First U25 World Eventing Championships: Calvon Böckmann Wins World Title; Team Germany Takes Silver.

It was a nail-biter right up to the very last moment in Millstreet, Ireland. Even before the first horse had crossed the starting line in the final course, there was already a high-profile withdrawal: Topspin, the horse ridden by Britain’s Alice Casburn, wasn’t even presented for the final fitness test on Sunday morning.

Calvin Böckmann in second place heading into the jumping event

That meant the British rider, who had been in the lead after the cross-country, was out of the race. And Calvin Böckmann, riding Altair de la Cense, had moved up one position. Going into the jumping, he was no longer in third place but in second.

The course, designed by James Tarrant, shook up the final standings once again. Three pairs managed a clear round within the time limit. Four others did not have any knockdowns but had to add time penalties to their course results. A total of 30 rider-horse combinations competed in the jumping event. Originally, 39 had competed in the dressage arena.

Almost an “old married couple”: Ali and Calvin

Calvin Böckmann and his 16-year-old mare—with whom he has already competed in the European Junior and Young Rider Championships—are a pair who know each other inside and out. However, they are also a pair who don’t necessarily complete every show jumping course without a knockdown. Somehow, the mare must have sensed that this round—the final of the inaugural World Championships in the U25 age group—represented something very special in their long career together. Böckmann crossed the finish line without any faults. Their score remained at 40.0 penalty points, the sum of their dressage (27.6/1st) and cross-country (12.4) scores. This secured the pair the silver medal in the individual competition.

What does Tom Nestor do?

But there was one more rider left: the Irishman Tom Nestor. Riding Cooley Diamond Dancer, he had the gold medal within his grasp after the leading British rider had been eliminated. For that to happen, however, the 14-year-old Irish gelding—a son of Jack of Diamonds—would have had to complete the jumping course without any faults. But Cooley Diamond Dancer had his first knockdown on the second jump, so it was clear: The first U25 world champion in eventing history is Calvin Böckmann, and he’s from Germany.

However, the Irish duo then had three more knockdowns. In the end, Tom Nestor slipped from near gold to eighth place in the individual standings. Behind him was the second-best German rider, Ann-Catrin Bierlein, riding Sir Scotty. After a less-than-convincing dressage round (40.0/34th), the pair managed one of the fastest cross-country rounds on Saturday (3.2 time penalties). They were in a promising sixth place after the two stages. However, Sir Scotty initially knocked down the first fence of the double combination, and another rail fell at the end. The knockdowns and two time penalties resulted in another ten penalty points—placing the pair in ninth place (53.2).

Briton Ceris McCauley and Kananaskis Win Silver Medal

The silver medal in the individual competition went to Ceris McCauley and Kananaskis (45.3). Olivia Dutton from the U.S. was delighted to win the bronze medal. The daughter of two-time Olympic champion Philipp Dutton, unlike her twin sister Mary, has been crazy about horses from the very beginning. In Millstreet, she rode the Irish horse Jewellent (48.2).

Linus Weiss – five turnovers

The third German team rider, Linus Weiss riding Astrello, didn’t exactly have what you’d call the happiest of Sundays either. The Hanoverian gelding finished the jumping course with five knockdowns. And those 20 penalty points were doubly bitter. Not only for Weiss, who ultimately finished 17th in the individual standings, but also for the German team. Since the fourth team rider, Nicolas Goldbeck, had been eliminated from the cross-country test with Chintano, his result was automatically discarded. So those 20 points were added to Team Germany’s tally. In the end, the team had 168.6 penalty points. However, that was still enough for the silver medal behind the decimated British team.

Team Gold for Great Britain

The remaining trio from Team GB scored 149.7 points. Teammate Jasmine Underwood placed fourth with Indian Girl G (48.9). McCarley (45.3), Tom Bird, and Lenny are heading home in 11th place.

The host team also competed as a trio on Sunday. Jennifer Kühnle—whose father is originally from southern Germany—and Sammy Davis Jr. were withdrawn before the final vet check on Sunday morning. The team from the Emerald Isle racked up 180 penalty points. The top rider was Goddfrey Gibbons on Ballyvilane OBOS (50.7, 7th). Behind him, Tom Nestor placed eighth with a score of 53.1. Isny O’Donnell and Vital DKZ finished 18th (76.2).

Final result at the computing center