Cross-Country Day at the World Championships for Young Eventing Horses in Lion d'Angers, with Three German Teams in the Top Ten

In beautiful fall weather, the cross-country event of the World Championships for Young Eventing Horses kicked off today in Lion d’Angers for the nearly 100 six- and seven-year-old up-and-coming stars of the sport. The pairs were cheered on by over 30,000 spectators, who, along with the lovingly designed jumps, created a truly championship-worthy atmosphere.

Daisy Dynamite lives up to her name among the six-year-olds

Ann-Catrin Bierlein and her Westphalian gray mare, ACSI Daisy Dynamite, were truly on a roll. The newly crowned team silver medalist at the first U25 Eventing World Championships managed to get her Diacontinus daughter—bred by her grandfather Rolf Wilcken—in peak condition for these World Championships. That was already evident yesterday in dressage, where they had secured second place with 29.4 penalty points, and that was evident again today in the cross-country, where they carried their dressage score all the way to the finish. A tremendous performance by this pair, keeping them on track for silver—and that’s in only their third international competition. As for tomorrow’s jumping—so far, Daisy Dynamite has finished with her dressage score in every CCI she’s competed in.

Dutch Underdog Duo Still in the Lead

The surprise team from the Netherlands—60-year-old amateur Patrick Verbakel and his home-bred horse Passoa—remains on course for gold after delivering the best dressage performance yesterday with 28 penalty points. They crossed the finish line two seconds over the allowed time, bringing their total to 28.8 penalty points. That was enough to defend their lead. But the pair cannot afford a single knockdown in tomorrow’s jumping competition.

However, the same goes for Bierlein and her gray mare, because Belgium’s star rider, Lara de Liedekerke-Meier, is hot on their heels with Herakles, a son of Herald out of the Hanoverian line. The pair had a dressage score of 29.8 penalty points, and that’s also their current standing after today’s cross-country. Yesterday, they were still in fourth place. Today, that score moved them up to the bronze medal position. How is Herakles handling the knock-down poles? Until the end of last year, he was still competing as a show jumper…

Alb Duo Also in the Top Ten

Just how close the competition is at the top of the World Championships for six-year-olds can be seen from the fact that there are four pairs who left the dressage arena with 31 penalty points and all of whom carried that score through to the finish of the cross-country course today. The final ranking is then determined by how close the riders are to the optimal time. Consequently, it didn’t help Sven Lux and the Marbach state stud stallion Berlioz—who are among the pairs with 31 penalty points in dressage—that they were one of the fastest pairs in the entire field during today’s cross-country. Michael Jung’s stable rider on the Trakehner stallion by Zauberdeyk is in ninth place heading into the jumping—but still less than one jumping fault away from the lead. The pairs for whom this also applies are Kevin McNab (AUS) on Monbeg Kobe, Anni Huovinen (FIN) riding Ucorona, and Jack Pinkney (GBR) on Barrington Candy Kid.

Between the medal contenders and the four pairs with 31 penalty points are Caroline Powell (NZL) on WLS Ravenscourt—who, along with Bierlein, finished second in dressage yesterday but crossed the finish line three seconds too slow today (30.6)— Robin Godel (SUI) on Kosmic d’Elbe and Jarno Verwimp (BEL) on Diacontina C&T Z—like Daisy Dynamite, a daughter of Diacontinus—each with 30.9 penalty points.

Dibo Eliminated Just Before the Finish Line

Andreas Dibowski and his Holsteiner stallion Codero had some real bad luck this weekend. Already yesterday in the dressage, they failed to live up to their potential. Today in the cross-country, everything looked good until the final combination—the “snails,” two staggered hedges to be jumped downhill. That’s where the fall occurred. Codero was fine and was led away. Dibo took a little longer to get back on his feet. The tarps were set up, and the ambulance arrived. But eventually he was back on his feet—though he ultimately preferred to leave the arena by car rather than on foot. Get well soon!

Seven-Year-Olds – Tara Still on Track for the Title

It’s a tough battle for the title not only among the six-year-olds but also among the seven-year-olds. Last year’s winners, Lara de Liedekerke-Meier and Tara van het Leliehof, had already made it clear in the arena that they’re contenders to watch this year as well. And they proved it again today on the cross-country course, where they completed their round without any penalty points for faults or time penalties and defended their lead.

France’s Alexis Goury and his Selle Français stallion Jeroboam Wal by Vleut, who were also in first place after the dressage with 28.6 penalty points, finished two seconds over the time limit today and thus dropped to third place. This benefited the British pair Hector Payne and Bueno, as the son of Dante’s Junior carried his dressage score of 29 penalty points into the final and can now win silver on his own merits tomorrow.

Leuwer and Alf Within Striking Distance

With a clear round, Ben Leuwer and Alf—a son of Alaba out of a Hanoverian mare—could have moved up from sixth place after the dressage to fourth. In fact, the round by the chestnut horse—who galloped and jumped efficiently—looked as though they would easily make the time. But they were three seconds short, which cost them 1.2 penalty points. With 31.5 penalty points, however, the pair remains in sixth place and is also less than one jumping fault away from the lead.

Archie Wiesenflitzer on Top Form

Caro Hoffrichter was also overjoyed as she galloped across the finish line with her homebred Archie CC, who is also descended from v. Alaba. The wonderful little bay had an answer for every challenge the course presented—even when things didn’t quite go as planned. Although 3.6 time penalties dropped the pair to eleventh place in the interim standings (33.5), it was still teamwork at its finest, with Archie making everything possible.

The other German results

, Anna Siemer, and Eliope didn’t have the best day in the arena. But on the cross-country course, the Estonian Trakehner mare by Chromas was back in her element and galloped to the finish without any faults. Almost clear, since she was eight seconds over the time limit. With 39 penalty points, the pair is now in 32nd place, having moved up three spots.

Christin Schulz and Heho Dennis, a son of D’Olympic out of Hanover, also had time penalties—6.4 in total—and are currently in 39th place among the 47 pairs still in the competition.

Among the five who are no longer in the running are Jule Wewer and Deena. They made it to Jump 18, the “Dach,” a low jump. But it seemed as though Jule Wewer was struggling to keep the mare from simply bolting ahead in her eagerness. Consequently, Deena kept curling up. At jump 18, they had a fall, but fortunately, it ended without serious injury for either of them.

Meanwhile, Jule Wewer has described on her Instagram page how the fall happened: “She seems much more experienced than you’d expect for someone her age. It’s hard to believe that I fell on the “Panorama” jump of all places—the most spectacular obstacle in Lion—but that was because of the crowd there. I hadn’t expected that. Was it my mistake, or a moment of inexperience on the part of a young horse? It doesn’t matter for the future. We’re very lucky: We can head home with a horse that’s completely healthy, and she wasn’t unsettled by the incident. From her perspective, she rode flawlessly; she interpreted every task absolutely correctly. As far as I’m concerned, she gave it her all and proved once again that she has the heart of a lion.”

You can find all the results from Lion d’Angers here.