United States Eventing Association

fischerChipmunk FRH Carries Jung to His Fifth Defender Kentucky CCI5*-L Title

Lexington, Ky.—April 27— Even though this is his fifth time winning the CCI5*-L in Kentucky and the 12th five-star win of his career, Michael Jung still thinks luck plays a factor in every competition.

“I believe it's luck,” he said following the celebration of his victory aboard long-time partner fischerChipmunk FRH. “It's something special. So many things can go wrong; it’s happened a few times to me, but I really believe in my horse. I always have a lot of luck here. Without luck, you win nothing. I'm very, very thankful for everything— for such a good horse, for my owners, for my family, for all the people who work in the background. I'm sitting here and enjoying everything, but this is really a big win for everybody in my team, for all the other horses I can ride and I can train with, for every friend and family [member]. They help me to get up to here.”

He had a little bit more than luck on his side this year. He and “Chippy” have broken records every single day that they competed at Kentucky this year. In dressage, they were awarded the lowest dressage mark ever at this event, an 18.6. Upon the conclusion of cross-country, they had the biggest margin, 11.8 points to be exact, between first and second in five-star history. And then today, Jung was recognized as the first rider to win this event five times.

Results like these are the product of years of dedication to the sport and, as Jung noted, a partnership with a really phenomenal horse. He has been paired up with Klaus and Sabine Fischer, Joachim Jung, and DOKR’s Holsteiner gelding (Contendro I x Havanna) since 2019, and even though Chippy turns 17 this year, Jung is still looking forward to the future together.

“He’s looking super strong,” he commented. “He’s getting older, [but he’s also getting] more experienced. At the moment, I have a really great feeling, and hopefully, he stays like this, and he has fun like this— with the ears in front when the cross-country starts. He loves running and jumping. He's getting so well-balanced, and you can feel that the horse is really motivated by what he's doing. So I don't know, but hopefully, [he has] a few more years.”

The duo came into the Rolex Stadium today with two rails and some time in hand, and they would use up one of those rails to finish on a score of 25.0. Even with the addition of those 4 penalty points, Jung and Chippy were still 7.8 points ahead of the reserve champion horse and rider, Boyd Martin and Commando 3.

Finishing second in a five-star of this quality is a huge honor in itself, but this also crowned Martin and “Connor” as the Defender/USEF CCI5*-L Eventing National Champions.

“To be honest, I wasn't sure what I was in for this weekend,” said Martin. “Last year, [Connor] was sort of my backup horse for the Olympics, and he didn't do a long-format, three-day event, and I questioned if he had the guts and the heart to get through an epic competition like this, and after going through this event, I think he could be a career-changing horse. He's got such quality. He's beautifully bred with plenty of Thoroughbred, and he's strong in all phases. So I think this is just the beginning.”

Martin first met the now 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding Commando 3 (Connor 48 x R-Adelgunde) owned by Yankee Creek Ranch, LLC, in 2022 when he traveled to Germany to look at some horses.

“I tried Connor when I went to a friend of [Jung’s] in Germany, and I actually went there to look at another horse. I tried that horse and Connor; he was also for sale, and I really liked the look of him, but I bought the other horse. And then the other horse turned out to be a bit of a lemon,” reflected Martin. “And then just before Pratoni [the FEI Eventing World Championships], which was six months later, I went back there, and the horse was still for sale.”

Dan Nutkis of Yankee Creek Ranch in Heath, Texas, had previously purchased Martin’s 2016 Rio Olympic mount Blackfoot Mystery and stepped up to support Martin in this new endeavor by investing in Connor for him.

“I am very, very grateful for Dan,” said Martin. “[Connor] hasn’t been an easy horse.

He's been a bit of work. He’s a spooky horse, he's sharp, and he wouldn't be the easiest horse to ride, but he's got amazing quality that I knew right from the get-go, that he was a special horse, and it's taken a fair bit of time to get there, but he's arrived now.”

In addition, Martin’s two other entries, Luke 140 and Fedarman B, also finished within the top 10, an impressive accomplishment that also marked the record books today as Martin became only the third rider since 2008 to have three horses place inside the top ten at the same five-star event. The last time this was accomplished was in 2017 by fellow U.S. rider Phillip Dutton, also at Kentucky, and then Andrew Nicholson (NZL) did the same at Burghley (England) in 2013.

“I'm very, very blessed at the moment to have just a group of incredible horses. I've ridden a lot of horses around this competition, and it's just a pleasure to ride freakishly talented animals,” he said. “I'm very pleased with all three of them, and I'm honored to be sitting next to Michael. He's an inspiration to my riding. I often watch videos of him riding and try and copy him. I've never seen a rider that's so good in all three phases. I think he'll be remembered as one of the greatest eventing riders, and I'm glad to be sitting next to him. I am very grateful for my owners and my family. I've got an unbelievable team of people behind me, with coaches and staff and family, and I’m just very honored and privileged to be sitting here.”

Harry Meade has always known Et Hop du Matz was special, and after the 11-year-old Selle Français gelding (Nouma D’Auzay x Prima du Matz) was eliminated on cross-country during his five-star debut at the MARS Maryland 5 Star (Elkton, Maryland) last year, this result validated those feelings.

“Everybody would always say, ‘Who is that horse? I don’t know who that is,’ ” he recalled. “I said a couple of years ago that I think he was the best horse that no one has ever heard of.”

Meade and “Hoppy” made the largest leap up the leaderboard of the top-3 finalists, having started their week out in 17th on a dressage score of 34.2. But after Meade was the only rider in the field to post a double-clear trip across the cross-country track yesterday on not just Hoppy, but also on his second ride Grafennacht, Meade the gelding whom he co-owns with Mandy Gray launched up to third. Another double-clear round today sealed the deal for the pair and Meade also finished in fourth with Amanda Gould’s 13-year-old Oldenburg mare (Birkhof’s Grafenstolz x Nachtigall) as well.

“The horses here were brilliant. I’m just thrilled with their overall performances, and particularly for [Et Hop du Matz], he tried his heart out,” he said. “The reason why we are all here is for the horses, and it's a wonderful feeling when they go really well. Aside from the fact that it's a great competition in the public eye with a terrific platform, it's really about the pride you feel in the horses.”

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