Julia Krajewski and Ero De Cantraie. Photo distributed by Boekelo Press Office.
Military Boekelo has played a key role for Tokyo Olympic champion Julia Krajewski (not least due to the fact that she’s based less than two hours down the road) as she develops horses into eventual championship contenders. If you look back through the pages of her results, you’ll see a clear pattern: she’s won Boekelo’s fall CCI4*-L twice before, each with a horse that would become top of her string in one way or another (2018 – Samourai du Thot, 2024 – Uelzener’s Nickel). Her Tokyo Olympic gold medalist, Amande de B’Neville likely would’ve had at least a top-five finish at this event the year she won with ‘Samourai’ had it not been for a withdrawal after cross country.
Now a third horse can join the ranks, and while perhaps a year delayed than she initially planned, it’s a fresh demonstration of setbacks not signaling an end of the road.
We’d already seen big things from this year’s champion, the now-12-year-old Ero de Contraie, who’d won the German Championships CCI4*-S at Luhmühlen in 2023. At that point, Julia was still fact-finding with the horse, who she’s described as similar in some ways to Samourai du Thot. From there, she finished in the top five at Montelibretti’s CCI4*-L after not finishing at Blenheim’s 4*-L earlier. They’d qualified for the Paris Olympics and between him and Uelzener’s Nickel, she seemed to be set up with options for the team.
But then, life intervened.
“We had quite some hope for 2024 and onwards,” Julia told me. “But he tied up, and it was not spectacular in the winter, into 2024. And even though he recovered well and everything, he’s just happened to have several minor issues afterward and I just felt it took really long to get him back on track.”
Ero had come back into competition form last fall, and this spring competed at Strzegom’s CCI4*-L, but that effort was truncated when they pulled up midway around cross country when Julia felt some off strides (later found to be a mild overreach that caused no further trouble).
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“It just really took some time to get him back to top level, like good in his body and then really feeling him where he was in 2023,” Julia said.
Boekelo features on Julia’s calendar for its proximity, yes, but because it provides a good challenge for horses who will benefit from the atmosphere exposure. “It’s usually a competition which is not extremely difficult, but really exposes the horses to atmosphere and spectators,” she elaborated. “It’s a very nice show to bring a horse to if you want a proper event – it’s not as hilly as Blenheim or as big, but it does tell you a lot about the horse.”
The weekend wasn’t fraught with pressure, Julia said. If things didn’t go to plan this week, Strzegom had an offering at the same level the following week. The main goal was to earn an MER, have a good weekend. But once Julia and Ero emerged in the lead after dressage, “I do like to bring it home. I do like to win…once I’m on it, I like to seal the bag.”
She knew she was on a horse that could deliver the result. Yes, he’d not had the 4*-L experience for a spell, but she knew the course’s style would suit his, and she knew he was capable of being quick enough. “He’s a very genuine horse, wants to do good. I was just very pleased that it all really came together for him and he could show what he’s capable of, and then to have a clear show jumping today and even they do feel a bit tired on the last day, that’s normal, but if a horse goes out and puts so much effort into the last day, it’s a really special feeling. You really feel they sometimes know what’s at stake, and that’s very much the case with him.”
“I’m just very happy that we took the time and that the owner (Bernd Hiecke) trusted in me, and I always felt that if we get him back back to where he can be, there will be something very cool possible with him.”
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Sunday’s show jumping course (designed by Kris Van Gelder (NED)) yielded fewer than 20 double clears, making rails a valuable commodity that were costly if dropped; Germany’s Christoph Wahler was one victim, dropping from fifth to 24th with two poles down, and U.S. team members Allie Knowles and Montpellier Scais also lowered two to sink from 10th to 25th. They were far from the only victims from the combination of fatigue and challenging design; both the overnight second- and third-placed combinations also lost their footing with rails, carving out space for those who did manage the double clears to squeeze on up.
Katie Magee (GBR) was one case, repeating a scenario that just happened at Burghley in which she moved from just off the podium in fourth into second overall. This time, she did it with the 9-year-old Cushlas Indigo, improving on his 4*-L debut finish (7th at Bramham in June) and finishing on her dressage score of 24.3. Last year’s Boekelo winner, Lara de Liedekerke-Meier (BEL) was another who benefitted from her double clear, moving from sixth to third with the 10-year-old Quintus to finish on their dressage score of 27.6.
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Three clear British rounds under pressure after the retirement of Kirsty Chabert and Classic VI on cross country Saturday meant that they clinch another title to add to their pile for the year: FEI Eventing Nations Cup champions. With a refreshed format that debuted this year, it was a winner-take-all scenario for the 10 teams that qualified for this weekend’s Final. Again, next year this will be that much more impactful, as many teams will be seeking Olympic qualification for 2028 at that juncture.
[View more about the FEI Eventing Nations Cup]
The USA didn’t quite repeat their program’s strong show jumping today, though their experience wasn’t largely unique on a day when the final phase did properly exert influence. Lauren Nicholson was the best of the team, delivering a clear with some time aboard Landmark’s Jungle Gold, but rails down from teammates Jack Curtis, Allie Knowles and Hallie Coon meant the bronze finish relinquished to the Irish, who added just one rail across their three counting scores to earn the podium finish. Germany swapped back with Great Britain to go back into silver position to end the weekend.
“We fielded a team of either up-and-coming horses, or athletes, at the event,” said Chef d’Equipe Leslie Law. “Although naturally we would of all been happier to have brought home a medal, there were certainly positives to take away most notably from the first few days. I was most impressed that every one of our athletes went out on the cross country to be competitive; to not only jump the jumps but try to make the time to give the team a chance. The attitude and ability on cross-country was admirable by each.”
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Individually for the U.S., Allie Knowles earned a top-10 finish with LS Crown Royal, moving up from 16th into 8th thanks to a double clear jumping effort. It’s an exciting time for Allie and her program, which is supported by her longtime friend and owner Katherine O’Brien. The partnership with the 8-year-old LS Crown Royal is less than a year old; he’d been produced to the three-star level by Idaho-based five-star rider Jordan Linstedt-Granquist before Allie acquired the ride, and it’s been a rocket ship ride ever since. Allie and Lauren Nicholson will now return stateside to begin wrapping their seasons up at next weekend’s US Equestrian Open of Eventing Final at Morven Park.
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And finally to send us off, a big shout to another U.S. competitor, Jack Curtis, who finished his first 4*-L with Luska Candy Clover as the top U25 rider in the field. Two rails down today would keep them from a more competitive finish overall, but their hard work certainly paid off in many other ways this week. Jack and Luska Candy Clover emerged as the best of the 14-rider U25 field that ran inside the main 4*-L division.
Military Boekelo / FEI Eventing Nations Cup CCIO4*-NC-L (Netherlands): [Website] [Scores] [Live Stream Replays on ClipMyHorse.TV] [Dressage & SJ Replays on FEI YouTube]
