Great Britain remains in the lead after day two at the Longines FEI European Showjumping Championships following a foot-perfect clear from Donald Whitaker and Millfield Colette and a fabulous – but heart-in-the-mouth – clear from Scott Brash and Hello Folie.
Donald and Colette were third to jump for Britain and the pair followed yesterday’s stunning performance (16 July) with another clear round. The pair now lie in second individually.
“I’m a bit relieved,” said Donald, after his round. “She was amazing as always, she tried her absolute best so I’m delighted. She’s in her happy place in there.”
The pressure was on Donald and Colette after Matt Sampson and Medoc de Toxandria were eliminated following issues at the treble combination. As there are four riders on a team, Matt’s round could be Great Britain’s drop score, but the three other scores had to count. And with Germany and Belgium so close behind Britain in the team rankings, anything but a clear would have dropped the British team down the order.
“I definitely needed to have some sort of a good round to keep ourselves in it. And thankfully, we did,” said Donald.
“I didn’t see Matt’s round as I was warming up, but he was very unlucky. Knowing Matt he will bounce back stronger than ever.”
Scott Brash at European Showjumping Championships: “I felt like an amateur”
The pressure continued on Scott Brash and Hello Folie when Germany posted their fourth clear of the team competition, thanks to Richard Vogel and United Touch S, who are now in the individual gold medal position. Scott also had to jump clear to keep Britain in the lead.
Although Scott is known for keeping his cool, no one expected him to lose his reins ahead of the combination, drawing a gasp from the crowd. Demonstrating their unbelievable partnership and faith in each other, Scott and Folie held it together to clear all three elements – and they came home with no penalties to add.
“I don’t know why, but I managed to lose my rein after the green oxer. I felt like an amateur in there today, but I managed just to grab it back at the right moment and asked Folie to jump the triple from where I was,” said Scott. “What an amazing attitude and fight and spirit she showed to be able to jump through that triple clear. I’m super proud of her.”
Scott said the 10-year-old mare was “incredible” in the ring.
“She felt really good. She does pull me a little bit, she’s just eager to please and get on with the job,” he said.
“I don’t really know what happened and I need to watch it back, whether she snatched and I just lost the rein. Then she didn’t really know she was going for the triple. I managed to grab the rein, but I was very deep coming in and just asked her to jump, and she responded so well.
“What was nice was that line obviously didn’t feel great, but she settled down and jumped the rest very good. So I think that shows how confident she is with me and we have a great partnership. Hopefully I will put her in a better place tomorrow.”
Scott acknowledged that Folie is green at this level – the Europeans is her first championship – but said she is feeling good ahead of the team final tomorrow (18 July). The pair are in fourth place individually; the individual medals will be decided on Sunday.
“Obviously it gets tougher each day, and they’re bigger each day. Today she warmed up fantastic, she started off really good and finished off really well, so there’s a lot of positives to take,” he said.
“She does give a lot of effort, so hopefully we still have enough energy in the tank for tomorrow, but she feels good just now. I’m very happy.”
Great Britain’s hopes are high for tomorrow.
“The team guys have been fantastic; Ben always delivers for us, through his whole career. Going first, he always puts us in a good place,” said Scott.
“It was unfortunate for Matt, I think it was just one of those things, but he’ll bounce back tomorrow. We’ll support him all we can, and I’m sure he’ll put in a result tomorrow for us. Then Don was amazing, clear when we really needed him, and Folie was just fantastic.
“It’s great team spirit. We’re all there for one another, and we’ll be fighting tomorrow, but there’s a lot still to do.”
European Showjumping Championships team standings
Great Britain holds the overnight lead on 3.96 penalties. Germany is second on 4.19, and Belgium third on 4.61. Ireland has climbed up to fourth on 8.39. The team final gets under way at 3.15pm UK time (4.15pm local time) tomorrow (Friday 18 July).
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