Mixed fortunes across country for first team riders at Blenheim Europeans as Swiss rider excels: ‘He has 1000 legs to get me to the other side’

The first riders for each team have had mixed fortunes over the Agria Blenheim European Championships cross-country course.

From the top of the dressage leaderboard, Germany’s first rider Libussa Lübbeke (seventh individually overnight) is home with a jumping clear but significant time-faults. Piloting Caramia 34, championship debutante Libussa, 24, had a couple of tricky moments on course, including standing well off the first corner at the Subaru Sensation (fence 11b), after which she thought quickly to take the long route at the final corner. She finished with 30 time-penalties.

Libussa was a counting score for the German team after dressage, but the rider providing the discard score, Jérome Rôbiné, was only 2.1 penalties behind her, so his score may well come into play if he has a good cross-country round.

“It was intense. We had a lot of fun, but you really had to work to finish.The horse was so honest and brave like always,” said Libussa.

“I took the option [at 11abc] because I didn’t have the rhythm I wanted to the first table and then the corner, and I decided to turn left [to the long route] because of the points for the team. The rest was all direct and really good.”

Britain was in silver after the first phase and has had an unfortunate start to the day as Yasmin Ingham was eliminated for a rider fall at the FEI Mounds (fence 22ab), from Rehy DJ.

For France, the bronze medal holders after dressage, Luc Chateau (Cocorico De L’Ebat) – the discard score after dressage – had a run out at the narrow hedge element of the challenging second water, the BE Support Trust Healing Garden and Subaru Splash at fences 17abc and 18ab. This consists of a downhill box brush and then the narrow brush into the water on the direct route. He also incurred 30.2 time-faults.

Nadja Minder of Switzerland has had the best round so far. She was the very first rider out and she added a fifth stride to the second corner at the Subaru Senstation (fence 11abc). Nadja then had to sit tight when Toblerone left a leg and caught a flag at the corner in the GFS Saddles Water (fence 20abc). She finished with 12.8 time-faults, 32 seconds over the optimum time.

“I’m over the moon with Toblerone,” she said. “He’s just the most honest cross-country horse. He tries all the way, he has 1000 legs to get me to the other side. He’s so balanced and it’s just a joy and a big honour to ride a horse like him and I owe him everything.

“At that combination in front of the palace, I added one stride – because we’re number one of the team, we had to adapt and make it happen. He’s really a horse for that, another one would run off maybe. Our cross-country coach, Andrew Nicholson, says there’s only one way and it’s to go and try to be fast. So I tried that, but tried to be safe too.”

Ireland’s Padraig McCarthy and Pomp N Circumstance also put in a jumping clear, with 16.8 time-faults.

“He lost a shoe before the main arena so I had to be really careful in all the turns,” said Padraig. “I’m not sure anyone will get the time today. I could have been a lot quicker, but I had to make sure I kept him on his feet and jumped all the jumps.”

Italian pathfinder Giovanni Ugolotti’s Duke Of Champions had a rather dramatic round over Mark Phillips’ Blenheim European Championships cross-country course. The horse twisted and landed on the back bar of The Ha Ha Oxer (fence 16), throwing Giovanni forward, but the rider managed to get back in the saddle, getting away with 11 penalties for breaking the frangible device.

He continued, with one of the horse’s boots down around his hoof, and had another risky moment at The Estribos Table (fence 24), finishing with 19.2 time-penalties, as well as the 11 faults for the frangible and a flag penalty at fence 10abc (the Agria Angles in the main arena).

Swedish pathfinder Christoffer Forsberg pulled up Hippo’s Sapporo TSF around fence 21, the BE Triple Bar, after taking a couple of long routes and having 40 jumping penalties.

• To stay up to date with all the breaking news from the Blenheim Europeans, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

You may also be interested in: