IT was all about the British once more when the FEI Eventing European Championships 2023 drew to a close at Haras du Pin, France, last Sunday.

At the last edition of the Europeans in Avenches two years ago they swept all before them, and again today they took not only the team title but team members Ros Canter (Lordships Graffalo) and Kitty King (Vendredi Biats) clinched individual gold and silver ahead of Germany’s Sandra Auffarth in bronze.

The team ranking established after Saturday’s thrilling and influential cross-country phase remained the same, with Germany standing on the second step of the podium ahead of the hosts from France during the medal ceremony.

In the final analysis, the British score of 103.9 left them well clear of their German rivals who completed with 131.2, while the French took bronze on a score of 134.2. German chances had been compromised by the loss of their star performer Michael Jung who was eliminated for an unlucky fall just a few fences from home on cross-country day with the dressage leader Fischerchipmunk FRH.

Team Ireland finished fourth, with Switzerland, Sweden, Belgium and The Netherlands completing the line-up. A total of 56 combinations started in dressage on Thursday but that was narrowed down to just 37 in Sunday’s final deciding jumping phase. For Belgium and The Netherlands there was plenty to celebrate as they picked up the two qualifying spots on offer for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

This was Great Britain’s 24th team and 20th individual title in the 70-year history of this Championship.

Dressage

Germany’s former European, World and Olympic champion Jung swaggered to the top of the individual standings after two days of dressage with a superb performance from Fischerchipmunk FRH to score a sensational 19.4 which, unbelievably, wasn’t even a record for the pair.

He didn’t have too much breathing room as a whole tribe of Brits were breathing down his neck. Canter and Lordships Graffalo were in second (21.3), individual rider Tom McEwen third with JL Dublin (22.0), Laura Collett and London 52 were in fourth (22.4) while reigning world champion Yas Ingham (23.4), the leader after day one, dropped to fifth ahead of Tom Jackson and the highest-place Irish Sport Horse after the first phase, Capels Hollow Drift, in sixth place (25.7).

In the team classification, Britain were out in front on a tally of 67.1 with Germany in second on 76.3 and Belgium in third on 90.9. Switzerland and The Netherlands shared fourth place with 93.1 on the board while France (94.4), Sweden (98.9), Italy (99.1), Austria (103.5) and Ireland (105.5) were lining up behind them.

After his test, Jung commented: “The highlight was definitely the entire canter-work. However we lost some points in the walk which could be better. Overall it was one of the best tests we’ve ever done!”

Canter said she was “over the moon with Walter. It’s been a long wait for me this last two days…when I got on today I felt better that I had a job to do at last! Looking back at old videos of Walter in the spring building up to Badminton I can’t believe how much he has come on since then, he’s truly an amazing horse and I’m very lucky to have him!”

Speaking about the cross-country course, designed by Pierre Le Goupil, and the rain that had started to fall, Canter added: “The weather and the ground is something we the Brits have had to cope with a lot this year…we’ve ridden on this going so many times that hopefully we can stay in our bubble and concentrate on our job.”

Champions: Ros Canter rides Lordships Graffalo to the only round inside the time on the cross-country at Haras du Pin \ Libby Law Photography\ FEI

Cross-country

The rain definitely did come and it caused major hassle – resulting in a delayed start time and a revision of some fences. On a roller-coaster of an afternoon, leader Michael Jung was eliminated for an unlucky fall at the drop before the final water complex meaning Canter took over the lead and had over nine points in hand at the end of the day.

The pair were in a league of their own when storming around the recalibrated course with nine seconds to spare on a day when not one other combination managed to get home within the optimum time of eight minutes 18 seconds.

The going, already challenged by over 250mm of rain in the last few weeks and further softened by the overnight downpour, tested strength and stamina. After torrential rain, the decision was taken to shorten the track. The loop of fences from 12 to 15 was removed, so horses went directly from the log-pile at 11 to the water complex at 17ab and 18, and there was an option at fence five.

There were many changes to the individual leaderboard, but none as dramatic as that of Ireland’s Sarah Ennis who, lying 54th of the 56 competitors after dressage, rocketed up to fifth with Grantstown Jackson going into the final day. Team silver medallist at the FEI World Equestrian Games in 2018, she had the unenviable task of going out first on the cross-country track and, coming home in eight minutes 24 seconds, gave the impression that the challenge was not as difficult as had been anticipated.

As it turned out however, on a day when three horse-and-rider combinations retired and eight were eliminated, she and her Irish-bred gelding were one of the very best when producing the second-fastest ride in this phase.

Despite 20 penalties for Yasmin Ingham and Banzai de Loir after a runout at fence 22, and 15 penalties added to Laura Collett’s score for missing a flag, Britain still ended the day with 27.3 penalties in hand over Germany who were reduced to three riders, while the French team were only 0.2 penalties behind and the Irish rose from 10th to fourth place.

“Today was the the most challenging ground - we thought Badminton was bad but it wasn’t a patch on what we had to travel through here - it was quite gloopy going,” commented Canter.

Show jumping pressure

On the final day, the French team kept the pressure on Germany with clear rounds from both Karim Florent Laghouag (Triton Fontaine) and Nicolas Touzaint (Absolut Gold HDC), but Stephane Landois (Ride for Thais Chaman D) lost his grip on overnight individual fourth place with a fence down and Gaspard Maksud (Zaragoza) also left one on the floor.

With the German team reduced to just three they had plenty to contend with, but while Malin Hansen-Hotopp (Carlitos Quidditch K) had a fence error and some additional time faults, both Christopher Wahler (Carjatan S) and Sandra Auffarth (Viamant du Matz) were foot-perfect over the track designed by Quentin Perney which consisted of 12 fences and 15 jumping efforts.

Lying sixth in the individual rankings at the start of the day, that clear would promote Wahler to individual fourth place behind teammate Auffarth, and ahead of the two French clear-round jumpers, Touzaint who slotted into fifth and Landois who finished sixth.

Britain’s Kitty King had no room for a fence error if she was to hold Auffarth at bay for the silver medal as she went into the ring to jump the penultimate round of this Championship, but when she added only 1.2 time faults to her scoreline she was secure for the second step of the individual podium. And then all eyes turned to Canter and Lordships Graffalo, the horse she calls Walter.

When dressage leader Jung went out of contention she rose to pole position, and she had more than two fences in hand as she set off in the final phase. The first element of the double at fence four hit the floor, but she still completed with a 6.7 fault advantage over King to take the individual honours and to put the icing on the British team cake. The pair added that gold medal to their five-star Badminton Horse Trials win in May.

Expectation

Talking about how she handled the weight of expectation, Canter said: “I had to keep in my own bubble a little bit, remind myself who I’m sat on and just try and do the best job I could in that situation.”

The team success means even more to her than her individual achievement. “For me the team always comes first, it’s what I do it for, it’s what I dream of doing. Our family are sporty all-rounders and it’s always been about riding for Great Britain.

“After (winning) Badminton that was such a massive box ticked for me and I didn’t think it could get much better! I’ve got Walter to thank for it all, he’s just unbelievable!” added the 37-year-old who took team and individual gold at the world championship in 2018 and European team gold in both 2017 and 2021.

Like Canter, King was on the winning British side at the 2021 European Championships, but she said today she wasn’t expecting to feature so prominently this time around. She was emotional to win an individual silver after plenty of bad luck in recent years.

“I thought I’d be coming out here just to put a score on the board and be a good pathfinder and that it would be up to the rest with their amazing horses. So to come home with a medal of any colour is a huge honour and achievement and I’m very, very proud of my horse! I’m delighted with silver - and Ros definitely deserves the gold!” she pointed out.

Germany’s Auffarth was quite happy with her individual bronze, but even happier that her team managed to take silver after losing their star player in Michael Jung. She said her chesnut gelding Viamant was a bit fired up by the enthusiastic crowd today, but it also made him jump even better. “I’m very proud of him, and proud of my team and all the work we put in at our training camps.”

Irish-bred

The highest-placed Irish Sport Horse at the championships was Black Ice who finished seventh, on a total of 46 penalties, under German individual Jerome Robine.

This 13-year-old Vechta gelding, who placed 10th in the CCI5*-L at Luhmuhlen in June, was bred in Co Down by Judith McClelland out of the Touchdown mare Brookhall Lady. He was first produced here by Dromara racehorse trainer Caroline McCaldin (Dennison), winning initially under Neil Morrison and then Catherine Robinson.

McCaldin has purchased many of Brookhall Lady’s stock over the years including her 2013 foal Bikini who competed up to EI110 level here with Jonny Steele. She is now being campaigned at CCI3*-S level out of Piggy March’s yard by Rose de Montmorency. As McCaldin wants to concentrate more on training racehorses, she is keen to sell Bikini and Black Ice is certainly playing his part in promoting the family.