The deck was reshuffled today by a demanding cross-country course at the FEI World Eventing Championships in Pratoni del Vivaro Italy, with team standings doing a switcheroo that put the U.S. in second place from third, elevated Germany to the lead, and dropped Britain from first to third place.
What didn’t change was the very top of the individual standings, as Germany’s Michael (Michi) Jung kept his personal best score of 18.8 penalties from dressage with a double-clear aboard fisherChipmunk FRH, as he headed toward what could well be his second world championships title.
“An amazing horse,” Michi enthused after his ride.
“FischerChipmunk is just a machine in the cross-country.”
Michel Jung and Chipmunk.
He did contend, however, “The course is not so nice to ride. The ground is not that perfect and it’s a tricky course….you have to work a lot. This is a horse for big gallops,” which are not found on this route. He had one iffy fence, where the horse took off close to the obstacle and got his head a bit sideways, but that was just a blip in a perfect trip that finished nine seconds under the optimum time.
Willberry Wonder Pony got quite a ride on Michael Jung’s back, crossing the finish line with him. The stuffed pony is the symbol of a charity in memory of teen eventer Hannah Francis, who died of cancer. Read more at https://www.willberrywonderpony.org/.
Germany is on 76.1 penalties, with the U.S. not so far behind on 77.4, while Britain has 80.9 and New Zealand 88.3. Those are the players for the medals, barring unforeseen disasters in Sunday’s show jumping segment, since fifth-place Switzerland is burdened with 109.4 penalties.
During the last seven world eventing championships, the eventual winner was a team that was either first or second after dressage.
In addition to the world titles, what counts here is qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics, with the top seven teams making the cut.
Britain had some tense moments as officials deliberated for a long time on whether to give team member Tom McEwen 15 penalties for the way he and Toledo de Kerser handled fence 7B, the second element of a skinny brush double below a steep slide. In the end, they deleted those penalties, which kept the team in podium territory.
Earlier in the day, however, there was a huge disappointment for the Brits when Badminton winner Laura Collett, who had been standing second following dressage, experienced a run-out with London 52, who fussed with his head much of the way around .It was the skinny combo below the slide that caused the problem again.
A big leap down the drop made it tough to shorten up for the three strides between the skinnies. The horse just couldn’t get his legs over the second brush, leaving him no option but to leap out to the side. Laura is now forty eighth on 58.1 penalties.
“I’m absolutely gutted for the team. He just ran out of room,” Laura explained about the mishap.
“He was great around the rest”.
Misfortune on course visted Kevin McNAb of Australia, riding Scuderia 1918 Don Quidam. A rein broke in the middle of a combination and he had to spend time fixing it, winding up with 20 penalties for the stop and 24.8 time penalties, going over the optimum time because of the delay.
“They jumped one of the classiest rounds of the day. Very unlucky to have a broken rein in between a combination. I don’t know how he managed to tie the rein in a knot and finish, but he did,” said a statement from the Australian team.
Laura Collett and London 52.
The USA, benefiting from the counsel of cross-country consultant Ian Stark (a former British team member and designer of the cross-country at the new Maryland 5-star) offered his wisdom about the twists and turns of the up-and-downhill terrain based on volcanic sand.
The route designed by Guiseppe della Chiesa had 30 fences, 44 jumping efforts and an optimum time of 9 minutes, 50 seconds. It was at 4-star level (dressage and show jumping are 5-star level) because at a championships, some of the countries aren’t as experienced as the sport’s leaders. So it’s necessary to make sure those riders will be safe while providing a challenge for the others. That meant the highest fence was 1.2 meters, or 1.3 meters for a brush jump, and the widest obstacles measured 2 meters.
Several riders in addition to Michi commented that for horses with a long stride who need big jumps to be at their best, the course was not optimum.
As Tom noted, “The course rode well, but I thought the distances were quite short compared to what we’re used to. Obviously, I’m on a rangy horse with a great jump, so it slightly hinders me in my pace because sometimes I make up quite a bit of time actually being able to keep quite smooth in these big strides.”
At the same time, he added, “The ground is phenomenal and the way they’ve presented the course is great, so I’ve really enjoyed it.”
The USA’s Tamie Smith and Mai Baum. (Photo courtesy of Pratoni.)
Both America’s Tamie Smith, a podium possibility standing third on Mai Baum (24 penalties) and Boyd Martin, the U.S. anchor rider, sixth on his familiar partner Tsetserleg (26.2) were among the 11 riders in the field of 88 who were double-clear.
That distinction also belonged to Ariel Grald, who made the biggest leap of any competitor, going from fiftieth on Leamore Master Plan in dressage (67.53) to seventeenth. She is riding as an individual for the U.S.
Tami said of her mount, “He and I have such a great partnership now. This is a hard course, especially for our horses, because the jumps aren’t that big, but the course was super technical and twisty, but he’s such a good jumper and he was right there and just on it.
“I have an unbelievable, magical unicorn and he’s the horse of a lifetime. He’s made a lot of dreams come true. I know his heart is as big as mine, so we’ll give everything we have until the end.”
Boyd was spot-on the optimum time. That lifted him above New Zealand’s Tim Price individually, breaking the tie of 26.2 penalties each incurred in dressage, since Tim was one second under.
While Boyd smiled and commented that he’d like to say he planned the timing perfectly, actually, he admitted. “I was just going as fast as he goes. I thought I was right on the time. It was a relief.”
That was especially true since, “This track doesn’t suit him. He’s so suited to the 5-stars, the Kentuckys that are just long gallops.”
Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg. (Photo courtesy U.S. Equestrian)
The stopping and starting necessary at Pratoni isn’t his preferred approach.
“ I have to give the horse credit, he tries and tries and tries. It’s his best attribute.”
He has ridden Tsetserleg at the Olympics, the Pan American Games and the 2018 World Equestrian Games.
“To keep a horse at this level for this long is a testament to his toughness and soundness and bravery,” said Boyd of his partner
He admitted that when the diminutive son of the Olympic veteran Trakehne, Windfall, came to his farm, “I thought he was a fluffy little pony. It goes to show how much I know. A horse that tries counts for so much.”
Boyd allowed himself a sigh of relief, even though the final phase will be “a massive day.”
But so far, so good. As he noted, “In the past it’s been a bit of everything, but today it seemed to come together.”
American pathfinder Will Coleman, eleventh with Off the Record, had just 0.8 time penalties to bring his total to 27.2 penalties.
He noted his horse is “kind of a bulldog out there. He was really strong and it was almost like he was telling me, `Let me at it, Dad.’”
Will added, “He’s not the fastest horse, to be frank; he’s a very efficient horse. He loses a bit of step as he tires.”
But they got around in an impressive clocking and Will noted, “I’m super happy with how he ran. He did his absolute best.”
Lauren Nicholson, eighteenth on Vermiculus, had just 5.6 time penalties for a total of 32.7.
“This is like our ninth 5-star. I know him really well, he knows me really well. I knew all the questions were there for him. He doesn’t have a huge gallop. It was more chasing the time than the actual fences.”
She was “Toeing the line of being gutsy and trying not to do anything stupid that’s going to affect the team.”
She told Ian Stark, “I don’t want pep talks…just give me facts, give me an order.”
“He said, `Ride the plan we talked about it and hammer at it’ and I did.”
Ariel noted cross-country is her horse’s best phase.
“I tend to play it a little bit safe with him,” she said, but not this time.
“He started off a little keen, he rattled a couple of jumps. I had to trust in his carefulness.”
The terrain and the corners were a challenge for a strong horse like her Irish sport horse by Master Imp, but she noted he stayed right with her.
“This is my first horse at Advanced and 4- and 5-star. Being here in the world championships was a bit of an incentive for me to take a risk. My dressage isn’t the strongest, but I’m going to finish on it,” she said, referring to her score in the first phase of the event.
Chef d’Equipe Bobby Costello observed, “Today absolutely met my expectations and I think everyone leading up to this day has just had a really good feeling about where we were heading.
“We haven’t had a day like this in a really long time for the U.S. It’s really gratifying and I’m happy for everyone here, ;he riders, the grooms, the owners, the staff and everyone at home.
“But having said that, we’ve already stopped celebrating. We’re 100 percent focused on the job tomorrow and aren’t thinking about anything other than finishing this competition and doing what we came here to do.”
Click here for the individual standings. Click on this link for the team standings.
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