Swiss sweep to victory in thrilling Team Final

By Louise Parkes

The Swiss stole the show when grabbing Team gold at the Longines FEI Jumping European Championships 2021 in Riesenbeck, Germany, over the weekend. The final round of the team competition was a breathtaking affair, with everything hanging in the balance to the very end when Germany had to settle for silver while the defending champions from Belgium leap-frogged Sweden to take the bronze.

Spectator numbers were limited due to pandemic restrictions, but the 2,100 who watched from the grandstands were treated to an epic day of top sport. And they too showed great sporting spirit, cheering every horse-and-athlete combination that came into the ring.

As the action began there was no room for error, as less than a fence separated the leading Swiss from the chasing Germans while Team Sweden was only one fence further behind. The Swedes couldn’t hang on however when Peder Fredricson and Catch Me Not S were the only pair in their side to keep a clean sheet.

That opened the door for the Belgians who carried 17.34 points into the final round and added absolutely nothing. All four team-members have qualified for Sunday’s top-25 Individual final, with Pieter Devos lying third with Jade vd Bisschop, Nicola Philippaerts in seventh with Katanga v/h Dingeshof, Jos Verlooy in 17th with Varoune and Olivier Philippaerts in 21st place with Le Blue Diamond v’t Ruytershof.

The real excitement however was the intensity of the battle between Germany and Switzerland for gold. It came right down to the wire and, not for the first time, all the pressure fell on the shoulders of Swiss anchor, Steve Guerdat, who withstood that pressure to bring it home.

The victory was the fifth for Switzerland in the 46-year history of the FEI Jumping European Championships and the first since 2009. But it wouldn’t be easily won.

Kicked off

The Swiss effort kicked off with a 12-fault result for Elian Baumann and Campari Z who lowered the last element of the Longines triple combination at fence six, the oxer near the arena entrance at fence 11 and the first element of the penultimate double of uprights.

So when both Andre Thieme with DSP Chakaria and Marcus Ehning and Stargold jumped clear, then the title seemed to be slipping away from the overnight leaders and into Germany’s grasp. But youngest Swiss team member, 24-year-old Bryan Balsiger, held his nerve to bring AK’s Courage through the finish with a zero on the scoreboard, and when compatriot and defending individual champion, Martin Fuchs, did likewise with Leone Jei then things were looking a little more optimistic for the eventual winners.

By now Germany’s Christian Kukuk and Mumbai had faulted at the triple combination, so when David Will made it all the way to the penultimate double only to fault at the first element there with C Vier, then one of those two errors had to be counted so the German team tally had risen to 12.77.

That gave Swiss anchorman Guerdat a fence in hand, but he was hoping he didn’t need it. However that bogey triple combination played it’s part once again. He made it safely through, but Albfuehren’s Maddox got all fired up going down the line that followed it and when they turned to the oxer at fence nine the stride just didn’t come up right. With four faults now on the board they still had five obstacles to clear before the finish. Another error and the game would be over and it would be Germany in gold medal spot.

Out of control

“It wasn’t that I got worried about the mistake I had, but I got a bit nervous because I was running out of control with my horse, he got really strong after the line of the triple combination, and I had to really try to stay calm to bring him home without thinking of the result but getting him back together with me which I managed to do. The relief was great after that,” said Steve Guerdat.

Guerdat’s impressive European Championship record includes team bronze in 2003, team silver in 2005, team gold in 2009 and team bronze in both 2015 and 2017. When it comes to team competition the London 2012 Olympic champions is rock-solid reliable, and he brought it home once again.

He insisted afterwards that the win was very definitely not all about him. “I had pressure but no more than my colleagues here. Bryan did an unbelievable job to get us back in the race after Elian today was not as good as we expected, although he’s been amazing the first two rounds. That’s the thing, everyone wants to fight not just for himself but for the whole team, there is a great atmosphere in the team. I think it makes you strong when you fight for four and not just for yourself”, Guerdat said.

For Martin Fuchs there was another reason that thes win was extra special. He was following in the footsteps of his father, Thomas, who was on the first Swiss team to win the title back in 1983 at Hickstead, Great Britain.

A huge moment

“It’s a huge moment for myself and my career to win alongside three friends and after my dad some years ago. It is great to bring another gold medal back to the family. It is amazing to have his knowledge with us and his precious advice as Swiss team trainer. I am so lucky to be able to do all this with him!”, said Fuchs.

Meanwhile the German team reflected on their silver medal result. Marcus Ehning was happy because he was keeping a promise to his son, Lyas. “It is his birthday and I told him I was going to bring him a medal!”, said the man who has been at the heart of German showjumping for many years.

Andre Thieme was thrilled with his silver medal. “It is everybody’s dream to ride a big championship in front of his home crowd!”, he said.

Rider’s mistake

David Will insisted his four faults were “a rider’s mistake, I did not have the perfect distance and it is a shame as my horse jumped very well”, but he was still delighted with his silver medal. Christian Kukuk is pleased to be lying eighth individually with the fabulous grey stallion Mumbai.

“The last two days everything went exactly how I wanted, but in this round I made it just a little too difficult for Mumbai at the last double. But he’s still only nine years old and the way he finished the course made me very proud of him,” he said.

It’s only a few weeks since Belgium’s Pieter Devos stood on the bronze medal step of the podium at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games following a great performance with another of his string of horses.

“It is Jade’s first championship and she gives me a lot of confidence,” he said. His Chef d’Equipe, Peter Weinberg, celebrated his team’s result.

“We didn’t want to use the same horses who jumped the Olympics – all our horses are competing in their first championship here. When we walked the course we saw it was a step bigger, so ending the day with four clears and team bronze – now that makes me very proud!”, he said.

Germany’s Andre Thieme and DSP Chakaria claimed individual gold at the European Championships.

© FEI/Christophe Taniere

Individual gold for Germany’s Thieme on a magnificent day of sport

By Louise Parkes

Individual glory for Germany’s Andre Thieme and his lovely mare DSP Chakaria brought the Longines FEI Jumping European Championship 2021 to the perfect close at Riesenbeck (GER). On an afternoon of spectacular sport, the 46-year-old rider rose from overnight silver into gold medal position in the first of two final rounds. And, once there, he held on tight, pinning the team gold medallists, Switzerland’s Martin Fuchs and Leone Jei, into silver while Sweden’s Olympic team gold and individual silver medallist Peder Fredricson and Catch Me Not took bronze.

And the new champion wasn’t holding back. At a press conference filled with joy, relief, reflection and laughter, Thieme said, “I’m just as much in love with that horse as I am with my wife – and she accepts that!”, before turning his attention to Fuchs.

The Swiss rider had teased him by calling Thieme “one of the happy ones!” when he met him yesterday in the aftermath of the team competition in which the hosts had to settle for silver. But the German rider pointed out that the result had been very close. “And he looked at me and said ‘did you really think you guys could beat us? He really said that!”, Thieme said with a laugh, very pleased that in the individual final he had managed to turn the tables on the 29-year-old defending champion who had to settle for runner-up spot this time around.

Vintage

It was vintage stuff from start to finish and course designer, Germany’s Frank Rothenberger, played a big part in ensuring drama and excitement all the way.

Fuchs was in the lead as the action began, but there was less than a fence between the first seven and less than two fences between the top 12 in the opening round in which the top-24 started. And when the Swiss rider’s fabulous nine-year-old, Leone Jei, hit the oxer after the water at fence nine, then he opened the door for his German rival whose mare made it look pretty easy as she posted a clear to take the lead.

Only the top 12 returned for the second-round medal-decider, and Fuchs was lying fourth on a score of 5.31 this time out, with the sensational partnership of Ioli Mtillneou and Levis de Muze from Greece in third on 4.64 and Sweden’s Fredricson now in silver medal spot, just over two points behind Thieme.

So when the Swiss star lowered the first element of the triple combination in the final round it seemed his chance was gone. But that fence caused multiple problems and when Mytillneou and her brilliant stallion met it all wrong she decided to retire. At 24 years old, and with relatively little experience compared to those she was competing against, it was a mature decision as Show President Ludger Beerbaum pointed out later in the day.

So that let Fuchs into bronze medal spot, and when Fredricson’s grey gelding hit the second fence Fuchs moved up into silver. Thieme could now afford one fence down but no more, and at the bogey triple combination he used up all his luck. But he kept his nerve to bring it home to the delight of the home crowd who roared their approval.

Challenge

The new champion talked about the challenge of that second course.
“Walking it you could see that triple combination was going to be very difficult for everybody. The course designer was just very smart,” said Andre Thieme.

“From fence three to four he gave us a floating forward six strides to a big oxer with bushes underneath, so you arrived with a lot of impulsion and then it was a bit downhill coming into those two tall verticals. So you had to ride it perfect, and even then there was a chance to have it down”, he explained.

“I got there (to the first part of the triple combination) exactly the way I wanted to, and them boom! I hit the front rail and I thought we have a long way to go. So I tried to stay calm, and she stayed calm with me and I don’t know how many times I can say it but I’m very blessed with that horse! It’s something very special. Tokyo (Olympic Games) came too early for us, we thought we could do it and then we paid our price, but she learned something in Tokyo and I learned something in Tokyo and I’m glad it came out this way!”, he added.

Show President, Ludger Beerbaum, paid tribute to Mytilineou whose copybook clear rounds throughout the week put her well in contention until the individual final when things didn’t go right for her. “She showed us how a trusting relationship between a rider and horse can make such difficult courses look easy. And the way her horse jumps, your heart starts smiling by watching it…. I’m absolutely sure we will see this pair again in the top classes, and some day probably on the podium!”, he said.

Fuchs admitted that playing second fiddle doesn’t come easy for him. “For the first few minutes I was disappointed about the result, that it wasn’t good enough for gold, but now I’m really happy with silver! I’ll go home with two medals, one gold (team) one silver (individual). Andre was just better than me today and I hope one day I’ll be better than him!”, said the 2019 champion.

Fredricson blamed himself for the mistake with Catch Me Not made at the second fence, after he changed his original plan on how to ride that line. And, as he said, his time fault was also expensive. “But I think the course designer built in a really clever way, questions all the way around, time just tight enough. Like Martin, at first I was really disappointed with the choice I made….but 45 minutes later I feel happy for my bronze medal”, he said.

Huge task

Multiple champion Ludger Beerbaum admitted that he took on a huge task when he offered to step in and run this Championship at Riesenbeck after it was cancelled last year. But this evening he was happy and relieved.

“I couldn’t be more happy or grateful for having the opportunity to host such an event. It was a brave decision, and the whole team knows what we had to deal with and it was a tough job, no question. But once we decided to go ahead with it we had a lot of support and positive energy from everyone. You have to be fortunate to get two weeks weather like this and we are thankful. We’ve seen great, great sport, a super podium and an unbelievable winner – and I’m also really pleased with number 4 Christian Kukuk who was really close, I’m delighted and well done to everyone!”, he said.

He wasn’t the only one feeling grateful after an amazing week at his fabulous venue surrounded by the Surenberg Forest.

Speaking on behalf of all the riders who competed at the Longines FEI Jumping European Championship 2021, silver medallist Martin Fuchs said, “Ludger thank you very much for organising this. We have seen many shows that have years and years of putting on a show, you didn’t have that and for all of us riders you are one of the the most inspiring people in the sport. We call you the legend behind your back!

“And now that you start to do even more for our sport and that you hold this European Championship during these difficult times everybody really appreciates it. Everyone has great things to say about the whole organisation and the competition, and I think this deserves a big and warm thank you from all of us!”

No-one was disagreeing with that…

Full results here.

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