Day two at the FEI European Dressage Championships at Aachen dawned bright and sunny with a feeling of something epic was about to arrive…at around 7:30pm local time…it did. It was a three way duel right until the final rider but it was the Dutch who proved victorious with Britain taking silver and the home team bronze. Spain, Sweden and France all claim Rio places after finishing fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.
Tension built after a fairly quiet morning’s action after lunch when Hans Peter Minderhoud kicked off a raid on the leader board with a sensational test full of quality with Glock’s Johnson TN to score 77.586%, giving the Dutch team a massive boost.
Carl Hester then took to the massive stage with an equally massive Nip Tuck (he’s 18.2hh), owned by him and Jane de la Mare. ‘Barney’ had a fright yesterday when he was startled by a waiter who dropped a tray of glasses in hospitality and span round, depositing Carl on the ground; not the Aachen start they were hoping for. They suffered only a small dent in their pride and were none the worse for wear. The Don Ruto sired 11 year old is still relatively in experienced and very sensitive and this would have been the biggest arena he’s seen and so began with an air of nervousness. Carl guided him very conservatively, clearly aiming for a clean test but being the maestro and showman he is, every mark was worked for…and earned. Barney clearly felt there was a bogey man at the ‘A’ end of the arena so Carl had to ride with caution in that direction. Sadly, extended canter headed in that direction and the flying change at the end suffered. But Carl’s skill (and Barney’s talent) continued to shine through and the marks continued to build. 75.486% was then amended for a final tally of 75.4%....the grip on a medal was tightening but what colour?
To start, Carl was clearly disappointed talking to the media; “It was great going towards C but not so the other way; I’m not sure what he spotted at A but it made him back off so that may have affected the change at the end of the extended canter and I couldn’t push in the extended trots.”
But a deep breath and quick reflection on a +75% score at the European Championships brought out the Carl we’re more familiar with, quick to put things into context; “He’s so consistent; we have to remember it’s only his second championships aged 11 and he’s never scored under 70%. I’m delighted; his impression is so just so great, with his size and his look he has great presence in the arena.”
He continued; “There’s not a rider who comes out and doesn’t think ‘if only…’ and yes I could have pushed for more. But I ride for rhythm so I’d rather keep the rhythm with less power than push and break. The judges are rewarding clear rounds so it was important and I’m pretty happy.”
It was then time for a nation to hold its breath as Germany’s Matthias Rath entered the arena with Ann-Katrin Linsenhoff and Paul Schockemohle’s Totilas for their first Championship appearance since the Europeans in 2011. There’s been a tremendous build up by the continental media about the show down between Valegro and Totilas and the pressure on both combinations is overwhelming so it was an all-important performance both personally and for the team, indeed the whole country. It was a fair test with no major mistakes; but it certainly split the judges with scores ranging from 80% to 71%. 75.971% was the score which was met by an equally mixed reaction from the crowd.
After three riders, Germany held a narrow lead over the Netherlands with Britain around four percent adrift. What would the all-important final round of riders bring?
Edward Gal and Glock’s Undercover NOP were brimming with confidence and sensed a gold was there for the taking. The elegant black Ferro gelding put up his best performance to date; showing more harmony and relaxation to score 82.229%, giving the Netherlands a slightly firmer grasp on gold. But a certain young lady from Hatfield had to have her say first…
Pressure has been steeped on Charlotte this week; fans, media, supporters, rivals all built up the duel between her and Matthew and also her ability to defend her titles…plus there were those Aachen demons.
The crowds were cheering and clapping loudly as the tannoy announced Edward’s score but Carl Hester, Roly Luard and Anne Barrott’s Valegro marched in and simply felt it was all for him. The test started brightly with tens coming thick and fast but then a mis-count in the tricky counter zig-zag put Charlotte off her stride and with the one time canter changes across the diagonal following immediately, she never had chance to get back in the zone and missed the start of the flying changes. These two vital movements count for double so fives and sixes brought the percentage down. But the Charlotte we know was quickly back on stride and back up scoring eights and nines, with a few tens to boot. The maths had been worked and she needed 84.43% to take gold…agony as 83.029% flashed up. But silver was a real possibility and it was all down to the final rider of the day.
A clearly disappointed Charlotte said; “I’m annoyed with myself as the beginning felt great at the start but then I missed in the zig zag and it put me off for the one time changes; completely my fault. We’re at a Championship and the one times count double so it’s an expensive mistake. There’s not many horses been in and not made mistakes.” But this girl’s not one to be dragged down and was quick to turn it around, saying; “I’m going to put it behind me and not dwell; there’s still two more tests to go.”
Again the calculators were out and Germany’s final rider, Kristina Broring-Sprehe with Desperados FRH needing 82.27% to snatch silver away from the Brits. The duo have been impressing behind the scenes this week with many riders tipping them for the top so the tension was nigh on unbearable as she cantered up the centre line in front of the 17,500 strong crowd. She also ran into problems with the canter zig zag and just couldn’t coax the required marks from the De Niro sired stallion so a final score of 79.743%...and silver was ours and bronze to Germany.
In the press conference, Carl Hester said; “We always remember where we came from…the bottom! We used to aspire to the levels of the Dutch and German teams and here we are, right amongst them. We’ve won a medal for seven years straight and that’s exiting. We’re extremely happy and next year, anyone could win gold.”
Britain’s strike rate at recent senior championships is impressive with two golds, four silvers and a bronze so our four riders have given us another result to be truly proud of. The Dutch won one of dressage’s most epic battles ever witnessed with two top-notch final day performances but Britain, just 1.4% adrift, and Germany ran them all the way. To take a silver on Aachen’s hallowed turf is extra special but the home nation’s Isabell Werth left everyone with a final thought; “Third was fair for us here today but be careful, we want to be back on top!” Few would doubt that in 12 months’ time, it will be even closer in the battle for gold.
Friday is a rest day but the battle resumes on Saturday with the grand prix special.
Team results:
Gold – Netherlands 235.629
Silver – Great Britain 243.229
Bronze – Germany 230.914
4th Spain 222.486
5th Sweden 221.557
6th France 212.757
For full team and individual results – click here.
Images copyright www.kevinsparrow.co.uk
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