GERMANY’S JUNG AND BRITAIN’S KING TAKE THE TITLES by Louise Parkes
Lausanne (SUI), 24 October 2011 – Germany’s Michael Jung won the 6 Year Old title with the Hannoverian mare Rocana while Great Britain’s Kitty King claimed the 7 Year Old honours with the Dutch-bred mare Zidante at the 26th FEI World Eventing Championships for Young Horses at Le Lion d’Angers over the weekend. This specialist fixture is widely recognised for identifying the rising stars of the future. Proof of this is clear in the number of horses which progress from Mondial du Lion to produce results at European, World Championship and Olympic level. Frenchman Nicolas Touzaint is the most prolific winner in the history of the event having won six gold medals between 2000 and 2005, including the 6 year old championship in 2000 and the 7 year old championship in 2001 riding Galan de Sauvagère, his double individual European gold medal winning mount. Jung won the silver medal in both the 6 and 7 year old categories with his 2010 FEI World Eventing Championship ride La Biosthétique-Sam, and 2011 Lexington CCI4* winner, King’s Temptress ridden by Great Britain’s Mary King, is another Le Lion graduate.
The ‘Mondial du Lion’ has taken place every year since 1986 at the same venue – the Isle Briand Estate – and is always staged at the beginning of the French All Saints holidays. The winner of the inaugural fixture was the current coach of the French eventing team, Laurent Bousquet, on Jim Pam. That year 43 combinations lined out, a number which rose so rapidly it had to be capped at 110 by the FEI. The Championships have also proven increasingly popular with the public, with attendance figures rising from 5,000 in 1986 to a record 41,000 in 2009.
Continue reading FEI World Eventing Championships for Young Horses 2011 – Le Lion d’Angers (FRA)