Britain Beats Out The Favorites At The European Championships

Tina Cook tops the bill as the favored riders from France and Germany falter.

Pitted against the red-hot German squad and the hosting French team, the British contingent was far from the favorite to win this year’s HSBC FEI European Eventing Championships, held Sept. 23-27 in Fontainebleau, France.

But the British team ultimately underlined their supremacy by scoring their eighth consecutive team gold, finishing a staggering 93 penalties ahead of their competition. The team posted a combined total of 160.5 after a cross-country day, which saw France, the confident host nation, and the strong German side crash out.

Italy jumped up to take team silver on 253.2, and Belgium scored the bronze (317.6).

The huge margin between teams wasn’t mirrored in the individual standings, however. Britain’s Tina Cook and the 11-year-old Thoroughbred Miners Frolic led from the start to win the individual title, but with time penalties on the final day, the reigning Olympic bronze medalist won by just 0.6 points. Close on her heels, championship debutante Piggy French claimed silver with the aptly-named Some Day Soon just two weeks after being called onto the individual list.

“I was thinking so hard about jumping the fences I didn’t realize I had got such a case of the ‘go-slows,’ ” Cook said. “I won’t be making that mistake again!”

With one rail down and 4 time faults, the pair managed to hold out over French and Some Day Soon, who jumped one of only two double-clear show jumping rounds. Germany’s only completing rider, 27-year-old Michael Jung, finished third with La Biosthetique-Sam FBW in his senior squad debut.

Cook, a team veteran, headlined the British squad, comprised of William Fox-Pitt (Idalgo), first-timer Nicola Wilson (Opposition Buzz) and Oliver Townend (Flint Curtis).

“I had thought that his dressage [at the 2008 Olympic Games] in Hong Kong was our test of a lifetime, but he has even gone up a gear since then,” Cook said. “[And he] was magic on the cross-country. He’s taken a long time to produce, but he has a fabulous brain.”

Cook, 39, now has the full European Championships medal set, having won silver with Song And Dance Man in 1993 and bronze with General Jock in 1997. She also makes history as the first mother to win a European individual gold medal, after taking brief time out from riding to have children Harry and Isabelle.

“I didn’t think I’d ever come back to the top level after having two children,” she said. “The longer you’re in the sport, the more you appreciate it when it goes right. Success usually comes from a team effort, and that’s particularly true for me. My U.K. Sport funding helps with childcare costs so that I can do the horses.”

Cook’s team mate, Fox-Pitt, who’s yet to win an individual title, was understandably disappointed to finish just 0.1 penalties outside the medals with one show jump down, though he was thrilled with Idalgo’s performance over a cross-country track to which the big horse was “totally unsuited.”

The bubble also burst for dual Badminton CCI**** and Burghley CCI**** winner Townend, when Flint Curtis ran out at two fences after being in joint overnight lead. To add insult to injury, or perhaps vice-versa, the horse then failed the final veterinary inspection.