Gold and Silver for Germany in the individual events at the U25 and U21 European Championships in Pilisjaszfalu

Yesterday, the first half of the competitors in the respective individual events at the U21 and U25 European Championships in Pilisjaszfalu took to the arena; today, the second half competed. As was the case yesterday, the young riders were the first to compete.

U21 Gold: NED, Silver: GER, Bronze: DEN

Lara van Nek and her 12-year-old KWPN mare Jatilinda—a half-sister to the stallion Jameson RS2—had already impressed in the team competition, securing the silver medal for the Netherlands with a strong performance. Today, they followed that up. A test packed—and I mean packed—with highlights, and performed with great harmony, earned the pair a new personal best of 74.264 percent, knocking the previous leader, Juli Sofie Schmitz-Heinen, off the top spot and bringing the gold to the Netherlands. This means Lara van Nek will travel to the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses with the son of a European champion. There, she will already be presenting the next generation of Jatilinda with Obsession Taonga.

Julie Sofie Schmitz-Heinen and her successful partner Attractive, bred by Stephan Borgmann, had traveled to Pilisjasfalu as three-time European Junior Champions, won the team competition, and demonstrated once again today with a relaxed, dynamic performance—featuring excellent contact and great harmony—that they have arrived in the advanced class. Minor moments of disharmony after the change to the right in the double half-canter half-passes and in the canter pirouette cost them valuable points, but they were able to make up for some of that with their well-executed flying changes and a boldly executed extension. However, it wasn’t enough to hold onto the lead. With a score of 73.177 percent, they took silver.

The bronze medal went to Denmark’s strongest pair, Michella Skovsager riding the nine-year-old Swedish mare Zimillione by Gammelenggårds Zappa, who had won the Intermédiaire I class under Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour before being sold as a young horse. The pair scored 72.941 percent.

The other German results

The 2024 European Junior Champion, Marie Sohler, also delivered a truly beautiful performance with Askehavens Beau Sancy. They were delighted with a new score of 72.294 percent, which earned them fourth place.

Lana-Pinou Baumgürtel and Escalla also joined the 70-percent-plus club after a very carefully ridden test, taking eighth place with a score of 70.088 percent.

After deductions, Nele Klaus scored 68.265 percent and finished in 16th place. Her Bonfire was very high and held in a tight position during parts of today’s test.

Gold for Rose Oatley in Her U25 Debut

Last year, Rose Oatley had already competed at the U25 camp with her mother’s gelding, Huan—her mother being Australian Olympic rider Kristy Oatley—as well as Feldrose FRH, who was trained by Emma Kanerva. That wasn’t really successful yet, but since she’s only 19 years old, she was able to compete for Germany in the Young Riders camp at the European Championships in Kronberg, where she rode another horse trained by Emma Kanerva: Don Domingo, a Burg Cup finalist.

For this year’s U25 Tour, she was assigned a horse that had already achieved success in the World Cup: the Westphalian mare Alive and Kicking, owned by Charlotte Dujardin. It was a perfect match between the mare—who, incidentally, like Jatilinda, is a daughter of All at Once—and Oatley. In Balve, they became German champions in the freestyle and won silver in the U25 Grand Prix. Today, they claimed the European Championship title in the same test, with an impressive score of 74.897 percent.

As the third pair to compete today, the two delivered a precise and flawless performance with a very even piaffe-passage sequence and superb pirouettes. The mare carried herself confidently and seemed less frantic and agitated than she had been under Dujardin. For Rose Oatley, this is the fifth European Championship individual title of her career—her twelfth gold medal, counting team medals.

Oh, Johnny …

Dutch rider Marten Luiten and his highly supple KWPN gelding Johnny, ridden in a snaffle bit, had taken the lead yesterday after the first day of competition with a score of 72.769 percent. In the end, the most successful young Dutch rider of recent years took home the silver medal. His medal collection is also quite impressive. In six European Championship appearances, he has won three individual gold medals, four silver medals (including today’s), and two bronze medals. In the team competition, he has two gold medals, one silver, and three bronze, including those from this weekend.

A close race for the podium spots

In the end, it was the hundredths and thousandths that decided the medal standings—unfortunately, this time to the detriment of the two German champions, Lucie-Anouk Baumgürtel and First Vienna. The pair had received 72.718 percent for their performance. Both side judges placed the Vitalis daughter—who Lucie-Anouk trained largely on her own and who was presented with a beautiful head-and-neck posture—in second place. The mare showed more forward drive today than she had in the team competition, and the result is a new personal best for the pair—despite two piaffes that weren’t quite perfect. During the first one, the mare veered slightly to the side. During the last one on the center line at X, First Vienna apparently still thought she was in the Intermédiaire II, where the final salute follows the passage. Baumgürtel had to urge her on energetically once. Still, at first it looked like a medal was in the cards.

But then came the World Cup-experienced pair of Alexander Yde Helgstrand and his Everdale son , Inspiration. The piebald chestnut showed great balance and a steady rhythm in the trot sequence, maintaining fine contact, though at times he was held very high and tight. In the first piaffe, the pair executed very nice transitions but took few steps. They did better in the second one. And as the test continued, the pair demonstrated great confidence in the dressage movements. Result: 72.744 percent.

The other German results

As reported, things didn’t go quite as planned for Katharina Schuster and her Qence L yesterday, because the mare was quite distracted. In the final standings, they finished in 27th place. The other European Championship debutante, Pia-Carlotta Gagel with her Riccio, placed 11th with a score of 68.231 percent. The gelding wasn’t always perfectly even in the trot sequence, but they performed the walk sequence very well. A mistake in the single changes cost them dearly.

You can find all the results from Pilisjaszfalu here.