Consistent, fast driving by all three of Germany’s team drivers catapulted them into the gold-medal position, Sept. 2 in Aachen, Germany.  Both Christoph Sandmann and Michael Freund drove fault-free cones rounds to finish third and fifth individually and ensure they won the team competition over Belgium and the Netherlands.

The third German team member, Rainer Duen, drove a clear cones phase but was a bit slow on the technical, twisting course and added 2.38 time penalties to his score.

A team medal wasn’t looking good for the United States after the marathon phase yesterday, but they were still holding out hope that a strong cones phase would move them up. 
   
Unfortunately the cones phase turned into a disaster for two of the three U.S. drivers.  James Fairclough was the first to drive for the United States, and he turned in a clear round but earned 1.72 time penalties.

“I didn’t realize I was that slow,” said Fairclough, who competed in his first World Championships in 1980.  “I’m not sure where I lost a couple of seconds.”

Fairclough drove the same team for cones as he used for the marathon with Othello M and Charmeur in the wheel and Charlie Brown and Kavango V and Falkenstein CH in the lead.  Kavango, who is in his first season of driving, was enjoying himself so much that he kicked and bucked as they raced toward the finish.

“He’s thinking it’s fun,” said Fairclough.  “It doesn’t disrupt the team, and he only does it when we gallop.”

Then Tucker Johnson, who can usually be counted on in the cones, encountered trouble when his right leader, Eminenz 22, got a bit rambunctious and refused to follow Johnson’s instructions.

“He’s new to me,” said Johnson.  “We’re going to have a word about this when we get home.  These horses aren’t young, but they’re inexperienced.”

Johnson started having trouble in the serpentine at obstacles 7ABC and then had the ball down on number 10.  He had to be cautious after that, incurring 7.09 time penalties.

“I sped up as best I could after 10, but I’m a little disappointed to take that many time penalties,” he said.  “If they slow down in the technical elements, it’s impossible to get the time.”

But Johnson’s penalties were nothing compared to the mental lapse that took Chester Weber off course.  He started strong and appeared to be keenly focused on completing a double clear, but as he rounded the turn for obstacle 10, he went a bit to the right and ended up going backwards through 9B instead.

He was eliminated for the mistake, and that was the end of the U.S. ambitions for a team medal.

“I just told him to look ahead to two years from now,” said team gold medalist Michael Freund of Germany, who coaches Weber and Johnson.

The U.S. drivers weren’t the only ones to encounter trouble on the cones course.  Only five drivers steered to double clear rounds, and Ijsbrand Chardon lost his individual gold medal when he had a ball down at obstacle 12 and also added .8 time penalties to his score. 

“I was unbelievably disappointed,” he said. “We went through [obstacle] 12 well, but on the way to 13, my left wheeler jumped to the side. He never makes that kind of mistake, and it gave me a terrible feeling. I knew immediately that I’d dropped from first place and I had to stay clear to keep the silver.”

Felix-Marie Brasseur of Belgium came into the cones phase in second place, just 1 point behind Chardon.   He put the pressure on when he turned in the fastest cones time of the day, almost 8 seconds under the optimum time.  He kept his horses at a fast, smooth pace and hardly ever had to check them.

“I’m always afraid, never confident,” said Brasseur. “I’d prefer to stay home and read a book; I don’t like cones, but I was happy.”

His good score was also enough to earn the silver team medal for Belgium.  Gert Schrijvers was only 1 second over the time, adding just .6 penalties to his score and finishing ninth individually, while Geert De Brauwer was the drop score in cones after dropping balls at obstacles 3 and 7A.

Chardon, of the Netherlands, has won the individual World Championship three times before, but he knew when he dropped the ball that he wouldn’t be adding a fourth title to his list of accomplishments.  But it was still enough to bring home a bronze medal for the Netherlands with teammates Koos De Ronde and Theo Timmerman.