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.
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