Britain hascome second in the FEI Eventing Nations Cup series – just four points behind the German champions.
Girl power
The result follows the last leg of the series atBoekelo, Netherlands over the weekend (9-12 October), where an all-female British team missed out on the top spot by just 1.6pen.
They were in the lead after the dressage and went on to produce four great clears on the cross-country, but time penalties saw them drop to third.
Laura Collett notched up 18pen on her big-jumping new ride Grand Manoeuvre, while Gemma Tattersall added 11.6pen riding the relatively inexperienced Dinky Inky.
Massive achievement
The team moved back up to second place after the showjumping behindNew Zealand, with the Netherlands coming third. French rider Thomas Carlile took the indidviual honours on Sirocco du Gers.
“To finish second at Boekelo in the final leg was pleasing if a little frustrating as the overall scores were so close,” said team manager Phillip Surl. “There were 10 nations competing here with several very good combinations which meant it was a strong field – to head the field after the dressage was a massive achievement.”
Emilie Chandler was the highest placed Brit in 11th place on the CCI3* first-timer Coopers Law.
“This is one of the most amazing events I’ve had the privilege to be part of,” she said.
Strong position
A total of 15 nations took part in this year’s FEI Nations Cup Eventing series. Germany has dominated the competition, winning five out of nine legs. Despite a disappointing performance at Boekelo, there were in a strong enough position to maintain their lead (67 points).
Britain achieved one win at Ballindenisk, plus four seconds and two thirds, which put them in second place (63 points). France was third (55 points), while New Zealand came fourth (29 points).