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.
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