PrintLexington, Ky.—Oct. 3
There were scarcely any words to describe German rider Michael Jung’s individual gold-medal performance with La Biosthetique-Sam FBW. He finished just as he started the weekend—in first place on a 33.0.
But William Fox-Pitt of Great Britain, who finished 9 points behind Jung for silver, said it best: “It was Michael Jung: 1, and the rest: nowhere.”
Unfortunately, nowhere was an apt description of the U.S. performance today. Becky Holder, who'd finished cross-country in third place, withdrew Courageous Comet at the jog. Boyd Martin ended up as the highest-placed U.S. individual in 10th place with Neville Bardos.
Jung and “Sam” laid down an incredible round in show jumping today at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. They had two rails in hand over Fox-Pitt and Cool Mountain, but they didn’t need them. They didn’t even touch a fence.
“This horse came to me as a 5-year-old, so I’ve trained him to do everything, and I’ve been with him almost daily,” said Jung of the 10-year-old Baden-Wurttemburg gelding. “That’s why he trusts me, and we’re very good working together. I can’t really tell right now, but the last few years we’ve grown together so much, so I really hope that we can do this again in London [at the 2012 Olympic Games].”
Listen to an interview with Jung.
“We’ve got our work cut out for us in the next two years,” said Fox-Pitt of Jung and Sam’s dominance in the sport. They won the 2009 Luhmuhlen CCI**** (Germany) and topped the HSBC FEI World Cup standings this year.
The individual competition overwhelmingly favored young horses, not the more experienced veterans on the starting list, some of which were upwards of 20 years old.
Fox-Pitt also put in a clear round aboard his 10-year-old talent, Cool Mountain, though it was a much more tense performance than Jung’s seamless one. The pair won the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** here this spring, but Cool Mountain looked a bit more frazzled by the crowds this time and ticked several rails, but he got lucky.
They placed 12th in the dressage but moved up to second with a double-clear cross-country round and finished on 42.0.
Listen to an interview with Fox-Pitt.
Andrew Nicholson of New Zealand jumped up to an individual bronze medal aboard Nereo, another 10-year-old gelding (43.5). They began the weekend in 14th place and stood fifth after cross-country after a double-clear round.
“I was hoping to have a chance at getting an individual medal, because Nereo is a horse I have an awful lot of confidence in,” said Nicholson. “He’s very consistent in all three phases.”
Nicholson also campaigns Nereo’s older full brother, Armada, at the four-star level. They’re Spanish-bred horses by Fines, out of Berganza.
Nicholson’s score helped New Zealand earn team bronze as well. Mark Todd and Grass Valley also contributed, as did Caroline Powell and Mac MacDonald. Clarke Johnstone and Orient Express were the team’s drop score, but New Zealand’s individual rider Jonathan Paget ended up seventh with Clifton Promise.
