Sandra Auffarth and Normandy – this success story has been enriched by a chapter since this weekend. On Sunday, the eventing rider won individual bronze and team silver at the European Championships in northern France with her horse Viamant du Matz. Already in 2014 she became team and individual world champion with the gelding Opgun Louvo after dressage, cross-country and jumping. At that time, too, the “Cross” took place at the Haras du Pin National Stud.
The success of that time turned out to be a real advantage for the 36-year-old this time. Many obstacles seemed familiar to her. And just like then, she was riding a French-born chestnut horse. Before leaving for Normandy, she had published a photo on Instagram. On it you can see: on the right the now 21-year-old Opgun Louvo, called “Wolle”, on the left Viamant, in between grinning herself. “Wolle gave a few more tips,” she wrote. Obviously the right ones. “It’s a dream come true for me,” she said after the award ceremony. “It’s cool to have a second individual medalist in the stable alongside Wolle.”
Already in the first part of the test, the dressage, Auffarth and Viamant got off to a good start on Friday. The gelding is less suited to this discipline. He shows his strengths when he is allowed to jump over obstacles. On Saturday’s cross-country course, Viamant galloped forward, ears pricked, waiting for the next task. In his saddle: Sandra Auffarth, always balanced and stylish in the rhythm of her horse’s movements. But: “It wasn’t nice,” she said at the finish. What happened? “The ground was even worse than I feared.”
Softened clay soil
After the first impressions, everyone involved agreed on the cross-country route: beautifully built and designed, but very difficult, very demanding in terms of condition, but absolutely worthy of a championship. Course designer Pierre Le Goupil took advantage of the terrain, hills and ditches. He sent the horses and riders up and down, in loops over the originally planned 5800 meters, ultimately almost 4700 meters.
The rains on Friday and Saturday night had softened the clay soil. Those responsible decided in the morning to shorten the course by a good one kilometer and five obstacles. The only right decision in terms of the horses, as it turned out.
Not only the German riders described this test as hard work for the four-legged athletes. The ground gave the animals no support when galloping, taking off, or landing. Auffarth and Viamant came through the course as the third-best couple. But after the eighth obstacle, the gelding stumbled briefly. Auffarth rode more cautiously, exceeding the ideal time (8:18 minutes) by 15 seconds and receiving six penalty points.
Big lead
Only the Brit Rosalind Canter and her horse Graffalo undercut the given time limit. The clock stopped at 8:09 minutes. The 2018 world champion managed an exemplary cross-country ride to the finish. Graffalo galloped across the track quickly and boldly, taking even the toughest challenges with ease. “Machine is the right word to describe him,” Canter later said.
Her lead after dressage and cross-country was so big that she was able to afford a drop in the jumping course on Sunday and still became world champion – superior in the individual and in the team. Her compatriot Kitty King won silver with Vendredi Biats. The two German team riders Malin Hansen-Hotopp with Quidditch and Christoph Wahler with Carjatan also came through the terrain without making any mistakes, but much slower. Wahler finished the European Championships in fourth place after a flawless jumping course, while Hansen-Hotopp, who debuted at the European Championships, was 19th.
Michael Jung, who waded out of the last water obstacle on foot, caused a moment of shock. His horse Chipmunk buckled his front legs when landing after jumping in and Jung fell over the horse’s neck into the water. Both survived the fall unscathed. But all medal hopes of the 41-year-old three-time Olympic champion and leader up to that point were gone.
The ground conditions were not the reason for the fall, he said. “It was just bad luck.” Until then, his horse had jumped great, felt fresh and not tired for a moment. “It’s so disappointing that things like this always happen to us at the championships. I’m so sorry for my team,” he wrote on Instagram.
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He has been waiting for his next international singles title since 2016. He recently won gold with the legendary Sam at the Olympic Games in Rio. Chipmunk should follow in his footsteps. With him, Jung achieved success in individual tournaments and in a team, but they always had bad luck at championships. At the 2022 World Championships, they led confidently after dressage and cross-country, but two poles fell on the course – fifth place. At the Tokyo Games, Chipmunk only lightly touched an obstacle, but the safety mechanism triggered, costing 11 penalty points and dropping them to eighth place.
