally he’s 100% with me in the arena, so I had to try and coax him into remembering to listen to me and not think about where the umbrellas were. Obviously it wasn’t his best test he’s ever done, but I’m just glad it was good enough to be close enough. He’s been a really good form; it’s just about trying to keep his his mind happy, and I feel like we’ve done that. He’s never going to love umbrellas, so I don’t think I can really do anything other than just try and do the best we can in those situations. But he’s come a long way; last time there were really bad umbrellas he totally lost the plot. So we’re getting there.”

Even with that minor lack of focus, which took some of the usual sparkle out of his work, he still performed exceptionally to deliver a mistake-free test — and he certainly brought some of the errant sparkle back in the canter extension, with a big, bold, risk-taking transition into a step that ate up the long side.

“Most things are [a highlight of his]; he doesn’t really have too much of a weakness other than when I lose his mind. It was fragile, and maybe felt more fragile than it looks, but I think his extended canters and his extended trot are always his his kind of party piece, and he felt like he really showed himself off with those.”

Tom Jackson and Capels Hollow Drift. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

The second British individual combination, Senior Championship debutant Tom Jackson and Capels Hollow Drift, performed well beyond expectations, earning their best-ever international score of 25.7 and overnight sixth place behind day one leaders Yasmin Ingham and Banzai du Loir with a smart, animated test in some of the worst of the afternoon’s weather. For Tom, who finished second at Burghley and fifth at a very wet Badminton with the Irish-bred gelding, the feeling of bringing it home when it counts was no small relief — particularly as his best phases are yet to come.

“I’m really happy to get that that done and dusted and out of the way,” he laughs. “And for him to be as good as he was is a testament to all the training and everything that we’ve had building up to this from the World Class Programme.”

Like Laura, though, Tom found his horse took some offence to the sea of umbrellas that went up throughout the closely-bunched crowds of spectators around the ring: “I think I found out today he’s not a massive fan of umbrellas. When we came out, he was bit uptight, which is really unlike him, because normally he’s super laidback.”

Regardless, the plucky gelding kept his attention on the task at hand, thanks, in part, to longstanding help from Tom’s trainer and mentor, Pippa Funnell.

“I think hopefully Pippa will be happy – she’s always on about the little details, and I hope I nailed most of the hopes and everything. His good change was very good, and his bad one is still a work in progress. But there was much better damage limitation on that, and I thought all his half-passes and the expression in his trot just really went up a gear in the last sort of six months or a year.”

While this is Tom’s first Senior Europeans appearance, it’s not his first time riding for Great Britain — he’s done so previously on two Young Rider and one Junior Europeans. And in the nine years since his last squad appearance, the 30-year-old has been hard at work on making sure it happens again.

“I feel like we’ve always been on a trajectory to get there, and it’s maybe taken us a bit longer than I necessarily wanted when I was an 18-year-old lad coming out of Juniors, but that makes it even more special, now that we’re here,” he says.

Having the experience of a great run in that exceptionally wet Badminton is giving Tom a particular boost as we look ahead to tomorrow’s inevitably saturated field of play, which encompasses plenty of terrain and no shortage of big, bold, technical questions.

“I’m excited; I think it’s a really good course,” he says. “I think it really suits him, and his way of going in the ground is going to be a big factor, but it’s given me a bit of confidence knowing that he dealt with that quite well at Badminton earlier in the year.”

Karin Donckers and Fletcha Van’t Verahof. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

With all those Brits crowding the top ten, there wasn’t much room for any other nations to put on a show — and that really shows when you look at the team leaderboard, which sees them head into cross-country on a score of 67.1, 9.2 penalties ahead of second-placed Germany. That one-two will come as a surprise to absolutely none of you form guide reading, stats following eventing-aholics – but what is interesting is seeing how everything below those two superpower nations is playing out, particularly as concerns the four nations – Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, and Austria – who are battling for the two available Olympic qualifications here.

Yesterday, we saw the Netherlands heading up that fight thanks to the efforts of Andy Heffernan and Gideon, now 15th on a score of 29. Today, though, it’s all about Belgium, who stepped up into bronze medal position on their score of 90.9. That was thanks in large part to stalwart team member Karin Donckers, who piloted the most experienced horse in the field, eighteen-year-old Fletcha van’t Verahof, to a score of 26.5 and overnight eighth, just half a penalty behind Germany’s Jérôme Robiné and Black Ice, and ahead of Kitty King and Vendredi Biats in ninth and Germany’s Christoph Wahler and Carjatan S.

“Fletcha knows his job — it’s not the first time we ride a championship, but he was really good. He was concentrating, focused, and the rain didn’t really bother him, I think, so we had a great time in the dressage,” says Karin, who is making her eighth championship start with the gelding, and her own 28th Senior championship start.

“It’s always nice to ride for your country and your team — that’s why I’m still doing this, I guess,” she laughs. “It’s great to be here with the team, to ride together, to support each other, and to help the younger ones. I’m very happy to still be a part of it.”

Helping her team qualify for the Olympics for the first time since 2012 would certainly be a happy moment for the rider – and for now, they’re looking good, with the Netherlands two places, though just 2.3 penalties, behind them, and Italy and Austria sitting eighth and ninth, respectively, on 99.1 and 103.5. If that sounds tightly bunched, wait ’til you crunch the numbers on the individual leaderboard: just 20 penalties separates the top 54 competitors, and tomorrow’s course would be tough by any standards even in dry conditions. Expect to meet some new faces at the business end of proceedings, and prepare yourself for some seriously exciting sport, beginning at 12.00 p.m. local time (11.00 a.m. BST/6.00 a.m. EST), and available to stream in full on ClipMyHorse. We’ll be bringing you all you need to know about the challenge to come — so keep it locked onto EN, and Go Eventing!

The top ten at the culmination of the first phase at the 2023 FEI European Eventing Championships.

EN’s coverage of the FEI European Championships for Eventing is brought to you with support from Kentucky Performance Products.

Yas Ingham’s On Top of the World (or Europe) on Day One of European Champs

By Tilly Berendt on Aug 10, 2023 2:38 pm -

Yasmin Ingham and Banzai du Loir take an early lead at the 2023 FEI European Championships. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

The first day of dressage is in the bag at the 2023 FEI European Championships at Haras du Pin, France – and to nobody’s surprise, the competition has kicked off with a serious show of British dominance as the nation seeks redemption from a disappointing (on a team level, at least) World Championships. But one person who certainly didn’t disappoint in Pratoni showed up again today to deliver the goods for her country: Yasmin Ingham, our reigning World Champion, came into the sandbox near the tail end of the day’s proceedings, and produced an exceptional test with Banzai du Loir to take the overnight lead on a score of 23.4, 2.6 points ahead of her nearest competitor.

“It was very atmospheric in there, but he was amazing – he didn’t put a foot wrong,” says a delighted Yas, who rides the twelve-year-old Selle Français gelding for the Sue Davies Fund. Their test came during the peak of the day’s heat – a heat that European competitors, and particularly the meteorologically maligned Brits, haven’t experienced this year. But the very blood Banzai is well-bred to cope with tricky temperatures, and Yas opted not to change any of her plans based on the weather – a choice that was proven sage by her result.

“We’ve kept everything fairly similar for the past few events now; we seem to have got a nice system that works for him, and obviously he’s not a horse that would particularly struggled the heat – he seems to not have a bottom to him,” she says. So he doesn’t really mind, and he felt really extravagant in there; just floating around the boards. He really is such a pleasure to ride in every phase, and his trot work was beautiful. He was just so floaty, and he’s very accurate into the markers, so that was great. And the extended trot at the end, he’s always got such a nice reach in his shoulder and carries himself so well and so much cadence. So hopefully the judges liked it!”

Yas and Banzai come to Haras du Pin off a win in the ultra-competitive CHIO Aachen CCIO4*-S, a victory that made them the first British combination ever to win the event — and one that was a redemption song for the pair. They’d headed to Kentucky earlier this spring to try to better their second place finish there last year, but after a lengthy hold in the starting box, they had an early and uncharacteristic run-out at a skinny element within a coffin. But rather than chalk the mistake up to the bad luck of that hold – which would have been fair, and arguably understandable – she got back to work, solidifying her basics and foundations with Chris Bartle and dressage coach Richard Davidson, cantering cavalettis and simply ensuring the left, right, and straight getaways were all as smooth and equal as they could be.

That paid off then, and will hopefully do so again, but also pertinent was that Yas and Banzai rode the same dressage test – FEI CCI4* B – there that they did here.

“We rode the same test at Aachen and so I’ve been trying to get better at that four star test,” she says. “I’m pretty sure we came out with the same mark which is slightly frustrating, but I mean, I couldn’t fault him. He was brilliant. So I’m delighted with this one. It’s definitely very positive.”

Yas Ingham and Banzai du Loir. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

If Yas is starting to sound like a seriously committed student of the sport, that’s because she is – and even with the confidence that comes with being the World Champion, she’s not about to get complacent for even a second.

“I’ve had some really great results leading up to this, and I think it’s really important to gain as much experience as possible,” she says. “I’m still only very young in the sport and every time I’m learning – I’ve had two really good runs on two different horses at five star and probably the best four star short in the world, so it’s definitely it’s filling me full of confidence, which is good. But I definitely won’t be taking it for granted. There’s lots to do, and I’ll definitely be working hard to have a good result here.”

And, she continues, even her big wins offer the chance to learn, and to put more tools in the toolbox.

“Actually, just today, before I did my dressage, I watched my Pratoni test, and I just tried to sort of channel the same sort of feeling that I had before that,” she explains. “It’s still amazing to look back on that and I still put just as much pressure on myself – nothing really has changed in that fact. I’m just very competitive and want to make sure I always do my best and make sure that I can ride Banzai to the best, and show him off and make everyone see how good he is.”

Now, as she looks ahead to cross-country on Saturday, she’ll be using her previous experiences to her best advantage over terrain that’s new ground for her.

“Pratoni was very very undulating and twisty. I think this track brings similar sort of vibes to that. It’s still undulating and twisty, but it’s very much very big and bold out there. There’s lots of quite big ditches and brushes and everything dimensionally is quite big, so I’m very lucky to be sat on an excellent jumping horse. That is definitely a good thing!”

Jérôme Robiné and Black Ice take second place overnight. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

The last rider of the day isn’t quite a Championship debutant – he’s amassed plenty of experience at the Junior and Young Rider levels – but for Jérôme Robiné, this is a huge week: it’s his first-ever Senior Europeans call-up. While he’ll be riding as an individual this week, he’s one who’s already making a bid not to be overlooked – and, like Yas, he’s using confidence, acquired when finishing in the top ten at his five-star debut at Luhmühlen this year, to his advantage.

But even he probably didn’t quite expect to find himself in second place at the end of the first day, and in such experienced company. He laid down his personal best four-star dressage score, a 26, after delivering a test that brimmed with the self-assurance of a rider who’s truly learned to believe in himself – and learned, truly, what makes his talented horse tick.

“Actually, it’s pretty amazing,” he says with a broad grin, after having been swept up by the expansive and excited German squad at large. “Everything was a lot of hard work for a lot of people. There’s a big team around us for this moment, and so I’m more than happy that it worked the way we wanted it. He’s felt better and better from day to day here, and so I was I thought it’s going to be good when I was in the warm up. My dressage coach just said to me, ‘just enjoy it. There was a lot of pressure before and now just enjoy it.’ I think that was a good last sentence for me.”

That’s exactly what the Warendorf rider did, balancing focus with evident pleasure as he piloted the gelding, who he’s had for three seasons, around the ring.

“I felt the whole way around the test the feeling that I wanted to have, and so I was more than happy,” he says. “He’s not a type that’s perfect as a dressage horse, because he’s an eventer; he’s an Irish Sport Horse. We have to try to get him more in front of me, and even more up and I think that’s something he really learned over the years, to go for it in the test and to be up and running with me. I think the first flying change was great; the working canter, the working trot. That’s some good stuff for him. Actually, the second flying change was not that good because I went to be that bit too fast; I should do one more stride and then do a better flying change. I think that was the only mistake.”

Kitty King and Vendredi Biats. Photo by Hannah Cole Photography.

Third place overnight went the way of British team pathfinders Kitty King and Vendredi Biats, who posted a 27.2 after a test that was full of things to like – except, perhaps, the numbers rewarded for the pair who have previously led at Burghley in this phase.

“That’s disappointing, and I hope the judges don’t get too generous after a nice long lunch!” she jokes, conceding that she did lose a couple of valuable marks when adding an extra step in the reinback. “He was really onside and didn’t really make any mistakes, but the rein back was a shame because he’s really good at those — there wasjust a little bit of miscommunication between us both, but otherwise, he was really super and tried the whole time, so I’m really proud of him.”

Kitty, who has been a real banker for Britain at previous championships with ‘Froggy’ – helping her country to gold at Avenches in 2021, for example, and taking seventh and best of the Brits at the 2019 Europeans – has a big job this week as the first out of the box for the Brits. But she’s pragmatic about how she’ll tackle the role, which will require her to bring valuable intel back to her teammates.

“I’ve done it once at Blair [Europeans in 2015],” says Kitty, who’s been enjoying the enormous team spirit — including team-bonding volleyball sessions — with the rest of her compatriots. “I actually didn’t think I’d enjoy pathfinding, but it’s not as bad as it seems. And a friend of mine reminded me that actually, probably my best rides have been when I haven’t sat around all day watching. So I’ve got to think about that and try and replicate Luhmühlen [five-star this summer, where they were second]. I was early there; Blair I was early. I’ve been early at Blenheim and the Luhmühlen again before and they’ve probably been some of the best rides. So hopefully it’ll be good!”

Christoph Wahler and Carjatan S. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

For Germany’s Christoph Wahler, this phase has been something of a Jekyll and Hyde story with the uber-talented Carjatan S: on his day, he can deliver in the mid-20s, and Christoph, who runs his family’s dressage breeding stud and has a huge amount of experience in this phase, is the perfect jockey to bring it out of him. But since fine-tuning the gelding’s fitness regime during the pandemic, which has turned him into one of the country’s best, fastest, and most reliable performers in this phase, the knock-on effect has been a tendency to bubble over in the ring.

Today, it looked as though they’d found the balance, and three-quarters – actually, perhaps it’s fairer to say seventh-eighths — of the test was exactly as they’d have wanted: clear, calm, decisive, and with just the right amount of pizzazz. As they crossed the ring for the trot extension, the last movement before the final centreline, everyone dared to crack a smile: there was float, there was power, there was everything we know Carjatan can be. But then, as they neared the end of the movement, it happened: the Clearway son broke into canter. The crowd, fixated on what had been such a joyous test to watch, groaned; Christoph’s disappointment was etched into his face.

But, for what it’s all worth, here they are – still so good elsewhere that they could earn a 28.3, seeing them take fourth place overnight.

“Just to begin with, I was super pleased with the horse, because he stayed absolutely relaxed – and maybe even a little bit too relaxed in there, because he started to poo in the first half-pass, so that’s a shame,” says Christoph wryly. “But the walk was good, the canter was good; I think there were good flying changes, though we didn’t really get the marks we were looking for. And then a big mistake in the last extended, because I just lost a little bit of rhythm crossing the centerline and then he just went into canter – but overall it is what it is and we keep on going for Saturday.”

Saturday will see Christoph and Carjatan, who were part of last year’s gold medal winning German team at Pratoni, leave the startbox second of their team, over a course that the rider describes as “very demanding on the fitness side” – but in Carjatan, he doesn’t just have a run and jump machine, he has a horse whose final Pratoni prep run at Haras du Pin saw him romp home clear inside the time. We like those odds.

Great Britain is currently leading the team competition on 23.4, while Germany is second on 28.3 after the first two rider rotations – but in third place, currently, is a happy and perhaps unexpected surprise: the Netherlands sit in bronze position thanks to the excellent efforts of British-based Andy Heffernan, who stepped out of chef d’equipe duties this week to ride his exciting Gideon. And what a smart choice that was: he delivered a 29, putting himself in the hunt at this early stage but also giving the Netherlands a great start as they vie for one of the two Paris Olympic qualifications up for grabs here.

“To be fair, I was pleased with the horse, but I was slightly disappointed with the mark,” says Andy. “I thought it would be a couple of marks better, but, you know, it’s in the 20s. And I think it’s a decent track out there — I don’t think it’s a dressage competition. So you know, I hope that I’ll be close enough that I should have an influence.”

Of the marking, he says, “His trot work is always quite flash. He’s quite an eye catching horse, and so I’m bit disappointed because they went straight from the trot down to like five for his walk and he normally gets eights for his walk. And even the sort of people that helped me were a little bit perplexed by that. His canter is his most difficult gait; he can get a little bit stampy in his hind leg, so I sort of sometimes I could see that being a bit of a challenge, but I didn’t expect the walk. But anyway, it is what it is!”

The Netherlands join Italy (currently fifth), Belgium (sixth), and Austria (ninth) in fighting for those Olympic spots — and Andy hopes that positive Dutch history could repeat itself, as the nation won a bronze medal here at the World Championships in 2014, earning them a qualification for the Rio Olympics.

Tomorrow’s dressage will see the last two riders on each team take to the ring, beginning at 10.00 a.m. local time (9.00 a.m. BST/4.00 a.m. EST). You can check out the times here, tune in to watch the action via ClipMyHorse, and, as always, pop right on over to EN for all the news you need to know. And in the meantime? Check out our individual and team form guides to find out exactly what’s to play for, and how it might play out. Until next time: Go Eventing!

The individual top ten at the end of day one of dressage at the European Championships.

EN’s coverage of the FEI European Championships for Eventing is brought to you with support from Kentucky Performance Products.

The European Championships, At A Glance: Meet the Horses of Haras du Pin

By Tilly Berendt on Aug 9, 2023 2:34 pm -

Don’t have the time, energy, or bandwidth to invest your attention in a full-length form guide? We gotchu, pal. Behold: the need-to-know information about the horses in this year’s European Championships field — from the breed breakdown to the sires of the week, and much more besides.

EN’s coverage of the FEI European Championships for Eventing is brought to you with support from Kentucky Performance Products.

Two Horses Held; All Accepted in European Championships First Horse Inspection

By Tilly Berendt on Aug 9, 2023 10:17 am -

Nicolai Aldinger and Timmo. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Even for those of us who’ve been lucky enough to previously visit Haras du Pin, the rural Normandy national stud at which this week’s FEI European Championships are being held, doing here this week is like visiting a whole new world: last year, when the event’s annual Le Grand Complet CCIO4*-S was held, much of the site was populated by piles of dirt and diggers, hinting at something new and exciting to come, while the event itself was tucked down into the ‘bowl’ in front of the chateau across the road. This year, though? There are new dressage arenas — lots of them; there are beautiful, purpose-built meeting spaces and cafes and bars; there are stables so fresh and so clean that I’m pretty sure Andre 3000 wrote a song about them once.

It’s in the midst of all this shiny newness that this afternoon’s first horse inspection took place, featuring twelve nations — we’ve seen the withdrawal of Hungary’s sole rider, and of Finland’s, before the competition commenced — and 56 horses and their people. The inspection took place in the drawn order of nations, which was revealed just prior, and in front of a ground jury consisting of President Judy Hancock of Great Britain, Katrin Eichinger-Kniely of Austria, and Seppo Laine of Finland.

Mélody Johner and Toubleu de Ruiere. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

While all 56 of those were eventually accepted into the competition, the inspection wasn’t without its dramas: two horses, Nicolai Aldinger‘s Timmo, of Germany, and Mélody Johner‘s Toubleu de Rueire, of Switzerland, were sent to the holding box for further inspection, and when each of these very-nearly-matching greys returned to the trot strip, they were quickly given the go-ahead to begin their week in earnest.

And that week? It all kicks off tomorrow, with dressage beginning at 10.00 a.m. local time (9.00 a.m. BST/4.00 a.m. EST) in the topmost main arena. This time after a horse inspection is the crucial bit in which chef d’equipes decide which riders will be on teams, which will be individuals, and in which order their team riders will run, so we don’t have dressage times just yet – but while we wait to bring you these, we do at least know that it’ll be an Irish rider who begins the day for us tomorrow. And, very excitingly, we’ll get our first look at who’s making bids for the podium – and which of the four teams vying for the two Olympic qualifications here are really bringing their A-game.

You’ll be able to follow along via ClipMyHorse.TV, and, of course, right here on EN. Stay tuned – today, we’ll be bringing you plenty more juicy Euros content, including updates on those pesky times, our team’s picks of the week, and more. On y va, baby!

EN’s coverage of the FEI European Championships for Eventing is brought to you with support from Kentucky Performance Products.