Britain continues to dominate the Event Rider Masters (ERM) with a win from Sarah Cohen on the second leg at Internationales Wiesbadener PfingstTurnier in Germany.
Gripping competition
It was a gripping competition, which came down to the final fences on the cross-country. Ingrid Klimke was in the lead after the showjumping, which meant she was last to go. The German gold medalist rode a brilliant round and it looked like the title was hers as she entered the main arena, but SAP Escada FRH glanced off the second to last fence – not once, but twice.
Much to the dismay of the home crowd, the mistake saw Ingrid drop from first to sixteenth place overall and moved Sarah to the top of the leaderboard.
‘Over the moon’
Sarah Cohen and the 15-year-old gelding Treason were hot on the heels of the leaders throughout the competition. The pair climbed from fifth to third after jumping clear in the showjumping and then produced the quickest clear of the day in the final phase, adding just 3.6 time penalties.
This put Sarah well ahead of the rest of the riders, with a winning a score of 46.8 to take the €19,000 (£16,000) first prize at the inaugural continental leg of the series.
“We had a good time at Leg 1 finishing in sixth, so I decided to come to Wiesbaden,” said Sarah. “I wanted to be competitive but never thought I would win! I knew Treason was fit and he just wanted to gallop and jump today.
“He is my only horse and we have a great partnership as we have been together eleven years. I am over the moon with him.”
Girls on top
Germany’s Julia Krajewski moved up and down the leaderboard throughout the two days, but finally finished in second place on 54.2. Swedish rider, Sara Algotsson Osholt was third with a score of 55.8.
This was the first time there has been all-female line up on the podium in the ERM series. The next leg is at St James’s Place Barbury International Horse Trials in Wiltshire on 8-9 July.
You can watch highlights from the Event Rider Masters series on H&C. ERM 2017: Wiesbaden premieres on Sky 253 on 10 June at 9pm or you can watch online by subscribing to H&C Play.