Sweden’s Wilma Hellström with one-eyed Cicci BJN were part of the gold medal winning team. Image: FEI / Liz Gregg.
European Jumping Championships wrap up in Milan
Sweden claimed team gold, while Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat and Dynamix claimed individual accolades.
Team Sweden claim FEI Jumping European Championship gold
by Louise Parkes
History was made on Friday when Team Sweden clinched gold for the very first time at the FEI Jumping European Championship 2023 in Milan (ITA). The country that already holds both the Olympic and World team titles proved that, when it comes to staying the distance, they simply have no match right now.
They started Friday’s medal-decider trailing Germany and just ahead of the defending champions from Switzerland. But on an afternoon full of surprises, it was Team Ireland that settled comfortably into silver medal spot while Team Austria took the bronze.
As the action began only fractions separated the leading pack, but when Henrik Ankarcrona’s Swedish side added nothing to complete on a total of 9.51 penalties for the win, they were well clear of the Irish on a final tally of 18.00 and the Austrians who finished with 22.77 on the board.
Henrik von Eckermann with Iliana for Sweden. Image: FEI / Liz Gregg.
No-one could have predicted that Germany would lose the pathfinding partnership of Marcus Ehning and Stargold which would always leave them vulnerable, or that the Swiss, who have been all-but-unbeatable this year, would finish sixth behind Spain.
But anyone who has followed the path taken by the Swedes in recent years would know that a team consisting of Henrik von Eckermann and Iliana, Wilma Hellström and Cicci BJN, Jens Fredricson and Markan Cosmopolit and Rolf-Göran Bengtsson with Zuccero would be difficult to overturn.
As Fredricson said, there was never any discussion about the Swedish mission coming to Milan. “We came here to take the gold medal, that was always the plan, and sitting here now is just fine! We know how this can go, with many ups and downs, and we are really super happy with the whole thing!”
Jens Fredricson with Markan Cosmopolit for Sweden. Image: FEI/Liz Gregg.
Sweden’s Rolf-Göran Bengtsson with Zuccero. Image: FEI/Liz Gregg.
News
There was a bit of a shockwave when the last-minute news came through that Ehning wouldn’t compete because he felt his stallion wasn’t quite right.
“I don’t know what happened really. We got ready for the class, and I don’t know if he heard something but he nearly flipped over in the box, and I don’t know if he over-reached a muscle or whatever. When I got on he wasn’t lame but he doesn’t want to open up his back or stretch, and I didn’t have the feeling that he was normal,” the multiple champion explained.
So when Philipp Weishaupt’s Zineday knocked the oxer at fence two, Jana Wargers and Limbridge double-faulted and Gerrit Nieberg came home with one down, the German total of 25.31 would leave them just off the podium in fourth place.
Meanwhile only Steve Guerdat and Dynamix de Belheme lived up to expectations on the Swiss side who had to add 16 to their scoreline. But the Austrians, sixth overnight, rocketed up the leaderboard when Gerfried Puck and Equitron Naxcel V came home with just two time penalties, Max Kuhner and Elektric Blue P jumped clear and Alessandra Reich and Oeli R lowered only the tricky water-tray vertical at fence six that proved a bit of a bogey all day. That meant they could drop the 12 racked up by Katharine Rhomberg and Cuma 5 who had been impressively clear on Thursday.
The Irish opened up with another fabulous clear from Michael Duffy and the 14-year-old mare Cinca. And although they had to add eight to the scoreline when Trevor Breen and Highland President, Shane Sweetnam and James Kann Cruz and Eoin McMahon and Mila all returned four-fault results, they reaped the benefit of a good run earlier in the week that had left them stalking the leading pack and ready to pounce if their rivals showed any weakness.
It was three classic clears that clinched it for Sweden, Henrik von Eckermann providing their only mistake of the day when hitting the last in his pathfinding round. Annoyed with himself, he explained, “I got the six (strides) nice but I didn’t sit up enough, I followed with her and I was through the finish line in my mind before I was over the finish line!” But the double world champion and world number one rider didn’t need to worry. His team-mates would wrap it up very nicely indeed, Hellström confidently bringing her one-eyed wonder-mare home without incident and Fredricson doing likewise with his 12-year-old gelding.
Bengtsson already knew he had a gold medal around his neck before he set off, and as he said this evening that was a very nice feeling. His foot-perfect run was just the icing on the cake, ensuring the distance between gold and silver was as wide as possible.
Nice to be back
“For me it’s very nice to be back again in the team!” Bengtsson said. “I’ve been on the side for a while, but that was also an interesting position to have. Now I have a really good horse again and to get a medal here (Friday)….it was 22 years ago I had my first one so thanks guys! The team spirit we have is something very important and very special. We know each other very well and that helps. We can talk to each other in whatever language and nobody takes it badly if you tell them straight what you mean”.
Hellström pointed out that, “there’s a reason why Sweden has been so successful… it’s not only the riding, it’s the full plan and the organisation around us and the respect everyone has for each other”
And von Eckermann was delighted to add yet another championship medal to his already very extensive collection. “I really wanted the gold for the last team medal in my pocket, so I’m happy the guys helped me with that!” he said Friday evening.
Fredricson said forward planning is the recipe for Swedish success. “I have a very early plan for my horse. In November I knew what I had to do, I did Rome, La Baule, Aachen – all fantastic shows – and I knew I was going to have my horse in the best form now. If you don’t know that and you are picking the team in the last month… I think that’s what we do right,” he pointed out.
Contrast
In contrast the Irish had to make some very late changes to their side leading into the championship
“But the thing we are most proud of is whatever changes we have to make we have in excess of 30 riders competing in 5-Star Nations Cups this year and I think that’s a phenomenal figure,” said Chef d’Equipe Michael Blake. “I’m so proud to be involved with people who are that good and love the sport that much. They put the country first and they make my job easy,” he added.
There was no hiding the surprise and delight on the faces of the Austrian bronze medallists. As their Chef d’Equipe Angelika May said with a laugh, “if there had been a bet on Austria, I think you would have made a fortune!”
But they earned their place fair and square, on top of Olympic qualification along with Spain and Switzerland. “We came here for the Olympic ticket and we would have been super-happy with that,” said Katharina Rhomberg. And team-mate Max Kuhner said they would like to build on Friday’s result now.
“I hope it will also bring some support for the future for the country, like these big horse nations, to get more owners, to get more horsepower, to get more ambition for the whole sport. The Olympic qualification is probably the best thing to make this happen. It was a fantastic feeling with a great team. We had a really good time here together, supported each other and it makes me very happy!” he said.
11 out of 10
Talking about his horse Markan Cosmopolit, Sweden’s Fredricson said Friday evening that his jumping round today “wasn’t a 10 out of 10, it was an 11 out of 10!”, and he reflected on how the victory came about.
“You try to do your best and you can do nothing about the other riders – if they were better than us then they would have won, but this time we were the best. The only thing you can focus on is your own thing. Always in championships there are unpredictable things happening!” he pointed out.
Team results can be found here.
Steve Guerdat & Dynamix claim FEI Jumping European Championship gold
Steve Guerdat and Dynamix de Belheme. Image: Liz Gregg/FEI.
by Louise Parkes
Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat has ridden many great horses during his sparkling career, but after winning individual gold at the FEI Jumping European Championship 2023 in Milan (ITA) he said his mare, Dynamix de Belheme, is simply the best.
With a flawless run over four days of tough competition, as Italian course designer Uliano Vezzani tested Europe’s best riders as only he can, the 41-year-old rider and his 10-year-old mare were the only combination to finish the week without fault from the field of 85 who started out in the quest for European glory last Wednesday.
Germany’s Philipp Weishaupt claimed silver with the exciting nine-year-old Zineday while Julien Epaillard and the 10-year-old Dubai du Cedre finished in bronze medal spot for France.
“I’ve been very, very lucky, even blessed since the beginning of my career. I’m for sure no better rider that this guy that sits beside me (Weishaupt), but he didn’t always have the same luck with his horses at a championship as I had. So for me to say that this is the best horse I’ve ever had – it takes a lot!” Guerdat said.
In the balance
The final day more than lived up to expectations, with the result hanging in the balance until the very last fence was jumped.
One pole down from Guerdat in the second round and Weishaupt would have overtaken the 2012 Olympic champion for the coveted title. But once the Swiss star overtook team gold medallists Jens Fredricson and Markan Cosmopolit for the lead when the Swedish pair faulted in the first of Sunday’s two rounds to drop to fifth in the final analysis, Guerdat had the look of a man who wasn’t going to let anything get in his way.
As he rode into the ring, last to go in the second and last round, he was holding the lead but with Weishaupt snapping at his heels and Epaillard just a whisper further behind so he needed to muster all the experience he has gathered down the years. And with the horse of his dreams under him, he calmly brought home the gold that has only been held in Swiss hands twice before, by Willi Melliger partnering Quinta in Gijon (ESP) in 1993 and by Martin Fuchs and Clooney in Rotterdam (NED) in 2019.
He’s now making no secret of the fact that his next big target with his mare is the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
So cool
Asked how he managed to keep so cool under pressure, he said he just tried to make that final round like any other.
“I didn’t do anything different because it’s my job to go clear every week, every Sunday, every championship, every day this week. My mare was in great form so I just try to keep her fresh because it’s her first championship and she was a little bit tired (Sunday) after the first round so I tried to save the jumps, just do five or six jumps before the last round and try to stay focused on what I have to do and I knew she wouldn’t let me down.
“She’s a very, very special horse so I just try to focus on my job so she can express herself at her best, and that’s what she did, and I’m delighted with her and the result!” he said.
It is clear he has thought the world of Dynamix for a very long time.
“I have had so many special horses throughout my career, but I didn’t want to put pressure on her by telling everybody I have a new superstar, but we knew it, or we hoped for it. And we were just trying to let her develop the way she had to develop.
“Basically, she has all the qualities that all my superstars have had and she has it all in the one horse, and that’s why she’s very, very special! I don’t want to rush things; I just listen to her and what she wants to do. She only did her first 5-Star a year ago”, he pointed out.
When Dynamix gets home to Switzerland she’ll get a nice surprise. “Up to (Sunday) she still wasn’t allowed to have her own big picture in my indoor, there are a lot of very special horses in there. We have a lot of amazing pictures of Dynamix and I’ve had a bit of a fight with my wife because she thinks she should already be up there. But (Sunday) she did something great so her picture will be up there tomorrow!”, he said.
Careful
Weishaupt said he has also been careful not to pressurise his young horse either.
“It wasn’t in my plan at the beginning of the year to come here because Zineday is only nine years old, a year younger than Steve’s horse – quality-wise not far away these two horses – but I need to listen to him to know how he is and go step-by-step, show-by-show. I also tried to keep him a bit in the background and make sure not too many people ask me how good he is.
“But after Aachen (where the pair finished third in the Grand Prix) there was no more chance to hide it – even blind ones could see how good he is by then! He did it so easy in Aachen, so I took him to a show in Riesenbeck and he came back very strong. So I thought ok, he’s only nine but he’s ready for the championship and he will learn and get experience during those five days. I went day-by-day this week, I didn’t have any expectation. I know the horse is super but I need to ride well and keep him calm”, he explained.
And it worked out really nicely. “The first day Speed class he did a very good round. The first round of the Nations Cup was really good, unfortunately I made a stupid mistake on the team final day. Then I go for the final, he was super-fresh yesterday which was a bit surprising. And (Sunday) I did two rounds and he jumped fantastic and I’m more than delighted with the result. At the end Steve was the only one jumping all days clear, and I wasn’t!”
Fantastic week
Epaillard said he had a fantastic week with Dubai du Cedre. He also jumped double-clear on Sunday to move up from overnight fourth into that bronze medal position. It was Great Britain’s Ben Maher who finished just off the podium in fourth place with Faltic HB at the end of the day.
“My mare is only 10 years old, and it was my first championship with her and she doesn’t have that much experience. She had two down during the week, both my fault because I don’t know her well enough”, Epaillard explained. He has been riding her since last November.
“The course designer created a fantastic show this week”, he continued. “I think Uliano did a very nice job. Every day there were very technical rounds, (Sunday) the final was perfect I think. The first round very strong and difficult, the second a little bit easier, but with the pressure everyone, including the horses, were a little bit tired”.
There was no sign of tiredness when the medallists rode their victory lap to bring a truly thrilling week of sport to a close, with Guerdat adding individual gold to the European team gold medals he won in 2009 and 2021.
“I have the horse that everyone is looking for”, he said tonight, “so we do our best for her and bring her in the best of form for Paris! This has been a great week!”
Source: FEI press release / edited by EQ Life
Published 4 September 2023
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