The French held onto the lead after the thrilling Eventing cross-country phase at the FEI European Pony Championships in Arezzo, Italy this morning. But the host nation riders also held their nerve and remain a serious threat, with just 1.70 penalty points separating the two sides going into tomorrow’s deciding showjumping phase.
All four of the leading nations maintained their positions as they took their turn over Francesco Finocchiaro’s 24-fence cross-country course which was a triumph. Three fabulous rounds from Ykfe Bourget (Djaipour), Marine Bolleret (Perle du Boisdelanoue) and Victor Levecque (Qualitat des Bourdons) cemented the French position while fourth-line rider Marie Gagneuz (Plume de Virey) also returned with nothing to add to her dressage score. And, underpinning the French performance, Levecque continues to head the individual rankings while team-mate Bolleret is in fourth place.
Italy’s Matteo Guiducci, so impressive when individual runner-up after dressage, produced another super effort today to remain just four points off the leader’s score while Great Britain’s Yasmin Ingham did likewise to hold onto third spot individually.
Belgium lies fifth in the team standings, The Netherlands is in sixth while Denmark and Germany are in seventh and eighth places. The Germans were in fifth as the day began, but their chances were dashed when Anna Kamieth retired with Mr Harvey after a stop at the third element of the Roller Coaster combination at fence 11, and Julian Wipperman was eliminated for a fall from Chessy at the Steeplechase fence at eight. The 15-year-old German rider was taken to a nearby hospital and is reported with a simple leg fracture. The Roller Coaster, which followed the Water Splash at 10, produced some interesting moments as the drop on the landing side of the first element seemed to take some ponies by surprise, leading to an awkward jump over the following ditch and then a bad stride to the barrell-shaped third element. The nearby Hill and Boat water complex also proved influential, with refusals for three different riders at the first-element narrow brush fence.
However it was the brush corner at 20, located in the Boccaccio Arena and jumped on a bending line following the previous drop into water, that racked up the most penalties. It marked the beginning of the end for Italy’s Chiara Gorini and Zebedee who had two stops here before elimination for one more refusal at the penultimate obstacle. In total there were seven eliminations, with Denmark’s Mette Rise Christiansen, clear all the way to fence 20 before having a stop there and then another two refusals at the very last fence which brought her Championships adventure to a close with Camelot Damgard. From the starting field of 49, a total of 41 completed, and 27 were completely clear.
The stage is now set for a thrilling finale to the FEI European Pony Eventing Championship 2013, and, with the situation so close at the top of both the Team and Individual competitions, we can expect a fierce battle to be played out in the showjumping arena tomorrow morning. Just 1.70 penalty points separate the leading French from Italy in the team standings while the British cannot afford any mistake if they are to keep the Irish off the medal podium. In the Individual Championship, less than 10 points separate the top seven so it is still very much all to play for when the action resumes at 10.30am local time tomorrow (Saturday).