U25 World Eventing Championships in Millstreet (IRL): Calvin Böckmann and Altair de la Cense lead after dressage. Team Germany is in second place.

Calvin Böckmann, the No. 1-ranked rider in the U25 world rankings, will take on the cross-country course tomorrow alongside Altair de la Cense as the overnight leader at the U25 World Championships in Millstreet, Ireland.

The 2024 Olympic reserve rider delivered a solid dressage performance, which was scored at 27.6 penalty points. The backward movement could have been a bit more polished. The pair scored particularly well in the canter exercises. The judges also awarded eights for the harmony between rider and horse.

Strong Irish

Trailing by 1.6 penalty points is Ireland’s Jennifer Kühnle with Sammy Davis Junior. In third place is Britain’s Jasmina Underwood with Indian Girl (29.3). The Irish have fielded a strong team at the European Championships on home soil. Godfrey Gibbons is in fourth place with Balleyvillane OBOS (29.9).

Lineup Changes for Team Germany

The second-best German rider is Nicholas Goldbeck, riding the 14-year-old Holsteiner Chintano. The pair delivered a lively round with precise execution of the dressage movements. Only on the first flying change did the chestnut horse lift his hindquarters too high, enter too late, and show some tension. It was a costly mistake in an otherwise solid dressage test. With 31.6 penalty points, he is ranked ninth.

Konstantin Harting and Botswana, a nine-year-old daughter of Big Star—the 2016 Rio Olympic show jumping champion—are in 18th place with 33.4 penalty points. There were also some tense moments here during a flying change.

Ireland Ahead of Germany in the Team Standings

The Irish are in the lead in the team standings with 91.8 penalty points after the dressage. Germany follows, trailing by 1.2 penalty points: Linus Weiss on Astrello (33.8/20th) posted the third-best dressage score for Team GER. The fourth team horse, Sir Scotty, ridden by Ann-Catrin Bierlein, was quite off his game. With 40 penalty points—equivalent to 34th place out of 39 starters in the current standings—the pair provided the discard result in dressage.

Long-Running Favorite: Altair de la Cense

Eight years ago, Altair de la Cense competed for the first time in a European Championship with Calvin Böckmann in the saddle. At that time, the pair placed tenth in the individual standings at the Junior European Championships in Fontainebleau, France, and won the bronze medal as part of the German team.

A year later, they were part of the winning team at the European Championships in Maarsbergen, the Netherlands.

Calvin Böckmann knows the area around Millstreet well. In 2014, he placed third in the individual competition at the European Pony Championships there with his pony Askaban B. A year later, he won the gold medal with Askaban in the individual competition at the European Championships in Malmö, Sweden.

Tomorrow, the cross-country stage is on the schedule in Millstreet. It begins at 12:00 p.m. local time, 1:00 p.m. German time.

Interim Results: U25 World Championships in Millstreet