Britain secures top placings at the FEI Eventing European Championship

Britain’s eventers take Avenches by storm, winning the team and individual gold medal, and taking silver and bronze, too 

It was history in the making at Avenches today, as British quartet Nicola Wilson, Piggy March, Kitty King and Ros Canter secured the team gold medal, adding to the World and Olympic titles already held. They wiped the floor on the individual podium, too, with Nicola and Piggy taking gold and silver, and teammate Sarah Bullimore nabbing the bronze. It’s the seventh time Britain has taken all four medals on offer – a proud moment indeed.

Cross-country day

Having stormed through the cross-country phase, Team GB finished in gold medal position with Nicola Wilson and JL Dublin in having completed a faultless round to stay on the impressive score of 20.9. Piggy March also rode a fabulous performance, finishing 10 seconds inside the optimum time and adding no penalties to her dressage score of 23.3. Sarah Bullimore also enjoyed a clear round, however two seconds over the time meant just a couple of penalties added on to her already low score of 22.8. Kitty King and Izzy Taylor also enjoyed success with no penalties to boot, however it wasn’t the day for Ros Canter and Allstar B as two unlucky runouts caused them to finish with 40 penalties and 41 seconds over the optimum time.

After the conclusion of the cross-country action, just a single fence separated the top seven – with Nicola Wilson top of the leader board with JL Dublin, Germany’s Ingrid Klimke in second on SAP Hale Bob OLD and French rider Maxime Livio in third. British riders Piggy March, Sarah Bullimore and Kitty King went into the showjumping in fourth, five and seventh spots respectively, while Izzy Taylor lay in tenth overnight. However, the competition was far from over on showjumping day.

Ros Canter and Allstar B

First in for the British team was Ros Canter and Allstar B. Out of medal contention but in their characteristic style, Ros and Alby jumped a smooth, economical clear round inside the time giving a huge confidence boost to those watching behind the scenes. Their partnership is always clear to see and paved the way nicely for the remaining five British rounds that were all to play for.

Izzy Taylor and Monkeying Around

The first of our individuals to tackle Gérard Lachat’s course was Izzy Taylor and the 10-year-old Monkeying Around. The pair started their round with promise, the gelding seeming relaxed and at home, despite his youth and relative inexperience. The middle section of the treble fell to the floor, but the rest of the round was faultless, so they finished on a total penalty score of 31.9.

Kitty King and Vendredi Biats

Tensions were high as Kitty King and Vendredi Biats entered the ring. With less than a pole separating the top seven combinations, anything less than a perfect round would shake-up the leaderboard. Kitty was the first of the top seven to enter the ring and she and the elegant grey looked ready and raring to go, even after the tough cross-country the day before. A moment of miscommunication at fence two resulted in the pole clattering to the floor, but they were free of faults from that point on. A final tally of 28.9 ruled them out of individual contention, but was a success for the team as it meant they kept a firm grip on the title.

 Sarah Bullimore and Corouet

It was still all to play for in the team competition as Great Britain still held the lead over second-placed Germany, but the focus now was on individual placings. Sarah Bullimore and the pint-sized 15.2hh Corouet had a whale of a time, performing to the crowd and soaring over the fences with ease. They finished clear and inside the time – not only a great achievement for Sarah and her little homebred, but one that left them with a very competitive score of 23.6. After her round, Sarah said: “He’s just been fantastic all week. I had a really good feeling about him coming here as he was in great form and, although it’s been quite stressful to get here, I did feel quite confident.”

Piggy March and Brookfield Inocent

Immediately after Sarah came Piggy March and Brookfield Inocent. A speedy clear round cross-country had kept them on their dressage score of 23.3 and well on the way to an individual medal. Brookfield Inocent really did pull out all the stops as he and Piggy flowed over each fence. Every pole stayed in situ and they made excellent time yet again – the pressure was firmly applied to those still to come as they completed on their dressage score. Piggy said: “I think he’s one of the best horses in the world. He’s a beautiful horse and it’s exciting for the future. What a week – we couldn’t write it really.”

Maxime Livio and Api du Libaire were next in for France. But their hopes for an individual medal and a team one for France were dashed as they knocked the middle element of the treble to add four faults, which ruled them out of a podium place.

Ingrid Klimke, who had held the individual title for Germany since 2017, was the penultimate rider in. It all looked picture perfect until a late pole added four faults to their total, dropping them out of contention – there was to be no historic third title for Ingrid and ‘Bobby’.

Nicola Wilson and JL Dublin

All of a sudden, Britain was dominating the leaderboard, still with the possibility of another rider being added. Nicola Wilson and JL Dublin experienced an incredible week in Switzerland and found themselves jumping not only to secure the team title for Great Britain, but an individual one for themselves, too. This would be the first time that Britain had achieved the double since 2009, when Tina Cook and Miners Frolic reached the top of the leader board in Fontainebleau – Nicola was also on gold medal winning team that year riding the great Opposition Buzz.

There was no room for error – with squad mates Piggy and Sarah closely behind them. The tension was palpable as Nicola and Dublin set off, but she expertly guided ‘Dubs’ round with unrivalled precision and the talented 10-year-old flew over every fence – they’d done it! Gold for Great Britain and a first individual gold for Nicola, with Piggy in silver and Sarah sweeping the podium with bronze. This brought the medal hall to 87 in total, 42 gold.

“It’s been a fantastic week for all the Brits and to finish up there on the top is just a dream come true,” said an emotional Nicola. “For him to come to his first championship and finish at the top of the podium – well, I’m just pinching myself. He really is a very special horse and felt class in all three phases.”

Final British individual placings

• Gold – Nicola Wilson and JL Dublin, 20.7
• Silver – Piggy March and Brookfield Inocent, 23.3
• Bronze – Sarah Bullimore and Corouet, 23.6
• 9^thKitty King and Vendredi Biats, 28.9
• 10^thIzzy Taylor and Monkeying Around, 31.9
• 46^thRos Canter and Allstar, 77.0

For the full list of results, visit rechenstelle.de/de/veranstaltungen/2021/avenches-2/