Aachen, Germany—June 30
With one phase down in the CHIO Aachen SAP-CUP CCIO4*-S, U.S. riders are sitting individually fifth (Tamie Smith on Mai Baum), sixth (Liz Halliday-Sharp on Miks Master C) and seventh (Will Coleman on Off The Record), with their fourth teammate (Phillip Dutton on Z) in 24th, putting the team in second place after dressage. Show jumping takes place tonight.
“It’s great to be riding on the team with all the riders here; they’re all very, very strong,” Smith said. “It feels really good to have them on my team. That’s your dream team, to have those guys. I’m excited about the weekend.”
Leading the individual charge is reigning world champion Yasmin Ingham on Banzai Du Loir (23.5), with countryman Tom McEwen on JL Dublin second (24.3), helping lead the British team to their first-placed standing. Germany’s Michael Jung on fischerChipmunk FRH (24.4) rounds out the top three individually.
Smith’s test earned 26.9 penalties and included a break to canter in the last extended trot. Right before heading into the ring, Mai Baum popped up on his hind legs, a movement Smith laughed off.
“He does that often,” she said. “He just always wants to make sure I know who is the boss, so it was a little reminder to me.
“It was a little bit on the muscle, but we’re just trying to go for more,” she continued. “You can only improve, and I was really pleased with him overall. I had a couple bobbles, but I’m pleased.”
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This is the first Aachen for Miks Master C, and Halliday-Sharp was pleased with how he handled the atmosphere in the Deutsche Bank Stadium, where they scored 27.3.
“He’s still a relatively inexperienced horse, even though he’s done his first five-star,” said Halliday-Sharp. “We’ve only been together about a year. I was pleased with him. I’m trying to play around with a few things, and it’s still a work in progress with our partnership, but he did a lot of things really well today.”
Coleman is a former winner of this class at Aachen, taking the title in 2021 aboard Off The Record. He scored a 28.1 this morning to sit seventh—a score and a placing, incidentally, better than the 11th-place he rose from in 2021 to win. Dutton is in 24th on a score of 32.8.
Dan Kreitl and Carmango, competing as individuals, are in 31st place (34.8), while California-based rider Bec Braitling, representing Australia, is in 44th place on Caravaggio (45.8).
See complete dressage results here.
Show jumping takes place tonight at 5:45 p.m. local time (11:45 a.m. Eastern Daylight) in the main stadium (see start list here), and riders will set out on cross-country Saturday morning.
Important Links: CHIO Aachen website / Orders of go and results / Livestreaming / All of the Chronicle’s coverage / Full entry lists for all nations
