Calling on all his experience and the courage of his mare, Great Britain’s Scott Brash powered through a nightmare moment when he lost his left rein before the troublesome triple combination at the Longines European Show Jumping Championships Thursday.
As he was just a few strides from the obstacle, his rein went astray, and it appeared he would have to circle and re-approach.
But the Olympic team gold medalist didn’t hesitate, and neither did the plucky Hello Folie. They kept going and cleared the vertical/oxer/oxer line-up in a breathtaking moment on their way to a clear round at the competition in Spain./”
“I just managed to gather up the rein at right time,” Scott said, “but I was very deep coming in and asked her to jump and she responded so well. What was nice was that line didn’t feel great, but she settled down and jumped home very well. I think that shows how confident she is with me and what a great partnership we have, so hopefully we’ll be in a great place tomorrow,” he said.
Explaining what happened, Scott said, “My mare jumped unbelievable…She jumps high behind and sometimes snatches a little bit, so I lost my rein and we were lucky just to get to the triple.
“What a spirit and fight she showed to jump through what was a very testing triple anyway,” he said of the 10-year-old Selle Francais (Luidam X Diamant de Semilly).
“Her attitude’s amazing. She wants to do the job and that makes life easy for me.”
Scott Brash and Hello Folie with reins. (British Equestrian/Jon Stroud Media)
Their performance was vital to keep day one leader Britain in front of Germany on the second day of the show, since Scott’s teammate, Matt Sampson, had two refusals at the last element in the triple and was eliminated, becoming the drop score, since only the best three scores count–and the other team members all were fault-free.
Chef d’Equipe Di Lampard joked when asked about Scott’s feat, “I think he was saying to Matt, actually, `I can do this one-handed. What’s the matter?’ ”
The team race is a tight one. The Brits need some luck to stay ahead of Germany with perfect rounds from each of its riders, because the margin between them is only 0.23 penalties. On their heels are the Belgians, just 0.42 back. Ireland is further away, another 3.78 penalties behind.
On Friday, the top 10 teams of the 18 that started Wednesday will return for their finals. Sweden, the reigning European championship squad, just made the finals in tenth place. After its victory in its home Rolex Nations Cup in Falsterbo last weekend, its two star riders — Henrik von Eckermann and Peder Fredricson — were not part of its team at the Europeans.
Fifty riders will be competing, since individuals are also included, with their final set for Sunday at Casas Novas in A Coruña. Following the decision of overnight leader Daniel Coyle to drop out and save Legacy for next month’s Dublin Horse Show (read about it here), Germany’s Richard Vogel with United Touch S (0.1 penalties) moved into the lead, with Donald Whitaker and Millfield Colette (0.67) in second place for Britain.
“United jumped in great shape. He gave me the feeling he was very collected today and every much with me,” said Richard.
“It’s always a bit easier if you have a horse like United and you can trust his quality and his enormous stride and scope. That gives you obviously a lot of security.”
Donald Whitaker of Great Britain and Millfield Colette (British Equestrian/Jon Stroud Media)
For his part, Donald said of his 12-year-old gray mare by Cornet Obolensky, “I’m delighted. She jumped amazing again. She tries her heart out every time.
“She means the absolute world to me. When you go in the ring, she never gives up. I don’t always have to be perfect, she helps me out there. She’s unreal. She’s one in a million.”
Click here for the individual standings and here for the team standings.