A win at the Polish leg of the FEI Nations Cup has secured Britain’s lead at the top of the series leaderboard.
The team of Izzy Taylor (KBIS Briarlands Matilda), Rosalind Canter (Allstar B), Laura Collett (Cooley Again) and Holly Woodhead (Fernhill Facetime) rose from fourth after dressage to secure the win at Strzegom (24-26 June). In second was Italy, with Belgium third.
Sweden’s Ludwig Svennerstal took the individual title with King Bob on a score of 40.5 — 0.1 ahead of second-placed Michael Jung on fishcerTakinou.
Rosalind and Allstar B were the highest-placed British combination, adding nothing to their dressage score of 46.2 to finish third.
British team manager Philip Surl said the team “absolutely nailed” the cross-country.
“The cross-country is as technical a three-star track as you will get and had been tweaked up from last year,” he said.
“It was very well-built and the footing was excellent. I was immensely proud of the cross-country rounds all four of my riders produced — they absolutely nailed it.”
Eight teams contested this leg of the series at the Polish venue, which will host the 2017 FEI European Eventing Championships.
Germany led after dressage, with Sweden in second and Italy in third, but Marcin Konarski’s influential cross-country track resulted in a shake-up of the scoreboard.
Izzy and Rosalind both finished clear inside the time — two of only six riders to do so — with Laura collecting just 3.6 time penalties to help Great Britain take over the lead.
In the showjumping, Izzy and Rosalind again jumped fault-free rounds while Holly and Laura each picked up four faults.
None of the Italian riders jumped clear, allowing the Brits to win with a 13.3 penalty margin on a score of 160.6.
The result means Britain moves up from second place to take the lead in the nine-part series.
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The next leg will take place in The Plains, USA, on 8-10 July — the first time a FEI Nations Cup competition has taken place outside Europe.
Philip added that Strzegom was a “happy hunting ground” for the British team.
“We needed a bit of a boost in the series after Houghton and this was a great result,” he said.
“Ros Canter has been away from FEI Nations Cup eventing teams for two years, so for her to put in a performance like that is brilliant.”
