THE FEI European Eventing Championships, held last week in Strzegom, Poland, saw Britain win team gold for the first time since 2009, spoiling Germany’s bid for a fourth successive victory, while Ingrid Klimke likewise stopped her fellow countryman Michael Jung from landing a fourth consecutive individual title when winning gold on Horseware Hale Bob.

Seventh after dressage, Ireland finished fifth of the 13 nations who started the competition while Co Meath’s Sarah Ennis put in a superb individual performance to place seventh with Horseware Stellor Rebound.

“I was losing faith but this result has given me renewed hope,” said Ennis who, in company with husband Niki Potterton, drove Rebound out to Strzegom in a two-horse box rather than their truck, saving hundreds of euro in diesel costs.

“Without that pole down show jumping, I was just off a medal and it goes to show that if you put in the training and maintain your commitment, the results will eventually come. We always knew this horse was capable of a mark in the 30s and, who knows, if he hadn’t been held up with his feet again, our score could have been even better. As you know, it’s been a struggle with his feet all the time and he has really only come good in the last few weeks.

“Thankfully Sally (Corscadden, team manager) had faith in the horse and I have to thank her and Brendan for all the help they have given us. Niki built these two brush corners for us to school over and we brought them down to the Corscaddens’ Grange Farm cross-country schooling grounds.

“They are really heavy but Sally and Brendan couldn’t have been more helpful setting them up on different lines until we felt nothing could surprise us.”

TOUGH TEST

Ennis’s preparatory work paid off early over the Rudiger Schwarz-designed cross-country course as the three skinny elements of the Longines Complex at four caused plenty of problems throughout the day, with over a dozen glance-offs at the third element alone.

“It wasn’t just the fence we riders had to deal with, as horses backed off when they saw the huge crowd gathered around it and up on the bank overlooking the water on the far side,” commented Ennis who, paying her first visit to the Polish venue, picked up just 0.8 of a time penalty across the country.

As anticipated, these championships were anything but a dressage test as the cross-country track, which was tightly measured for time and mainly ran up and down twice along a long stretch between the main arena and the Rainbow rolltop (20) on top of the hill at the far end, proved very influential.

It was disappointing to see so many island fences and portables with little use of the natural terrain.

Germany’s Bettina Hoy would have a divided opinion as, after posting a record-breaking score in the dressage arena of 24.60 penalties on Seigneur Medicott, she picked up 20 penalties at 4c and then took a heavy fall at the wide Betann Table, set in the treeline at 10, which had a ditch underneath.

With the loss of that team member, Germany was down to three for Sunday as, it turned out, was Britain following the withdrawal before the second horse inspection of the Oliver Townend-ridden Cooley SRS who, acting as pathfinder for the team, had run-outs at both 4c and the troublesome triple bush box skinny at 8b.

Ireland also lost a team member when the Austin O’Connor-partnered Kilpatrick Knight fell at the ‘house’ which was the first element Lotto Water at 13.

First out for Ireland, Michael Ryan looked set for a steady clear until Dunlough Striker ran out at the second of the off-set Ursus Tractors brush skinnies at 28, another fence which left its mark on the results.

Joseph Murphy and Sportsfield Othello also incurred 20 penalties at this fence which, along with seven others, was in a separate area to the main drag, but they had already been similarly penalised at 4c. Ryan’s wife Patricia, competing as an individual, recorded a clear jumping round on Dunlough Eclipse but picked up 24.8 time penalties in the process.

There were no problems recorded at fence 29, the EquiRatings Table.

FALLS

There were eight horse or rider falls throughout the day with Bob The Builder, ridden by Polish individual Michal Knap, being put down later having suffered a fractured pastern at the MIM Oxer (fence 15) in the arena.

The top 10 after cross-country all stood their ground on Sunday with Italy’s Pietro Roman dropping down to 13th when Barraduff (ISH) lowered the Liverpool fence at five. Ennis and Horseware Stellor Rebound were clear until taking the front rail off the Hertz oxer at nine while Gemma Tattersall, riding Quicklook V as an individual for Britain and lying fifth overnight, had two down and slipped to eighth.

With the fourth-placed Nicola Wilson going clear on Bulana, Britain was assured of team gold, and she claimed individual bronze when Sara Algottson Ostholt had three down with Reality 39, their 12 penalties not being enough to lose Sweden team bronze.

The large German support group had their flags out for the final two riders and, while it was disappointing for Jung not to win a fourth European title, most onlookers were pleased to see Klimke prevail.

Among the following presentations was one to Klimke as leading female rider which seemed strange in a sport where men and woman compete on equal teams. Would it not be better to have an award for the owner of the winner as owners are often overlooked at championships?

The organisers could have timed some of the presentations better too as the stands were nearly empty when the FEI flag was handed over by the Strzegom officials to their counterparts at Luhmühlen which, earlier in the week, had been announced as venue for the 2019 European championships.

The German site has hosted the Europeans six times previously, Ireland winning team gold there in 1979 through the efforts of John Watson, David Foster, Alan Lillingston and Helen Cantillon.