The drama of running cross-country as the last phase at the Aachen UBS Cup eventing Saturday kept the tension at high velocity, as the lead switched back and forth over Giuseppe Della Chiesa’s roller coaster of a course that asked intriguing questions non-stop.
In the end, after 40 riders had jumped through the brush-covered “owl hole” final fence, New Zealand earned team honors for the first time since 2018, but second place went to the U.S. — which ably rose from fourth after Friday’s stadium jumping. Great Britain, which held the lead for much of the day, sank to third after Bubby Upton and Laura Collett had refusals.
Aachen is the equivalent of a 5-star Short in terms of its difficulties, including the unconventional format, and Giuseppe proved to be an ample replacement for longtime course designer Rüdiger Schwarz, who retired.
The New Zealand team led by Tim Price (left). (Photo CHIO Aachen, Jasmin Metzner)
Individually, the USA’s Will Coleman, the 2021 Aachen winner, just missed the podium in fourth place with Off the Record. He was only two seconds behind the optimum time of 6 minutes, 35 seconds, which no one was able to make. Closest was New Zealand’s Monica Spencer on Artist (a thoroughbred!), a frustrating one second over.
Asked if he expected anyone to make the time, Giuseppe said, “To be honest, no. But the riders did a good job, they came very close. They looked at the jumps first, then at the time, the influence of which had a corresponding effect on the ranking.”
World number three Tim Price of New Zealand on the Holsteiner Vitali, tied for the lead after dressage and holding it on his own after show jumping, took individual honors. He was followed by Great Britain’s Tom McEwan (Brookfield Quality) and Gemma Stevens on the impressive gray, Flash Cooley, an Irish-bred mount, like Tom’s horse.
Speaking about how it felt to win at Aachen, Tim said, “It is taking time to soak in. First of all, you are just focused; then there is the team aspect, that is the primary thing.”
As he finished his trip around the course, he recalled, “I wasn’t sure if I’d won because everyone claps, however well you have done. I was really happy to discover that I had won with this cracking horse. He is a fantastic horse to ride cross with. I picked up on the atmosphere from the first jump onwards. It gave us a feel of the atmosphere all round the course. It was a very enthusiastic crowd.”
Tim Price on Vitali going cross-country. (Equestrian Sports NZ/Libby Law Photography)
The USA’s Boyd Martin, fifth on Commando 3, called second place for the U.S. team “a great honor,” noting it was “a fantastic contest.”
His Aachen debut was “an amazing experience” at the legendary German venue and, he admitted, “a bit nerve-wracking for me” because “my mother-in-law lives down the road. So a bit of extra pressure there.”
He added the U.S. “will have gained a lot of experience” that it can build on for next year’s world championships at Aachen.
The U.S. team has never won at Aachen, but has been second several times. The competition was the first team event for Leslie Law since the former development coach became head man and high performance manager.
“It’s everything we could have hoped for,” said the 2004 individual Olympic gold medalist, noting, “I couldn’t be happier.
Boyd Martin and Commando 3 at the Owl Hole. (U.S. Equestrian photo)
“We had team training at Boyd Martin’s and more training when we arrived. There’s been great atmosphere. It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with these professional riders. We all know it takes a village. Their people they’ve got behind them, they’re 100 percent professional. We couldn’t have asked for a better team as far as looking after the horses goes.”
Leslie said having Christina Vaughn as team leader was a big asset, since he had worked with her in his previous position. He also had positive words for Karyn Shuter, the high performance advisor.
Leslie noted, “We’re very excited for Aachen next year.”
He explained Boyd has “a great string of horses” and is trying to return to his number one ranking on the international standings. Although Will’s Timmy is getting older, he has other horses in his pipeline, Leslie said.
Will Coleman and Off the Record. (U.S. Equestrian photo)
While Caroline Pamukcu had the drop score on her Olympic horse, HSH Blake, Leslie pointed out the horse is only 10 years old, with time to develop for the future.
Leslie also was happy to see how well Phillip Dutton, 61, did on two inexperienced horses, riding for both the team and as an individual. He replaced James Alliston in the latter capacity after Karma was sidelined.
Cosby Green, who had two horses in the Luhmulen top 10 but wasn’t in Aachen, was also mentioned as a plus for the team looking ahead to the world championships. The Europeans have their championships in September, but this is an off-year for the U.S., with time for the riders to focus on qualifying without the pressure of an international championship.
Click here for team results. Click here for individual results.
Eventers didn’t have a monopoly on the drama Saturday. Belgian rider, Justin Verboomen and the black stallion he trained, the 9-year-old Zonik Plus, won the 5-star Grand Prix Special over Germany’s darling, Isabell Werth, and Grand Prix winner Wendy de Fontaine.
It was only the second Special for the Belgian combination, which turned in a personal best of 80.745 percent to make their debut in the Aachen winner’s circle.
Justin Verboomen, with Zonik Plus and Marina Meggle as he accepts the Meggle Prize for the Grand Prix Special (Photo: CHIO Aachen/Diana Wahl)
Mistakes in the one-tempis were the downfall of Isabell and Wendy, who were a close second on 80.106 percent, which was actually a personal best for the duo. It was a whole series of personal bests — third place went to British entry Becky Moody and Jagerbomb, with 78.404 percent.
Asked if the Special was Zonik’s real potential, the winner replied, “Not yet. But you will see it one day.”
Isabell called the Special, “great sport, and the strong competition makes it spicy. That is the reason I am still here.”
Noting that she had seen Justin in Lier, Isabell said, “it was clear to me that he wouldn’t try to be a gentleman. That is what we love to have: Exciting sport and competitive shows, that is what the spectators love.”
Becky, who was on the British bronze medal team at the Paris Olympics last year, noted, “It is something else to ride into this arena. The crowd are fantastic and so knowledgeable.“
That also increased Jagerbomb’s excitement level.
“He didn’t want to stand still, but it is precisely this energy that makes the rest of his test so special. That is what we are all striving for finding the balance between energy and relaxation,” said Becky.
We will see a rematch of the top three Sunday in the 5-star freestyle.
The two U.S. riders in the Special, Kasey Perry Glass (Heartbeat) and Benjamin Ebeling (Bellena) finished thirteenth and eighteenth respectively.
Click here for results.
Isabell and Wendy have been named to the German team for the world championships in August; no surprise there. Frederic Wandres and Bluetooth Old, Ingrid Klimke and Vayron (winner of the 4-star Special) and Katharina Hemmer (Denoix PCH) are the other members of the squad.
In the Intermediate I, U.S. riders Kevin Kohmann (Scala) and Marcus Orlob (J.J. Glory Day) were eighth and ninth as the class was won by the Netherlands’ Dinja van Liere on Mauro Turfhorst, a black stallion. It was a big day for black stallions.
Click here for results.
