They relinquish the individual title to France but easily take the team championship.

It was a case of Britain first, the rest nowhere at the European Three-Day Event Championships, Sept. 14-16 in Pratoni, Italy.

Zara Phillips, Mary King, Daisy Dick and newcomer Oliver Townend clinched a seventh consecutive team gold by a margin of more than 60 penalties.

But Phillips’ reign as individual champion came to an end, the title wrested back by 2003 winner Nicolas Touzaint of France. He was marking a comeback after a long lay-off for the fabulous gray Galan de Sauvagère, the only horse to finish on his dressage score.

Phillips’ unprecedented show jumping refusal left the rider and a stunned crowd in shock, and the fact she could not have won once Touzaint had gone clear was of little consequence as she tormented herself for mis-presenting Toy-town at the offending fence.

However, although she fell from second to sixth, Phillips was delighted for evergreen teammate Mary King, 46, who took the individual silver medal.

King last rode here at the 1995 European Championships, winning individual bronze, when five months pregnant with daughter Emily. “I feel very lucky at my ripe old age. I’m old enough to be my teammate’s mother,” she said.

Individual bronze went to dressage leader Bettina Hoy on Ringwood Cockatoo, galvanized into her best effort by the “I’ll-show-you” reaction of anyone who has been controversially dropped from a team. Her success was even more resonant with the failure of the much-fancied German squad to return a score.

Frank Ostholt had to retire a clearly tired Air Jordan after two cross-country stops, while Hinrich Romeike’s ride, Marius Voigt-Logistik, was lame on Saturday night and had to be withdrawn.

Team silver went to France (Touzaint, Eric Vigneal, Didier Dhennin and Arnaud Boiteau, the discard score after the elimination of Expo du Moulin), with the host side Italy (Fabio Magni, Susanna Bordone, British-based Vittoria Panizzon and Roberto Rotatori) gaining bronze—only their second medal at this level—and Olympic qualification.

Ironically, fourth and fifth places individually were filled by the two French riders not on their team, Jean Teulere (Espoir de la Mare) and Cedric Lyard (Jolly Hope de Treille), two of only 19 cross-country clears.

Closely Contested Dressage
The beautiful Pratoni del Vivaro, site of the equestrian events at the 1960 Rome Olympics and parts of the 1998 World Equestrian Games, benefits from permanent arenas with a backdrop of tree-lined hills. Castel Gandolfo, where the Pope has his summer home, is only a lake away.

On the first day of dressage, Germany set the standard when Ingrid Klimke rode a lovely test for 31.5 penalties aboard FRH Butts Abraxxas. The result was all the more amazing as the near black gelding was still competing at CCI** in June when Klimke reluctantly concluded that her long-term team partner, Sleep Late, had fallen out of love with eventing. They were nominated for the team when Dirk Schrade’s horse went lame the week before.

Next day, Ringwood Cockatoo stormed into a predictable lead with 27.1 penalties, though there was considerable comment that even this dazzling test had been inordinately well marked by Christoph Hess. The horse had slipped in the stable yard that morning and bore the wounds on his hocks and rump. “I’m so proud of him. He was on my side and trying hard,” said Hoy.

For the German team, Ostholt scored 33.1 for eventual fifth. Toytown performed a career best for 29.8, and Galan de Sauvagère nudged 0.4 ahead of the defending title-holder for overnight lead.

By close of play, the first three spots—Hoy, Touzaint and Phillips—were all held by past and present European champions, with Germany leading the team contest, 6 penalties ahead of Great Britain, who were just ahead of France.

The cross-country was exquisitely crafted by Abano Galbari, the long-term builder and designer here. As Galbari is now 70, he has been obliged under Fédération Equestre Internationale rules to hand on the latter task. Pratoni therefore marked the championship-designing debut of Guiseppe della Chiesa, well known globally as a FEI technical delegate. He was indeed up to the task, producing a thoughtful track that was harder than all the experts predicted, but which also allowed many of the less experienced nations, such
as Russia and Denmark, to get individuals round with no more than a stop and a few ugly pictures.

Handling The Hills
At first sight, the first tough test seemed to be at fence 9, a hilltop combination of three round raised flower beds, and then fence 11, the Rifle Range, a log to a steep slide (built for the 1960 Games) now with a double of arrowheads at the base.

In both cases, riders discovered early on that the long routes at both were achievable without wasting too much time, and this soon became the standard route. The only significant scalp here was FRH Butts Abraxxas, who ran out at the second arrowhead when early to go, though the “novice” visibly grew in confidence during the round and was still home with a respectable 9 time penalties.

Much more costly were the fences and combinations based around the wide ditch that wove its away across the site. Among experienced observers, Lucinda Green thought it remarkable how many riders have achieved this level without having mastered the technique for riding a bouncy, slow “coffin canter” at such obstacles.

Another big test was fitness. Even if some had not anticipated quite how hot and humid it can be in the south of Italy in late September, the steep hills here are a given, and manager Yogi Breisner was quick to put some of the British success down to zealous fitness preparation for months beforehand.

Daisy Dick and Spring Along have inherited the British trailblazer mantle from Jeanette Brakewell and had the day’s first clear, for just 2.8 time penalties. They were among a handful to clear the straight route at the Rifle Range.

Dick had suffered a small crisis of confidence at the Luhmuhlen CCI**** (Germany) back in June, when both this horse and stablemate Springbok ran out at the same fence, but this was well banished.

“Phew!” she said. “It felt like a long, tough track. I wanted to give him a pat after the Rifle Range, but I thought we’d better concentrate and finish first.”

The youngster on the British team, Townend, started confidently and seemed to brush off a sticky moment at the second fence but, following team instructions, went the straight route at 11 and ran out at the second arrowhead. After that Flint Curtis was so flawless they completed with only 4 time penalties and an overall mark that could still have contributed to the team gold if needed.

Van Springel also went well, but there was then quite a gap before more clear—from Denmark’s Peter Flarup and Silver Ray and, though slow, from Carl Bouckaert, riding for his native Belgium with Rampant Lion.

Unfortunately, Belgium’s medal hopes evaporated when Karin Donckers was later eliminated for going the wrong side of a flag on Gazelle De La Brasserie.

By the time the second rider had gone for each team, Britain, Germany and France were all in the unusual position of recording just one clear. For France, Boiteau was eliminated for three stops at the Roller Coaster, a log combination over the ditch at 24 that ended up as the day’s main bogey fence, while for Germany Peter Thomsen and The Ghost Of Hamish also ran out at fence 11.

Meanwhile, Hoy had the ride of her life, influenced not only by her desire to prove the selectors wrong but also the knowledge she could afford to take all the long routes, and she parachuted into the lead. However, she may regret not taking just one risk, as with 11.2 time penalties her lead was short lived.

The magnificent Toytown looked strong and nearly foot perfect, and according to the rider’s father Capt. Mark Philips was in yet another league from his round at the World Equestrian Games (Germany) this time
last year.

Although he picked up 2.8 time penalties, now only Touzaint could go in front. This he did at the end of the day, with the floating gray showing no sign of the long lay-offs that have beleaguered him since his eighth-placed finish at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

“I never doubted he’d be back,” said Touzaint. “He just gets better and better.”

In between, King showed she has formed a tremendous bond with Call Again Cavalier, the former ride of Caroline Pratt, who died at Burghley (England) in 2004. For once King had the luxury of going last for the team—“just enough time to feel really sick,” she said—and had just one anxious moment when the horse jumped so extravagantly into the first water that he landed on all four feet. They rose to fourth place, looking dangerously close to the top three.

Britain was well in the lead, with Germany in silver position, France third and Italy fourth. Forty-four riders completed cross-country out of 63, with 19 clear and 16 with just one stop.

Looking On The Bright Side
Sunday morning’s show jumping did not yield many clears, but by the afternoon the leading group started to produce enough to suggest the individual medals were not secured.

Dick lowered two to put herself out of individual contention but not enough to jeopardize team gold, and Ringwood Cockatoo had one down which could seemingly have dropped him to fourth.

Several of the stadium fences had Roman themes, and halfway around was an airy spread of black poles between wings shaped like the famous Coliseum, on a related distance.

The atmosphere was electric as Toytown entered: could he jump clear and put pressure on Galan?

Unbelievably, as he got to the Coliseum he looked as if he was taking off but put down again, sending poles flying. Then, clearly ruffled, he booted out two more fences and had 7 time faults too.

The rider, clearly upset, blamed herself for trying to go on four strides instead of five, though many observers felt that the chestnut had simply been unsighted.

Either way, the “blip” is unlikely to affect her chances of selection for 2008, and her father was the first to see the bright side as Zara Phillips seeks to add Olympic gold to her already considerable medal haul.
“How much easier Hong Kong will be now that Zara is the underdog and Nicolas the favorite,” he said.

Pippa Cuckson