Great Britain has secured team gold and Nicola Wilson individual bronze during a spine-tingling final phase at the European Eventing Championships today (Sunday 20 August).
Following the withdrawal of Oliver Townend’s Cooley SRS ahead of this morning’s final horse inspection, pressure was on all remaining team members to jump clear and they didn’t disappoint.
Ros Canter (Allstar B), Tina Cook (Billy The Red) and Nicola Wilson (Bulana) cleared every single showjump to guarantee their place on the top step of the podium.
They finished 9.1 penalties clear of Germany, the defending champions. Sweden took bronze.
German battle for individual gold
In the individual standings Ingrid Klimke pulled off a clear aboard Horseware Hale Bob to seize gold.
This is Ingrid’s first individual title and she was in tears as she left the arena and struggled to hold them back when standing on the podium.
She said an individual medal has been a long time coming.
“It is always fun to ride for the team and we have enjoyed so much success together, but an individual gold is really wonderful,” said Ingrid.
Michael Jung and FischerRocana FST were also clear and took individual silver ahead of Nicola in bronze.
“Bulana has been a superstar all week. This is a dream come true,” said Nicola.
There was disappointment for some, however. Sweden’s Sara Algotsson Ostholt was on target for individual bronze until Reality 39 hit three fences and plummeted to ninth.
British individual Gemma Tattersall was visibly disappointed when Quicklook V rolled two showjumps and slipped from fifth to eighth.
European Eventing Championships 2017 team results
- Great Britain 113.9
- Germany 123
- Sweden 148.4
- Italy 211.8
- Ireland 269.2
- Belgium 286.3
- Spain 290.1
- Switzerland 324.1
- Poland 408.8
- Belarus 425.5
European Eventing Championships 2017 individual results
- Horseware Hale Bob (Ingrid Klimke, GER) 30.3
- FischerRocana FST (Michael Jung, GER) 32.8
- Bulana (Nicola Wilson, GBR) 35.5
- Billy The Red (Tina Cook, GBR) 38.2
- Allstar B (Ros Canter, GBR) 40.2
- Colani Sunrise (Kai Ruder, GER) 40.3
- Horseware Stellor Rebound (Sarah Ennis, IRL) 43.4
- Quicklook V (Gemma Tattersall, GBR) 44.7
- Reality 39 (Sara Algotsson Ostholt, SWE) 47
- Qing du Briot (Thibaut Vallette, FRA) 47.7
Don’t miss the full Eventing Europeans report in Horse & Hound, on sale Thursday 24 August
