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Britain holds tenth spot after an intense day of jumping in Milan

Thursday, 31 August 2023

The serious business of team medals was in the spotlight today at the FEI European Jumping Championships at the Ippodromo Snai San Siro in Milan, the capital of the Lombardy region of Italy. After Wednesday's preliminary round, Britain headed into the second day on competition in 10th place as a team, with Sweden heading the standings, and Switzerland and Germany in hot pursuit.

Course designer Uliano Vezzani and his team had pulled a championship course out of the top drawer for today’s team qualifier – it had everything you’d expect. It was up to height with technically demanding lines and a number of related questions, so there was no let-up in the effort and concentration required. The 565-metre course featured 14 obstacles and 17 jumping efforts, with a number set to the full height of 1.60 metres and maximum spread of 1.70 metres. The time allowed was set at 85 seconds, and many felt this would be influential and not easy to achieve without pushing on.

Donald Whitaker and Di Caprio

The individual combinations from each nation were first to jump in the spacious grass arena, which sits in the shadow of the legendary San Siro stadium, home to Inter Milan and AC Milan. After a handful had gone, it was evident that fault-free rounds were going to be at a premium.

Fourteenth in was our individual debutant combination, Donald Whitaker and Di Caprio, owned by Reitsportanlange Dagobertshausen GmbH and CO.KG. They just had an unlucky fence down yesterday and started today in a good rhythm to clear the first three. At fence four, an Italian colour-themed oxer, Di Caprio just dislodged the front rail with his hind hooves. This was followed by a tight turn back up the arena to a beige-coloured oxer with natural small trees underneath, and Di Caprio took exception to the fence and came to an abrupt standstill. Donald kept his cool, represented and the horse jumped it easily. However, Donald then took the decision to save the horse for another day – a maximum height championship track has to be jumped brimming with confidence, but Di Caprio clearly wasn’t fully focused on the task today.

After time to reflect, Donald said; “It’s just not my day, I suppose. It’s a big track obviously, and I think he had a little spook which put him offline a bit. Time to go back to the drawing board, I suppose. The championship is an experience on its own – it’s great to be here and watch everything, so it’s something to learn from.”

Ben Maher and Faltic HB

The teams ranked 11th to 15th then jumped and, from that group, it was the Netherlands who topped the leaderboard on a combined score of 12.42. It was then on to the top ten teams and Britain was first to go. Chef d’Equipe Di Lampard had decided to shuffle her team order from yesterday and she opted for experience in handing the pathfinder role to Ben Maher with his World Championship team bronze medallist Faltic HB, who he jointly owns with Charlotte Rossetter and Pamela Wright.

The duo set off in determined fashion and, as the course flowed, the reigning Olympic champion used his experience to pick the most economical lines to save time. The bright bay stallion by Baltic VDL answered every question, while Ben kept a smooth, forward pace – the duo was a picture of focus and harmony. The tall, wide fences were all successful negotiated – was the time going to be an issue? They came to the final related distance line with ten seconds to spare – both fences cleared and the timing beam broken with three seconds in hand. It was a hugely valuable clear round – both for Britain in the team standings and for Ben individually.

“It’s a great start for the team. We’re coming a bit from behind, but sometimes it’s easier to come from behind than stay out in front. The team Chef [Di Lampard] switched me to the first to go, my normal position, to try to give some confidence and a little push for the team, which fortunately we did,” said a delighted Ben.

“Years ago, I was last [in the team order] and then when Nick Skelton retired, I switched to first. There was a reason for me to go towards the end yesterday and it was always the plan to switch me back to first today. Faltic felt very relaxed today – as soon as I jumped the first three jumps, I had a very good feeling, and it was down to me to execute the plan. 

“Courses like today are where I have a little bit of an advantage with a horse like Faltic – he’s a small horse, just in a normal snaffle, but he’s very adjustable, he has a huge stride and he can always come back very easily. It’s a big course today with twisty lines, so it’s very important to be disciplined as a rider, but I’m very happy with my round. 

“He was the front and only runner for me last year in the build-up to Herning – he did a lot of work and came forward very quick. This year, I had four months off for injury myself, so he’s done far less shows, but he’s a fully rounded horse now and he has a lot more help and support from the rest of my team horses, so we’re able to pinpoint him at the right things and he jumped this championship course exactly how I wanted him to,” said Ben after a job well done.

Tim Gredley and Medoc de Toxandria

Tim Gredley kept his second to go place in the team running order with his partner Medoc de Toxandria, owned by Unex Competition Yard Ltd. Tim admitted to being disappointed with their uncharacteristic three fences down yesterday, but entered the arena today looking to put that behind him. The duo certainly set out of full of determination, but within the horse’s natural rhythm. The round progressed well with the fences cleared – there was a moment of apprehension when there was a ripple on the water tray as they jumped over, but it was just some mud breaking the surface. They came down the final line full of running, jumped the tall vertical at 13 well, then just made up some distance down the four-stride related line to catch the front rail of the last fence and send it splashing into the water tray beneath. They were fine for time, so it was just four to add –  an improvement from yesterday and the confidence boost they needed. That also buoyed the team standings, with just four faults to add when other nations were faltering with their first and second riders.

“He’s a completely different horse today – I don’t know what it was yesterday, maybe he was a bit low or it was the ground. Working him in this morning, he had a lot more about him and after the first fence, I knew I was riding a different animal to yesterday. It’s very frustrating to have the last fence – I think he deserved a clear round – but it’s a tough track, so hopefully it helps the team,” Tim explained. 

“Yesterday didn’t go to plan at all, so if someone had asked me this morning, I would have taken four faults but, actually, the way he was jumping, he was a different horse today. I just didn’t get the last one quick enough. I'm really pleased, though – it just proves he’s a championship horse, he can jump these big tracks. We’d have liked to keep him clear, but we’ll take it,” he concluded.

After two riders from each of the 15 teams, Britain had climbed up four places the leaderboard to sixth. The top five of Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Ireland and Austria remained unchanged, with a vital clear from at least one of their riders. Ben’s immaculate round promoted us when Italy, Denmark and France added to their penalty scores.

Sam Hutton and Oak Grove’s Laith

After a 10-minute break for some arena maintenance, it was the turn of championship newbies, Sam Hutton and Oak Grove’s Laith, owned by Caramello Company, who were put third in the team order. Their round yesterday didn’t deserve the eight faults it had, thanks to a couple of unlucky touches. Therefore, for Sam and Laith, the plan for today wouldn’t involve much change. The first two fences were successfully negotiated, but at fence three, a brightly coloured wall painted with the Milan skyline ands set on an awkward turn, Laith just tipped a brick off the top for four faults. Sam rode the compact chestnut carefully through the up-to-height treble, but he really tried for his rider and it was stayed up. At the water, Sam pushed for a longer stride in order to clear the four-metre-wide obstacle, but he just couldn’t get the rhythm back on the line down to the Italy-themed oxer at 12 and the front rail was dislodged. The final line, which had caused so many issues, also came down, so– it was a total of 12 to add. This put an end to Sam’s individual hopes, but Britain still had hope of ending the day in a top 10 place, with Harry Charles still to come.

“I’m a bit disappointed obviously, but I still feel like he’s jumping well. I just need to get it together tomorrow and hopefully get a clear round. The first brick in the wall, I had a very light touch and I was a bit unlucky there. He did a big jump on the water and we got there a bit too easy, and then the last jump is a bit of a bogey jump – a lot of people are having that down. Normally, he’s used to jumping a few days on the big shows. It’s really warm here, so we’ll give him some vitamins tonight and lots of apples, and hopefully he’ll be good tomorrow. Fingers crossed!” said Sam.

Harry Charles and Casquo Blue

The twelve from Sam meant that Tim’s four would be a counting score, so the pressure was on anchorman Harry Charles to conjure a good round from Stall Zet’s Casquo Blue. They were off to a promising start, with ‘Casper’ listening to his rider and jumping well. They gave fence four the lightest of rubs, but luck wasn’t  on their side and the rail fell, relegating Britain to ninth. They stayed clear, with the compact bay desperate to get on but Harry kept his measure. At fence 10, the Longines double, it was again a feather touch on the second element, an upright and, almost a canter stride away from the fence, the pole fell. Harry kept his mettle to leave the remaining fences up, but cantered through the finish with a look of disappointment across his face.

“I’m a bit disappointed. Its not what we wanted, but it’s sport – some days you’re not feeling it, some days your horse is not feeling it. He felt very good, so a bit of a surprising two rails, but he’s in good shape and it’s not the end of the world,” said Harry philosophically.

“We came in in 10th place, so we weren’t really in reach of the medals, and ended today in tenth place, so it’s pretty average day at the office. Ben rode a fantastic round and he’s in good shape for the individual, and Tim also did a really good job, so I’m disappointed not to have helped them out a little bit, but that’s the sport. 

“You can watch the round as many times as you want and the fences will still come down on the video, so I’ll watch it a few times tonight, move on and forget about it by tomorrow. It’s a new day and a new week next week so, of course it’s a bit disappointing to do it this week, but there’s long year ahead still. It was two light faults, the first one was really annoying and the second one was equally annoying, but he’s done so many great things this year and it’s uncharacteristic. It’s just not our show,” he concluded.

Day two outcomes

So, with our four riders gone, Britain’s fate of remaining in the competition lay with the fortunes of the other nations vying for a top 10 finish. A round of eight faults from the final Belgian rider was enough to promote us to 10th and the right to jump tomorrow in the final team round, where the medals will be decided.

Reflecting on the past two days of competition, Chef d’Equipe Di Lampard commented: “We always knew the first day was going to be tough. A Table C class requires you to know your horse and be very disciplined in your riding. Today’s team qualifier was a very different challenge. It was big, with a tight time allowed – you needed ride accurately with a forward rhythm and the course left no margin for error.

“As a team, we’re looking forward to the final tomorrow. We’ll analyse what’s happened over the last two days, make a plan and hopefully turn our fortunes around. It’s another day and there’s still plenty of jumping to do before the medals are awarded.

“With Paris qualification secured last year in Herning, our aim was to come here with some fresh faces on the squad and give them some championship exposure, with the experienced Ben Maher to act as today’s pathfinder and fill them with confidence. I’m excited about what’s to come over the rest of the week and for the next 12 months,” she concluded.

At the top, Germany had a strong day with two clear rounds and a four faulter, which gives them a narrow edge over yesterday’s leaders, Sweden. The Swiss keep their podium position in third, but the top placings are all exceptionally close with less than a point separating the leading four.

Team standings

1. GER – 9.31
2. SWE – 9.51
3. SUI – 9.92
4. IRL – 10.00
5. AUT – 16.77
6. ITA – 18.42
7. NED – 19.29
8. ESP – 21.59
9. FRA – 22.47
10. GBR – 24.42

Individually, Sweden’s Jens Fredericson and Markan Cosmopolit were again faultless and therefore keep their zero score to stay at the top of the leaderboard. Second place is now held by Germany’s Phillipp Welshaupt and Zineday on 0.31, who move up one spot following a fence down by Martin Fuchs of Switzerland. However, Martin’s teammate Steve Guerdat now completes the podium after a faultless performance today aboard Dynamix de Belheme on 0.43.

British individual placings

14. Ben Maher and Faltic HB – 3.13
37. Harry Charles and Casquo Blue – 10.61
44. Tim Gredley and Medoc de Toxandria – 12.49
61. Sam Hutton and Oak Grove’s Laith – 18.68
Donald Whitaker and Di Caprio – retired

Tomorrow, the team competition comes to its conclusion and, if today’s action is anything to go by, it promises to be an exciting climax before we move to the individual honours. The top 25 who go through to Sunday’s final will be determined by tomorrow’s performance, so it’s all to play for. The action gets underway at 12:30 BST (13:30 local time).

All the action will be available to stream live with English commentary on FEI.TV via a subscription to ClipMyHorse.TV.

Running orders and results are available from Longines Equestrian Timing.

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Image © British Equestrian / Adam Fanthorpe