Two top-20 contenders among six horses ruled out at eventing Europeans final trot-up, plus nervous moment for Britain
Six horses have been ruled out of the competition at or before the European Eventing Championships final trot-up.
Finland’s individual, Sanna Siltakorpi, withdrew Bofey Click before the inspection. She lay 19th overnight. Dutch team member Jordy Wilken also did not present Burry Spirit (individual 53rd after cross-country).
Two Belgian horses were sent to the holding box. Team rider Lara de Liedekerke-Meier withdrew Ducati D’Arville without re-presenting. She was 20th overnight and her withdrawal also drops the Belgian team from 10th to 11th.
Belgian individual Julia Schmitz, 32nd overnight, did bring Lady Like forward again after a spell in the holding box, but she was eliminated by the ground jury.
Lara de Liedekrke-Meier comforts fellow Belgian squad member Julia Schmitz after both their horses were ruled out of the showjumping at the European Championships 2021. Credit: Peter Nixon
Two other horses were also held and then spun. They were Janneke Boonzaaijer’s ACSI Champ De Tailleur (28th overnight and members of the Dutch team, which drops from 11th to 13th after losing Janneke and Jordy) and Albert Khalikov’s Argolis Tokyo (48th overnight and members of the Russian team, which has moved up from 13th place to 12th).
Emotional moments for Janneke Boonzaaijer at the European Championships 2021 after ACSI Champ De Tailleur is eliminated at the final horse inspection. Credit: Peter Nixon
Ros Canter was the first British team member forward, with her own and Caroline Moore’s Allstar B, who took a slight fright halfway up the trot-up strip, but passed without problems.
Piggy March followed with John and Chloe Perry and Alison Swinburn’s Brookfield Inocent and he was accepted, as was Sarah Bullimore’s ride, her own, her husband Brett’s and the Kew Jumping Syndicate’s Corouet.
Overnight leader Nicola Wilson was up next and there was a nervous moment when the ground jury seemed to be considering their verdict on JL Dublin, but then Jo and James Lambert and Deirdre Johnston’s horse was passed.
The final two British horses – Izzy Taylor and Mark Sartori’s Monkeying Around, ridden by Izzy, and Diana Bown, Sally Eyre, Samantha Wilson and Sally Lloyd-Baker’s Vendredi Biats, ridden by Kitty King – were also accepted.
Fifty-six horses were presented to the ground jury at the European Eventing Championships final trot-up – New Zealand’s Andrew Bennie, Austria’s Christian Steiner and Switzerland’s Christian Landolt – and 51 will now go through to the final showjumping phase.
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