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

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.