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.

“I suppose it was too much to expect that I could pull this off too,” said Townend, who still has the HSBC Classics and Rolex Grand Slam series in his sights. “Flint is fine, but he’s not felt on his best form.”

With Cook’s winning score, Fox-Pitt close behind and Wilson’s solid performance, the British were unbeatable, despite Townend’s non-completion.

Scrambling The Scores

The camber of the arena wasn’t blamed for anyone’s dressage score, but the partisan crowd and battery of press cameramen certainly upset defending champion Nicolas Touzaint’s Tatchou, who, having been awarded two 10s, might well have been expected to lead but for a major spook.

Instead, Cook and Townend took the joint lead on 37.9, to their mutual surprise.

At the end of Day 2, Britain had eased ahead of Germany, with France close behind.

Pierre Michelet’s cross-country course made use of the venue’s twisty woodland tracks and sandy going which, contrary to expectations, did not deteriorate during the day. The trees provided cover from the sun, and few horses looked hot or overly tired at the finish.

Both Britain and Germany sent out their fastest riders first—Wilson and Jung—who ended up being two of only three riders inside the time all day.

Wilson, an able successor to Jeanette Brakewell, Britain’s longstanding trail-blazer, wished she had used a stronger bit than the snaffle on her pulling horse, but added, “When he’s allowed to really go across country, it’s like all his Christmases and birthdays have come at once.”

While the Brits were notching up fast clear after fast clear—a fifth came from their other individual, Lucy Wiegersma on Woodfalls Inigo Jones—it went spectacularly wrong for almost everyone else.

A shocking 12 riders were caught out at some angled hedges at 11, and the speedy Frenchman Karim Laghouag was lucky to walk away when Havenir D’Azac landed on him at fence 25, a flowerbed in the main arena, after a rotational fall. Tim Lips did not live up to expectations, with three refusals, and the Netherlands fell out of team contention when Jan Van Beek retired his horse, Bridget.

In all, 44 riders completed—27 with clear jumping rounds, while six riders retired and 14 were eliminated.

Team Trouble

Even by lunchtime on Saturday, French team manager Thierry Touzaint must have been wishing he’d picked a different squad. The host country found themselves 57 points behind Great Britain at the end of cross-country day. 
Several of their eight individuals went well, including Didier Dhennin (Ismene Du Temple), who finished fifth after posting the third double-clear cross-country go. But France had to include Eric Vigeanel’s costly score, with two run-outs on Coronado Prior, when Nicolas Touzaint (Thierry’s nephew) was eliminated on a technicality.

Nicolas was clearly having difficulty waggoning Tatchou around the narrow, sandy tracks of Fontainebleau’s ancient hunting forest, and his horse attempted to jump the corner fence at 8 at its widest point, to the left of the white flag.

When last man Jean Teulere, who’d been lying fifth, didn’t present Espoir de la Mare on the final day, the French were completely out of the contest they’d so openly expected to win.

Germany will likely have a major post-mortem as well, after the likes of Klimke, Frank Ostholt, Andreas Dibowski (Euroridings Butts Leon) and Dirk Schrade (Gadget De La Cere) all stopped or ran out at the angled and skinny fences that proliferate on any Michelet-designed course. Ironically, Ostholt also faulted at the table at fence 22, where the Germans had lobbied for a black flag option.

Of the successful teams, Italy’s silver matched the medal won at the Alltech FEI European Show Jumping Championships at Windsor Castle in England last month, with Juan Carlos Garcia (Iman du Golf, eighth) boasting the distinction of riding on both squads. Roberto Rotatori (Della Malaspina Irham, seventh) also proved that his fourth place at Badminton in the spring was no fluke.

With Stefano Brecciaroli 34th on Oroton, Italy finished with only three scores; Susanna Bordone was eliminated for three refusals on Blue Moss, who was possibly still showing the effects of a virus that briefly grounded Bordone’s string during her prep month in Britain.

Karin Donckers (Gazelle de la Brassiere, sixth) was ecstatic to have led Belgium to a bronze medal, only her second medal in a 20-year career, particularly because she blamed herself for Belgium’s failure to qualify a team for Hong Kong.

“I felt I’d screwed up [at the 2007 European Championships] in Pratoni by missing a flag on cross-country, so this time I feel so glad I’ve done it for the team,” Donckers said.

A Sorry State Of Affairs

The French are spoilt for choice when it comes to three-day venues, so some observers were surprised when Fontaine-bleau, a small city 30 miles southeast of Paris, was nominated for this title event. Its permanent equestrian facility was used for the alternate Olympics in 1980, and it annually hosts an HSBC World Cup qualifier.

But Fontainebleau is on the compact side. Its dense forest obliterates views in places, and the main grass arena, which is turf, is situated on a notable slope. However, the regional government supported the effort and provided admirably for many thousands of spectators who took advantage of an unusually hot weekend. A big-screen television in downtown Fontainebleau kept visitors locked into the action too, and bars and restaurants stayed open late into the night.

The downside of a truly entertaining weekend was the worrying picture painted of the overall health of the sport in Europe.

This championship runs at the three-star level, and qualifying opportunities have been extended. But tweaking of the criteria no longer permits cross-country rounds with one stop which, in particular, has disenfranchised countries in the former Eastern bloc; even the usually-competitive Poland couldn’t find three riders.

The Irish had been hopeful at their first championship under the tutelage of former world champion Ginny Elliott, but Sacha Pemble (I’ve Been Dun) was eliminated for three refusals, and another young hope, Elizabeth Power (sister of this year’s Grand National winning jockey) showed her inexperience when representing Kilpatrick River at the “skinny” in the water, stopping again.

Only eight nations fielded a full team, and of these, only four completed.