27 Sep 2009
Kristina Cook leads Britain to double European Gold
Kristina Cook, long renowned as one of the world’s best horsewomen, at last won the major international title that has eluded her thus far in her illustrious career when she headed an all-conquering British team at the HSBC FEI European Eventing Championship in Fontainebleau (FRA).
She has also set a new record, as the first mother to win an individual gold medal, and she now has the full set of individual European medals, having won silver in 1993 and bronze in 1997.
Britain easily won their 8th successive European team gold – their 21st since the European Championships started in 1953 – a task eased by the demise across country of the German team and also that of the French, whose silver medal evaporated when their cross-country hero Jean Teulère had to withdraw Espoir de la Mare before the final horse inspection.
Instead, Britain beat Italy, who were collecting their first silver medal, by a massive 93.2 penalties, and Belgium, who, in this extraordinary competition, were another 64.4 penalties behind them.
Piggy French (GBR), a last-minute substitute to the British squad after Mary King (GBR) had to pull out, excelled herself in her first senior championship, producing one of only two clear Jumping rounds, to win the silver.
Michael Jung (GER), also making his senior team debut, salvaged German pride with individual bronze.
TESTING COURSE
Nicolas Touzaint (FRA) had warned that Fontainbleau’s Jumping course is a major test, and so it proved. For a start, the arena is huge, and the sides were packed with excited crowds, but it is also unusual in that it is split level, with a sloping ramp dividing the arena in half laterally.
Riders were incurring cricket scores – such as Italian team member Stefano Brecciaroli who picked up 29 penalties on Oroton – and it wasn’t until Ireland’s Michael Ryan and Poland’s Pawel Spisak produced 4-fault rounds that anyone began to believe that a reasonable round was possible, and at last the first clear came, from Swedish individual Malin Larsson on Piccadilly Z, who finished eventual 12th.
France’s individual hopes lay with Didier Dhennin, a veteran of the last two Europeans with Ismene Du Temple, but he hit two rails to remain in 5th place.
Piggy French’s clear put the pressure on William Fox-Pitt, who had been lying in individual bronze position on the French-bred Idalgo, a beautiful horse to watch but not the easiest to ride, and when he hit a fence, dropping to 4th, the pressure was off Michael Jung (GER), who had been lying in silver.
He then faulted, slipping behind French, and obligingly giving Cook a 2-fence lead. A masterful horsewoman of the highest calibre, she had Miners Frolic beautifully balanced and only hit one fence, but the time was clocking up dangerously and she was shocked to look up at the leaderboard and see she had incurred a nerve-racking 4 time penalties, giving her a winning margin of just 0.3.
COMPETITION STATISTICS
3 horses withdrawn before the final horse inspection: Expo de Moulin, ridden by Arnaud Boiteau (FRA) and Espoir de la Mare (Jean Teulere, FRA) and Our Vintage (Constantin Van Rijckevorsel, BEL)
1 horse failed the final horse inspection, Flint Curtis, ridden by Oliver Townend (GBR)
44 horses started and finished the Jumping
4 teams completed
16 nations completed
Sanna Siltakorpi (FIN), 20, was the youngest rider, finishing 20th on Lucky Accord
Only 2 clear rounds
Italy have won two European bronze medals before, in 2001 and 2007
Belgium have won 2 bronze medals before, in 1999 and 2003
Britain has now won 18 individual European team gold medals
RESULTS
TEAM
1 Great Britain, 160.50
2 Italy, 253.20
3 Belgium, 317.60
4 Sweden, 337.60
INDIVIDUAL
1 Kristina Cook/Miners Frolic (GBR) 37.9 + 0.8 + 8 = 46.7
2 Piggy French/Some Day Soon (GBR) 41.7 + 5.6 + 0 = 47.3
3 Michael Jung/La Biosthetique Sam FB (GER) 45 + 0 + 4 = 49.0
4 William Fox-Pitt/Idalgo (GBR) 41.5 + 3.6 + 4 = 49.1
5 Didier Dhennin/Ismene du Temple (FRA) 50.6 + 0 + 8 = 58.6
6 Karin Donckers/Gazelle de la Brasserie (BEL) 38.7 + 16 + 4 = 58.7
7 Roberto Rotatori/Della Malaspina Irham (ITA) 45.8 + 4.8 + 4/5 = 59.6
8 Juan Carlos Garcia/Iman du Golfe (ITA) 54.8 + 3.6 + 4 = 62.4
9 Nicola Wilson/Opposition Buzz (GBR) 56.7 + 0 + 8 = 64.7
10 Harald Ambros/Quick 2 (AUT) 56.7 + 3.2 + 4/2 = 65.9
Full results and start sheets on www.fontainebleau-2009.com
About HSBC
HSBC, ‘the world’s local bank’, is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations. HSBC Holdings plc is the exclusive financial services partner to the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) and in 2008 became a ‘Platinum Sponsor’ – the FEI’s highest sponsorship platform.
HSBC’s equestrian sponsorship portfolio includes:
The HSBC FEI Classics™
The HSBC FEI World Cup™ Eventing
The HSBC FEI European Eventing Championship 2009