The show jumpers start before the last dressage test of the World Equestrian Championships in Denmark. The German team shows different performances in time jumping.
A strong performance by last rider Christian Ahlmann saved the show jumping team’s start in the world championships.
After the time competition in Herning, Denmark, the team of national coach Otto Becker is in sixth place after a total of two knockdowns. After the first of three partial tests of the team classification, the quartet from Sweden leads ahead of France and Belgium.
“The first goal has been reached”
“The first goal has been achieved, we are within reach,” commented Becker. “Hopefully we can work our way forward a bit,” he said after the mistakes made by Marcus Ehning (Borken) with Stargold and André Thieme (Plau am See) with Chakaria, which prevented a better result. “Of course we would have preferred one less mistake.”
Starting rider Ehning came out of the course with four penalty points during his brisk ride on Stargold, which were converted into penalty seconds in this time competition. “That was my mistake,” said the 48-year-old from Borken: “I made the wrong decision.” The team world champion from 2010 enthused that his stallion was in great shape and said with a wink: “He did well, I did badly.”
Debutante Wargers with a clean round
On the other hand, debutant Jana Wargers showed a clear round with Limbridge. “I’m super, super happy,” the 30-year-old commented on the first world championship ride of her life. She wasn’t particularly excited, reported the 30-year-old, who comes from Emsdetten and now lives in Belgium. “I’m actually a quiet person and I try to stop getting nervous.” Nevertheless, she was impressed by the atmosphere with almost 10,000 spectators in the converted football stadium: “It’s something completely new.” The national coach was not entirely satisfied, she reported: “He said I could have ridden a bit faster.”
In contrast to the World Cup debutant, André Thieme also made a mistake. The European champion from Plau am See didn’t ride as fast with Chakaria as Ehning. “I would have loved to contribute a good result,” commented the 47-year-old: “If I hadn’t made any mistakes in that time, I could of course have helped a lot better.” He said of his mare Chakaria: “She’s in good shape, I shouldn’t take that too seriously. She’s actually a horse that’s improving, so I have a good feeling for the next few days.”
The team had Christian Ahlmann to thank for the fact that it was still a decent starting position for the other two laps. The professional from Marl showed a flawless round with Dominator and is the best German in the individual with ninth place. “The feeling was very good,” commented Ahlmann. “We had a good rhythm. Every jump was relaxed, careful and focused.”
