Britain’s Kitty King sits in individual silver medal position at the conclusion of the European Eventing Championships cross-country in Haras du Pin.
Kitty was the ninth rider out of the start box today with Diana Bown, Sally Lloyd Baker, Samantha Wilson and the late Sally Eyre’s Vendredi Biats and finished with 3.6 time-faults in the deep, tiring going.
At the time, no one realised quite how good Kitty’s round would prove to be. The first horse out on course, Grantstown Jackson, under Ireland’s Sarah Ennis, had had just 2.4 time-faults, so it looked as if several others might be able to be as fast or even quicker.
But as the day wore on it became clear few could rival Kitty and Sarah’s speed. Only the overnight leader, Britain’s Ros Canter (Lordships Graffalo) made the time.
“It was hard work – ‘Froggy’ lives for his cross-country and today he wasn’t enjoying himself quite as much as he normally does, which is a huge shame,” said Kitty.
“Today he had to dig really deep and try hard. He kept jumping and galloping for me even when he was finding it a little bit trickier, so I’m very proud of how hard he tried for me.”
The tricky conditions led to officials removing a two-minute loop from the course, which riders agreed was a good decision as, despite the shortened track, many horses finished looking tired.
Germany’s Sandra Auffarth holds the individual bronze with Viamant Du Matz, behind Ros and Kitty. Ros has two fences in hand to hold her lead, but Sandra is within a showjump of Kitty.
Meanwhile Sarah Ennis sits sixth overnight following her scintillating European Eventing Championships cross-country performance, having been 54th after dressage.
Horse & Hound has a team of reporters covering all the action at the Europeans in Haras du Pin. To keep reading on our website after five articles, readers will need to buy a subscription. Visit horseandhound.co.uk/join to buy a Horse & Hound website unlimited subscription or, for great value, visit magazinesdirect.com/XHH-brandsite for a combined magazine and website subscription. If you are already a magazine subscriber, the cost to upgrade your subscription to include full website access is minimal – call 0330 333 1113 to find out more.
You might also be interested in:
Shock run-out for world champions as Germany keeps pressure on Britain
Laura Collett’s score reviewed as Britain battles Germany for Europeans cross-country lead
Top British pair out of the running at European Championships
Britain’s second individual out of contention for European Championships medals
Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round
Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.
