PrintHe and his fellow German riders dominate in Strzegom, Poland.
Rising star Michael Jung may be young, having just turned 27, but he’s been scoring victories left and right this year like it’s old hat. He notched a big win in the Wiesbaden CIC*** (Germany) in early June, and heads turned when he triumphed again at his four-star debut, the Luhmühlen CCI****, later that month.
So it came as a surprise, but not exactly a shock, when he and La Biosthetique-Sam FBW led their third victory gallop in as many months at the HSBC FEI World Cup Eventing Final in Strzegom, Poland, Aug. 21-23. German riders took five of the top eight placings in the CIC***, but none could best Jung.
“I was quite nervous, because I wanted to do the horse justice,” Jung said of his 9-year-old gelding.
Thirty horses from 14 nations journeyed to the Lower Silesia region of Southwestern Poland, near the Czech Republic border, to contest the final, and with many more experienced pairs in the running, Jung wasn’t favored to win.
His dressage mark of 35.6 was impressive, but it was only good enough for fifth place on the first day of competition. That placing didn’t bother Jung, though, who had nabbed his Luhmühlen win after finishing 14th on the flat. The competition in Poland was equally stiff, but doors would soon open in his favor once again.
Riders turned in one stunning dressage test after another in Strzegom’s lush grass arena surrounded by massive shade trees. With butterflies fluttering over the crowd and giant, colorful flowers surrounding the stadium, the setting resembled a Disney movie as much as a horse show. And, looking every bit the classic conquering hero aboard the stunning gray gelding Flint Curtis, British phenom Oliver Townend rode predictably into the initial lead with an enviable mark of 29.6.
Unfortunately, however, his weekend didn’t finish with a fairytale ending.
After a prolonged dry period in Strzegom, Friday evening’s heavy rains left the cross-country track resembling wet asphalt the next morning. The conditions put an early end to Townend’s championship ambitions, as Flint Curtis slipped on the turn to fence 8 and was eliminated for the fall.
The course caused unexpected problems for other top-10 pairs as well. A stop at a narrow brush into The Sunken Road at fence 18 relegated sixth-placed German rider Dirk Schrade and his horse King Artus to the bottom half of the field, while New Zealand’s veteran, Mark Todd, who was previously in seventh with Gandalf, was eliminated. The pair had been having a stellar go until they approached the first of the angled Hong Kong Hedges at fence 20, where the horse shuffled his feet and sent Todd out of the tack.
By day’s end, six other competitors had joined Townend and Todd on the list of non-completions; an additional two riders—Australian Lucinda Fredericks aboard Headley Britannia and Irish rider Camilla Speirs with Portersize Just A Jiff—had chosen to withdraw on Saturday morning.
“It was an exciting day,” said Lucinda’s husband, Clayton Fredericks, who eventually finished third aboard Ben Along Time. “I had a long wait, and to see so many good riders make mistakes just added to the tension.”
No one beat the optimum time of 7:15, but Jung executed a close shave and incurred a mere .8 faults. His fellow German rider, Frank Ostholt, had the second-fastest round with Air Jordan 2, accumulating 2.4 time penalties.
