Michael Jung and Halunke FBW at Aachen. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Michael Jung took down the first fence in the show jumping at the European Championships, but he still brought home individual gold with Halunke FBW on a 32.6 and secured German team gold for the second consecutive time. Ingrid Klimke and FRH Escada JS put in a very strong performance, jumping double clear to move up from fourth place overnight to ultimately clinch the individual silver medal. William Fox-Pitt and Chilli Morning had an unlucky rail to drop from second place to bronze medal position. Rails fell throughout the course, with poor Ludwig Svennerstal and Shamwari hitting two poles to drop from bronze medal position all the way down to 10th. Peter Thomsen and Horseware’s Cayenne jumped double clear to finish fifth. That’s three Germans finishing in the top five, and Dirk Schrade and Hop and Skip were close behind in sixth place.
As anticipated, Michael Jung showed just how dominant he can be this weekend. After creating an almost 10-point spread in the dressage by scoring an incredible 28.6, he jumped double clear around the cross country yesterday, giving himself two rails in hand going into the show jumping today. Even more incredibly, Halunke FBW has emerged as a new superstar for Michael, who had to compete at the Europeans without La Biosthetique Sam FBW — his reigning Olympic, World and European champion — after the horse sustained a minor injury at Warendorf in July. At just 9 years old, this Württemberg gelding has quickly placed himself in the spotlight, giving Michael an additional impressive horse for the World Equestrian Games selection process next year. While Halunke FBW has not yet contested a CCI4*, he’s a seasoned three-star competitor, and he won the Luhmühlen CIC3* earlier this year.
At the conclusion of the Europeans, Germany clinched the gold medal, with Sweden taking the Silver and France the bronze. The Brits finished in sixth place after some unlucky trips across the country yesterday. With the World Equestrian Games just a year away, I’m left wondering if any country will rise to the occasion and challenge Germany as the leading eventing powerhouse in the world. Ze Terminator swooped in and spanked the world again — on his back-up horse, no less — and the rest of the German team put in very strong performances as well. If this is a preview of how the WEG might play out next year, Team USA has a busy 12 months ahead. Until then, you can bet Michael Jung won’t pause for even a second to enjoy his victory. After pulling rails at major competitions like Badminton and the Europeans this year, he’ll be looking to tighten his show jumping game.
European Championships Links: [Malmö Eventing Website] [Live Scores]
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