Great Britain is on course to claim a ticket to Rio next year after the second round of showjumping today (August 20) at the European Championships in Aachen.
Pressure
The tension was palpable during the second of three rounds as riders felt the pressure to make it through to tomorrow’s team final.
But for the countries who have not already qualified for the Rio Olympics the nerves are doubled because this is their last chance to win a ticket to the games. Only the top three teams (who have not already qualified) will secure a place.
France leads the team standings overnight, followed by the Netherlands and Germany. But Great Britain lies in fourth and is the top team who still need to qualify for the Olympics.
Near miss
It was nearly all over for Ben Maher – first to go for the Brits – when Diva brought his foot-perfect round to a dramatic end by picking up a stride early causing her to come crashing down on top of the final fence.
It put all Ben’s stick-ability to the test, but he stayed on board and came home with just the four faults.
It was not Jessica Mendoza’s day either, and her 12 faults with Spirit T made her the drop score for the team.
But Joe Clee and Michael Whitaker pulled it out of the bag and produced two fantastic clear rounds with Utamaro D’Ecaussines and Cassionato.
The luck of the Irish
The Irish team found themselves in a dangerous position after Bertram Allen picked up four faults and Greg Broderick had an uncharacteristic two down with MHS Going Global.
Only the top ten teams qualify for tomorrow’s team final and the Irishmen needed clear rounds or they would miss out – also dashing any hopes of making it to Rio.
A clear round from Cian O’Connor and four faults from Denis Lynch saved the day for the riders who made it through by the skin of their teeth lying in ninth overnight.
Unstoppable Leprevost
Penelope Leprevost is in line to pick up individual gold if she continues her fantastic form tomorrow.
The Frenchwoman took an early lead in the first round and is also in the top spot in the individual rakings tonight after her mare Flora De Mariposa jumped another clear round.
“That was a dream today,” said the rider. “I am very satisfied. I believe the biggest difficulty today is the pressure that all of the riders are under.
“Otherwise the wide jumps were indeed very wide, but not too high. And in the last combination, a lot of riders gave too much leg over the first fence, because they wanted to jump the second fence clear too with the result that quite a lot of faults happened at the first jump.”
Ludger Beerbaum lies in individual second with Chiara 222, followed Joe Clee and Utamaro D’Ecaussines in third.