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KRISTINA COOK LEADS BRITAIN TO DOUBLE EUROPEAN GOLD Updated: 2009-09-27 Fontainebleau (FRA), 23 – 27 September 2009 Video on Demand on FEI TV (no geoblocking restrictions apply): Extensive highlights of the entire event will be available on www.feitv.org from Thursday 1 October onwards.
Audio links (click the name to listen to the interview) Kristina Cook (GBR) Piggy French (GBR) Michael Jung (GER) in German Karin Donckers (BEL) in English Juan Carlos Garcia (ITA) in English Juan Carlos Garcia(ITA) in Italian Didier Dhennin(FRA) in French KRISTINA COOK LEADS BRITAIN TO DOUBLE EUROPEAN GOLD Kristina
Cook (GBR), 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 ABOUT THE MEDALLISTS Gold: Kristina Cook (GBR),
39, has won medals at all levels for Great Britain, including at Junior
and Young Rider level and has been a stalwart of the senior squad for
16 years. She made her senior squad debut in 1993, winning individual
European silver on Song And Dance Man followed individual bronze in
1997 on General Jock. She has won World team gold in 1994 on General
Jock, plus European team gold in 1995 (Midnight Blue) and 1999 (The
Gangster) and finally made it onto an Olympic team last year, winning
team and individual bronze medals on Miners Frolic. Kristina’s father,
Josh Gifford, is a champion racehorse trainer and her mother, Althea
Roger-Smith, is a former show jumper. Kristina lives in Findon, West
Sussex, with her husband, Philip, and two children, Isobel and Harry. Miners Frolic
is an 11-year-old Thoroughbred by Miners Lamp, bred by Maurice Pinto
and owned by Sarah Pelham and Nick Embiricos. The horse was sent to
Kristina to sell as a four-year-old and was 6th at the third leg of the HSBC FEI Classics™ at Luhmühlen this year. Silver: Piggy (real name Georgina) French (GBR),
29, was national under-25 champion in 2000 and a Young Rider European
team gold medallist in 2001. This is her debut on the senior squad. She
lives in Leicestershire. Some Day Soon
is a 14-year-old bay gelding, an Irish Sport Horse by Kiltealy Spring,
owned by Wally French, S Crane and J & M Midgley. He was 3rd at Bramham CCI**** (GBR) this year. Bronze: Michael Jung,
27, has had an extraordinary season. He won the third leg of the HSBC
FEI Classics™ at Luhmühlen in June on his 4* debut and then, in August,
the HSBC World Cup™ Eventing Final at Strzegom (POL). He was Young
Rider European Champion in 2003 and this is his senior team debut.
Michael’s family runs a riding school near Stuttgart in southern
Germany. La Biosthetique Sam,
a nine-year-old by Stan The Man (same sire as the 2004 Olympic champion
Shear L’Eau) out of a Heraldik mare, is owned with Sabine Kreuter and
has won at all levels, including at Compiegne (FRA) CCI** in April. QUOTES Kristina Cook, European Champion: “It’s
one of the greatest days of my life and I can’t believe it. But I also
didn’t realise that I was going so slowly, but fortunately I have a
great partnership with my horse who tries so hard to leave the fences
up.” Yogi Breisner, British team manager: “Last
year at the Olympics we were perhaps lucky to win the bronze. This time
we deserved to win the gold, and I am so proud of the British riders.
And Piggy, she is something special. Show jumping is not that horse’s
best phase and she did a great job. It’s fantastic to have done so
incredibly well in such a tough competition.” Karin Donckers, team bronze medallist:
“I think all of Belgium is as happy as I am. We will certainly be
celebrating tonight. I’ve been doing this sport for 20 years and this
is only the second medal, so I feel wonderful.” 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 |
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HSBC FEI EUROPEAN EVENTING CHAMPIONSHIP
