Michael Jung has won the fourth leg of the Event Rider Masters at Haras de Jardy in France.
‘Brilliant’
It was Michael’s debut in the series and he made his usual mark, despite riding an up-and-coming nine-year-old.
“Star Connection is not the most experienced horse at this level,” said Michael “But he answered all the questions out there today and was brilliant.”
The world number one made light work of the cross-country to add just 2.8 time penalties to his dressage mark, for a winning score of 38.5. Just 0.4 penalties behind him was Karim Florent Laghouag, who completed on a score of 38.9.
The French rider rode a fast cross-country round, adding no time penalties, however a costly pole in the showjumping put paid to the chance of a second consecutive win for France in the ERM series.
Life changing
Oliver Townend kick started his 2017 ERM campaign finishing third with Cooley Master Class. The 2016 series champion performed impressively throughout the weekend’s competition, adding no penalties to his dressage score to finish on a mark of 39.1.
“The challenging showjumping course provided a perfect balance this weekend,” said Oliver. “This series is the top of our sport and so it needs to be tough and up to height with a tight time. For me it’s a great step forward for eventing and I am very grateful to the series as it certainly changed my life for the better last year.”
Challenging
Gemma Tattersall, who won the opening leg, was fourth this weekend riding Chico Bella P and is currently at the top of the ERM leaderboard on 74 points. Sarah Cohen is second on 69 points, after winning leg two and coming ninth at Haras de Jardy. France’s Thomas Carlile, who won the third leg last weekend, sits in third on 56 points.
Leg five of the Event Rider Masters is at the Festival of British Eventing, Gatcombe Park on 5-6 August.
You can watch highlights from the Event Rider Masters series on H&C. ERM 2017: Haras de Jardy premieres on Sky 253 on 22 June at 9pm or you can watch online via H&C Play or Amazon Video.