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Aug 31, 2014
Haras du Pin Takes Some Surprising Prisoners, But Riders Agree the Cross-Country Course Was a Fair Test
“It was technical, and the terrain was grueling and the footing was rubbish. You string those three things together, and it was tough going,” said Boyd Martin right after he crossed the finish line on cross-country Saturday at Haras du Pin. He stood in ninth place individually (59.5) going into Sunday’s stadium jumping phase of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy. There were 40 clear rounds and 63 completions among 87 starters.
The U.S. slipped out of the team medals, having lost Phillip Dutton and Buck Davidson, each of whom retired after two refusals on Pierre Michelet’s 35-fence cross-country course.
“It’s heartbreaking because the [U.S.] team has good riders and good horses. As we saw with a number of other good teams, it’s just such a tough day cross-country and a tough course, and even the best riders were having trouble. These guys all tried their heart out, and they should hold their head high,” Martin said of his teammates.
Germany (177.9) is still in the catbird’s seat to win team gold, but Great Britain (186.8) closed the gap Saturday. The only team to have four clear rounds, Britain climbed from fifth to second place, followed by Australia (226.8) in third. France is holding fourth and the Netherlands sixth.
Individually, William Fox-Pitt (GBR) leads the pack with Chilli Morning (50.3). German riders Sandra Auffarth on Opgun Louvo (52.0) and Michael Jung on Fischer Rocana FST (52.3), stand in second and third, respectively. New Zealand’s Jonelle Price on Classic Moet and Andrew Nicholson on Nereo, follow, each with 52.5.
After heavy rains earlier in the week, cross-country day started out with bright sunshine but boggy footing that worsened as the day wore on. The soft and deep ground got the better of some legendary riders such as Mark Todd who, like several others, took a tumble but was not injured.
Our hearts go out to Britain’s Harry Meade whose horse, Wild Lone, collapsed after completing the course with no jumping penalties. Despite his obvious grief, Meade was adamant in saying that he felt the course was not to blame.
Riders who fared well, and others who did not, agreed that the course was fair. Martin said, “It was tough and it was fair. I came in expecting the toughest competition in the world, and that’s exactly what it was.”
Here’s what some competitors had to say after their ride:
Buck Davidson (Retired on course): “[The course is] just exhausting. This last water is serious. Reggie gave him every ounce that he had, like he always does. We talked before the ride about if he got tired, it would probably be better to just aim at the bank. If I had to do it over again, I would just go try the log. But at the end of the day, I was probably going to just pull up after that anyway. Yes, it’s the World Championships, but he’s still my pet and it’s still one of the greatest horses ever, and I would never want anything to happen to him.
I’m really, really proud of him. He jumped perfect; he tried his heart out. He’s such a good jumper – he jumped up over the brush, he didn’t touch any of it, and in these conditions, you know, it was just too much. But I’m very, very proud of him. I’m disappointed, yes, but somebody had to go and be first. We’ve got a lot of information now, and my horse is happy and healthy, and will be back for another day.
Phillip Dutton (Retired on course): “I think the jumps are all riding fine. It’s more a combination that it’s been a pretty wet summer and [the course has] new ground and hilly terrain, and I think the endurance part of the course is pretty tough. So you have to nearly forget about the minute markers and your watch and just go as fast as you can, and save a bit for the end.
It surprised me that my horse got tired where he did, because I was going quick but I wasn’t going super quick. But he’s a young horse and I think it was a bit of a shock to his system. He basically just got tired and said ‘I’ve had enough.’ There wasn’t a problem with the fence or anything else. He’d just had enough for the day.”
Lynn Symansky (40 jumping, 38.4 time penalties): “He was great in the beginning. I had a lot of horse, so it wasn’t necessarily that he got tired. I had a lot of horse, even to the end. At the second water, at the second element of the one-stride he just ducked out at the last minute. I thought I was on my line and I though he understood it, but at the last minute we had a kind of cheeky little duck out and came around and was great.
My second 20 was at the Trakehner to the corner, where he ducked out again. I have a healthy horse and we made it to the finish, but obviously it was not the result I was looking for today. I decided to play it safe at the last water and go the long route. There was no point to risking it at that point. That was a change in my strategy. I planned on going direct, but after my trouble earlier I just decided to play it safe and bring him on home.”
Great Britain’s Zara Phillips (14.4 time penalties): “[High Kingdom] was in charge, really. I was just steering! I trust him completely. He just kept jumping. They’re not jumping the last water very well because they’re quite tired and it’s a big step up, and we get to the top and they’re like, ‘What’s that?!’ So you just have to keep going and keep your leg on and keep the impulsion. If you haven’t got enough horse, go long, but I didn’t like the long way; I thought it was quite punishing on them, bringing them off the line, up the hill, and if they’re tired there’s much more risk to [injuring] the stifle . And the other fence, the bridge thing, was quite big as well. So I just backed off those last couple of long stretches so I’d have enough horse to keep going.”
Germany’s Michael Jung (11.6 time penalties): “The ground was quite smooth, and I started to drive a little more slowly and actually had to wake [my horse] up right before the jumps, but she took it and she answered what I asked of her right away. She always does that. During the long stretch, you could let her go a little bit so that she could recuperate. But on the ditch she really had to struggle hard. Of course you get a bit nervous when you see how tired the other horses are coming back at the end, but I didn’t change any of my tactic because I was the first [to go for Germany].
I think it’s good that they’ve shortened the course because it was tiring enough and the footing was deep, so I think it was a good decision. We’re not listening to what everyone else is saying; we’re just talking to our trainers and they give us the information because everyone has a special tactic and we prefer to do it that way. My horse is quite young. She’s only 9 years old. For such a young horse she’s just wonderful, and I’d like to go and kiss her!”
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