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Second rider withdraws ahead of Blenheim Europeans cross-country test

Martha Terry Martha Terry

    • There has been a second withdrawal ahead of cross-country at the Agria Blenheim European Championships cross-country.

    Senne Vervaecke has pulled out his 14-year-old chestnut mare Google Van Alsingen, which means that the Belgian team is down to three riders. As only three scores need to count in this format, it means Belgium are still in the running but have no more leeway should any of their remaining team members not complete.

    Senne was satisfied with his start in the dressage phase at Blenheim, his third championship with the Watch Me-sired mare. They had logged solid completions at both the 2022 worlds and the 2023 Europeans and he had been looking forward to tackling the Blenheim track.

    “Dressage is the hardest part for us, but everything went the way I would have liked it to,” said Senne, who was the pathfinder for his nation and had been the third rider due out of the start box on cross-country day (Saturday, 20 September).

    Senne was lying 28th on a score of 33.8, which was a counting score for Belgium, who were lying fifth in the team contest after dressage. This brings the previous discard score rider, European Championship veteran Karin Donckers, into the fray on Ceres De La Brasserie, who was 34th after dressage on 34.9. The team standings are unaltered by this change. Karin rides alongside Wouter De Cleene (Quintera), 28th, and Lara De Liedekerke-Meier, who is holding fifth place on Hooney D’Arville.

    The previous night, Sweden’s Sofia Sjöborg withdrew Govalent from the competition after she was not happy with how he felt following the dressage phase, after which they were lying in 43rd. This leaves a field of 53 to go forward to cross-country over Mark Phillips’ track. Cross-country starts at 11am.

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    Martha Terry
    Martha Terry

    H&H features editor
    Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.
    Martha Terry

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