THE 37th FEI Jumping European Championships kick off at the beautiful Ippodromo Snai San Siro in Milan, Italy, on Wednesday, August 31st with the team and individual European champions crowned next Sunday (September 3rd).
The event has been held in Italy on two previous occasions: in San Patrignano in 2005 and Rome in 1963, where Italian rider Graziano Mancinelli made history by securing the top spot on the podium. Mancinelli went on to become an Olympic champion at the 1972 Munich Games and remains a beloved figure in Italian equestrianism.
The championship took on its current format in Munich in 1975. Germany has dominated the championship over the years, with 15 victories to their name in the national team roll of honour. In the individual rankings, British rider David Broome and Germany’s Paul Schockemoehle hold the record with three victories each.
The 2021 renewal took place at Riesenbeck, Germany, where André Thieme took the individual gold with DSP Chakaria and the pair have been ruled out of a title defence due to an injury. On that occasion, they just overtook Switzerland’s Martin Fuchs in the final round and he comes into this competition in flying form with five-star Grand Prix wins this year, and opts to ride his 2021 silver medallist Leone Jei.
Qualified
Defending their title from two years ago and coming off the back of their Nations Cup win at Dublin with their European squad, Switzerland have yet to secure their place at next summer’s Paris 2024 Olympic Games and that will be a priority. The top three teams from those not yet qualified will get their ticket. The Belgian team looks to be in with a shot at glory while Germany are also fielding strong.
In terms of Ireland’s chances, Michael Blake has selected a relatively experienced team with a lovely bunch of horses and Olympic qualification already in the bag. Only Trevor Breen makes his championship debut but has oodles of experience behind him, while Eoin McMahon was in the top 10 individually two years ago. Shane Sweetnam’s James Kann Cruz (ISH) is capable of jumping multiple clear rounds and clear rounds are what win medals, so don’t be surprised to see them in contention individually at the close of play. The EquiRatings data below makes him joint-favourite with a 7% win chance and 18% podium chance.
Ireland has won two European team gold medals, the last coming in 2017 when Sweetnam and Denis Lynch were part of that team and Michael Blake was development team manager.
Who’s on the Irish squad?
Rider: Trevor Breen (44)
Horse: Highland President (Clinton x Kannan, bred by Heather Black)
Owner: Heather Black
Form: This 11-year-old home-bred gelding has been in fine form of late, most recently placing fifth in the five-star Longines Grand Prix of Ireland with a classy clear first round. Just a few weeks beforehand, they were double clear and fourth in the five-star LGCT Grand Prix of Riesenbeck, and fifth in the five-star Grand Prix of A Coruña, catching the eye of Michael Blake and getting a deserved call up. Despite his vast experience, it is a first senior championship call up for Trevor. Part of the Irish team that finished second in Rotterdam earlier in the season.
Rider: Denis Lynch (47)
Horse: Vistogrand (Fantaland x Mr Visto, bred by Carron Nicol)
Owner: Parco Sport Horses EST
Form: Denis Lynch has been a mainstay of the Irish team for close to two decades and knows what it takes to win medal having been part of the team to win gold at the 2017 European Championships in Gothenburg. He took over the ride on this big jumping 10-year-old at the end of 2022 from Shane Breen and they were part of the winning team at Rome CSIO5* with a clear in the second round. They have jumped multiple clear rounds at five-star level this summer, most recently last weekend in the Global Champions League at Valkenswaard, as well as finishing fourth in the big 1.60m class on the Saturday of the Dublin Horse Show.
Rider: Michael Duffy (28)
Horse: Cinca 3 (Casall x Carthago, bred by Peter Wylde)
Owner: Hibernian Horses
Form: This pair burst into the limelight when jumping double clear in the four-star Nations Cup in Sharjah in February, shortly after the mare joined Duffy’s string from the Charles family. They were then third in the five-star Grand Prix at Cannes in June, before jumping double clear again in the CSI5* Nations Cup of Rotterdam and placing fifth in the five-star Grand Prix of Riesenbeck. The whole of Ireland saw their talent at the Dublin Horse Show when, but for a foot in the water, they would have been double clear in the Aga Khan Nations Cup. A second senior call up for Duffy who made his debut at the 2021 Europeans.
Rider: Eoin McMahon (27)
Horse: Mila (Monte Bellini x Linton, bred by Gestüt Lewitz)
Owner: Ludger Beerbaum Stables GmbH
Form: A relatively new combination, Eoin took over the ride on this 11-year-old grey mare just last month when his boss, Ludger Beerbaum, retired from the sport. In her last competition under the German legend, she jumped a clear second round in the Rolex Grand Prix of Aachen. Having been in the saddle for a period at the start of the year, the pair finish second in the two-star Grand Prix of Balve and were seventh in the five-star LGCT Grand Prix in Madrid, while there most recent result was sixth in the LGCT on home soil at Riesenbeck, the place where McMahon made his senior championship debut two years ago.
Rider: Shane Sweetnam (42)
Horse: James Kann Cruz (Kannan x Cruising, bred by Patrick Connolly)
Owner: Gizmo Partners LLC
Form: The talking horse of the last two years, the grey gelding is on track to become the highest rated 10-year-old ever. A clear round machine, this combination showed the world once again why they are so special with an effortless clear in the Aga Khan. Two weeks previous they were double clear and runners-up in the five-star Grand Prix of Dinard, their second five-star runner-up finish after Langley earlier in the year, where they were also part of the winning team (double clear). A horse and rider for the big occasion, Sweetnam is now ranked seventh in the world and was part of the gold medal team at Gothenburg in 2017. A combination to watch in the individual rankings.