For a wrap-up of the Championships including interview with gold medallist Rolf-Goran Bengtsson (SWE) click http://youtu.be/smMqIO173pc.

HISTORIC FIRST AS SWEDEN’S BENGTSSON AND NINJA SWEEP INDIVIDUAL GOLD, by Louise Parkes

Madrid (ESP), 18 September 2011 – Sweden’s Rolf-Goran Bengtsson and the brilliant little Ninja la Silla added European gold to their 2008 Olympic silver medal when sweeping to victory in the closing stages of the individual title-decider at the FEI European Jumping Championships in Madrid, Spain today. This was a historic first, as the only European medal previously stashed in the Swedish trophy cabinet throughout the 54-year history of this event is the bronze collected by the same rider at Arnhem in Holland in 2001.

In a cliff-hanger of a class that had spectators on the edges of their seats right to the very end, the pendulum of good fortune appeared to have swung in the direction of The Netherlands’ Gerco Schroder who was in the lead as the final round got underway. But Lady Luck was not smiling on the Dutchman today, and it was Germany’s Carsten-Otto Nagel and Corradina who claimed their second successive European silver medal, while Great Britain’s Nick Skelton and Carlo took bronze.

It truly was a battle of the giants of the sport. And in the end it was the sport that everyone was talking about tonight. The extraordinary atmosphere of cooperation that prevailed throughout the entire week between the riders, officials and organisers created a powerful sense of a great sport in good shape. As Ground Jury President, Stephan Ellenbruch, pointed out, “It’s been a fantastic event, and at the end of it we can only see smiling faces which is great!”

Continue reading FEI European Jumping Championships 2011 Final Day →

FEI TV commentator Steve Hadley & Irish international Jumping rider Cian O’Connor sum up today’s amazing action at the FEI European Jumping Championships in Madrid, Spain on FEI YouTube Channel: http://goo.gl/ccphY.

GERMANY MAKES IT A MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, by Louise Parkes

Madrid (ESP), 16 September 2011 – Germany scooped team gold for the seventh time in the history of the FEI European Jumping Championships with a superb final-day performance at the Club de Campo in Madrid, Spain today. As the overnight leaders from The Netherlands faltered, eventually dropping to a disappointing fourth, the Germans flexed their not-inconsiderable muscle with three great clear rounds to snatch the title, while France moved up to seize silver and the British claimed the bronze.

An Olympic qualifying spot was some compensation to the Dutch who always looked like taking one of the three coveted spots available to non-qualified nations and, following a game of fluctuating fortunes today, it will be Switzerland and Sweden who will join them in London next summer. The Spanish also became contenders as the competition progressed, but their chances faded, as did those of the Irish whose only possibility of representation now lies in the Olympic rankings list.

DEMONSTRATION OF SOLIDARITY
The day began with a demonstration of solidarity in the sport as, following agreement by all concerned, the water fence which caused so many faults yesterday, was altered. The grey wall used in the first round was replaced with the darker frontage that had been used for the opening speed competition.

Continue reading FEI European Jumping Championships 2011 Day 3 →

FIERCE BATTLE FOR THE MEDALS AS DUTCH LEAD THE TEAMS AND NAGEL HEADS INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS, by Louise Parkes

Madrid (ESP), 15 September 2011 – The Dutch have stormed to the front going into tomorrow’s second and deciding round of the Team Championship while Germany’s Carsten-Otto Nagel leads the individual rankings after another thrilling day at the FEI European Jumping Championships 2011 in Madrid, Spain today.  But it remains a very close-fought affair in both competitions, with less than a fence between the quartet from The Netherlands and the Germans in second place, while the French are almost six points further adrift in third, and only four faults separates the top nine in the individual rankings.

Overnight leader, Olivier Guillon from France, plummeted to ninth when, last into the ring, Lord de Theize hit the wall at fence four in an otherwise flawless tour of the 13-fence track.  But it was the open water that was the talking point at the end of the day, as almost half of the 67 starters picked up penalties here.  Course designer, Spain’s Santiago Vareles, got an unexpected, and almost unprecedented, round of applause from the riders at the post-competition press conference when he agreed that the presentation of this obstacle should be re-examined and that he would get to work on it right away. “Tomorrow we will make some changes to be more fair for the horses at the water jump, it will be good for the sport and better for the horses,” he said. The alterations are expected to include a taller take-off board.

OPENING QUESTION
The 1.60m cheese-hole-style red wall, and topped with gold-coloured blocks, was the opening question on the first testing line of fences and was followed by a 1.70m-wide oxer at fence five which led to the triple combination at six – oxer, vertical, oxer.  After circling right to the 1.60m planks which caused relatively few problems it was then left-handed to the next challenging line that began with another 1.70m-wide oxer and then the influential 4.10m-wide water, with most riders opting for a holding five strides to the following vertical.  And there was plenty more to come, with the massive triple bar – 1.58m tall and stretching across a full 2.10m – leading to the penultimate candy-coloured double that punished many who had made it all the way there before dropping a pole.

Continue reading FEI European Jumping Championships 2011 Day 2 →