Although the favored British lost half their team to falls at the Agria FEI European Eventing Championships on Saturday, they came back strong on Sunday, earning first and third individually, with German star Michael between them in second place.
That was the way they stood before the final show jumping phase, with Laura Collett on London 52 in the lead, Michi close behind and Tom McEwen with JL Dublin third. Laura added 0.4 time penalties to her score, but stayed ahead of Michi and Tom, who both were double clear.
“I can’t tell you how much I’ve wanted this, mainly for the horse,” said Laura, “because every time I made the team, I let him down, so to finally pull it off and give him the championship he deserves – the words aren’t really there. At my first five-star win in Pau in 2020, I said if he never does anything more, he’s done more than I could have ever dreamed of. To think what he’s done in those five years since is more than I could have ever dreamed. I can’t really say it’s a dream come true because I don’t think I could have even dreamed it!
“This [medal] tops everything! I was so close in Paris last year, and to come back and have another head-to-head with Michiis what make this sport so special and these horses so unbelievably special. To keep coming back and producing the results they do, come out and perform time and time again, is unreal.
“It’s so special just to be at a home championship, and it’s quite a local event for me as well. Just that in itself felt special this week, but to be sat on a horse like him and come up with the goods is crazy,” she commented. Laura now has won nine European Championship gold medals over a 20-year period – at Pony, Junior, Young Rider and Senior level – making her part of a very small, select club of athletes.
Tom summed up his feelings this way; “Dubs has gone phenomenally well and I couldn’t be happier with him. We’ve been beaten by possibly two of the greatest horses that have been around in our sport. You do your best, and that’s where we’re at.
“After a week that hasn’t possibly been our own [the British], to come home with two medals is absolutely fantastic. We came as a six and we leave as a six (a team of four and two individuals), and it’s been team spirit throughout. I’m absolutely delighted for Laura and my own performance with Dubs. He’s a pretty chilled character and strangely, he’s never been to Blenheim, so I couldn’t be happier with how he’s come out and performed in every aspect. On the day, he was beaten by two better horses and I’m still very happy with him.”
Click here for individual final results and here for team championship results.
Recapping cross-country, a fall by pathfinder and world champion Yasmin Ingham (Rehy DJ), then a tumble from Halo into the water by Piggy March, means their nation would not come near the podium for team medals on home ground at Blenheim Palace.
Following dressage, the British –who had been favored to take the title — were second as a team to the Germans, whose Michael Jung was leading the individual standings on fischerChipmunk FRH. But after her team was eliminated from contention Saturday, Laura Collett shone a light for Britain individually on cross-country, overtaking Michi to lead the individual standings with London 52 (26.6). She had only 6 time penalties on the Mark Phillips-designed route. No one made the 10:01 optimum time.
Laura Collett and London 52 lead the way at the championships. (FEI Photo by Benjamin Clark)
The score is now 28.3 for Michi, who had 10 time penalties with fischerChipmunk FRH, so he switched places with Laura and stands second. Another British bright light was Tom McEwen, third with JL Dublin on 33 penalties, 6.8 of which involved time penalties.
The course designer observed, “The rounds from Collett, Jung, and McEwen were world-class. The time was always going to be tough because of the water and the terrain. And I added a few extra speed bumps.”
While Mark knew it would have been possible to make the time, he commented, “There weren’t many horses capable of it. What you saw was that the best-trained horses, those three, were simply in another league.”
Tom McEwen agreed, “The time is doable, but you have to be as quick as you are smooth, which is quite a tough combination.”
Laura was full of praise for her horse, saying, “I can’t quite believe it. He just dug so deep. He owes me nothing, but he keeps on giving. The crowd was amazing, and you can see from the dressage he loves all that and it really got us going and kept us going all the way to the end.”
Discussing Sunday’s show jumping finale, Laura thought about what happened when she faced Michi in the 2024 Olympics.
“I let him beat me in Paris last year after a fence down. Let’s hope I don’t do it two years on the trot,” she said.
Michi said of his 17-year-old campaigner’s cross-country performance, ““He galloped really well; fast, strong, and responsive. He gave me a super feeling everywhere. My plan was to go as fast as possible without pushing him too much.”
Meanwhile, Bubby Upton, riding as an individual for Britain, continued her country’s bad luck streak when she was eliminated for a fall from Its Cooley Time. Another British individual rider, Caroline Harris (D.Day), also had a fall.
Germany continues to lead the team standings, as Calvin Bockmann is in fourth place with the fastest time of the day, a mere 5.6 time penalties on Phantom of the Opera (36.5). He is tied with Austria’s Lea Siegl (Van Helsing P), who had 9.6 time penalties added to her total, but was better in dressage.
The Irish team is second with 150.7 penalties, giving Germany a more than comfortable margin of 37 penalties for its 150.7 total. Switzerland is third on 161.3.
Click here for the individual cross-country standings Click this link for team cross-country standings