Australia’s Chris Burton wins Aachen horse trials

Christopher Burton has completed an impressive double by taking out Aachen’s DHL Prize for eventing for the second successive year.

Burton, 31, won last year on Underdiscussion and this year rode Holstein Park Leilani to success,  with German riders in the next three placings.

The phase took place in wet conditions and caused huge problems, with only the winner finishing clear inside the time of  the 42 starters.

If Sandra Auffarth had crossed the finish line just one second earlier, she would have claimed the overall victory at the Soers on Opgun Louvo.  But after a spectacular eventing test over the 4000 metre long course designed by Rüdiger Schwarz – created in the modern CIC format – Burton once again topped the rankings after being the only rider to jump clear within the permitted time.

The Australian rider, who was ranked third after the dressage and jumping, finished on 35.60, with Auffarth next with 35.80.  Two-time Olympic gold medallist Michael Jung, finished third on Sam with 42.40.

Not surprisingly, the team title also went to Germany, followed by Great Britain and Sweden.

“I didn’t expect to win. The Germans have simply been so good lately. I am overjoyed,” Burton said.

“The weather and ground conditions played into my hands as she is fast and goes well in wet weather,” Burton said. “The Australians have no championships this year so we take Aachen especially seriously. I’m thrilled to win as the Germans are so successful at the moment.”

CHIO Aachen has been a very special show for the rider, because it was the last competition for 17-year-old Holstein Park Leilani.  Originally she was supposed to retire after London, then after Badminton, but then Burton had asked her owners, Jean and Jade Findlay, if he could ride her in Aachen. They consented and the Australian took this opportunity to claim the victory.  Holstein Park Leilani is returning to Australia in September, where she will be used as a brood mare.

The weather was at times typical for the CHIO. It started to pour down with rain in the middle of the test – but the eventers battled on bravely despite the poor conditions.

Sandra Auffarth, the last rider on the course, considered her second place in Aachen to be a victory, not a defeat. “I noticed shortly before the end that the time was going to be tight, but you can’t change anything over the last few metres. I didn’t take any risks, because the footing was difficult and my horse had lost a shoe, so I tried to find a line on the track that was still relatively dry,” the 26-year-old from Delmenhorst said.

Michael Jung’s Sam stumbled slightly at obstacle 16 d, but he just about managed to make it over the hedge. Initially the jump judges gave him 20 penalty points for a refusal, but this decision was later amended. “The take-off wasn’t quite right, but we definitely jumped over the obstacle,” was how Jung analysed the situation.

The German team riders held their nerve in the final dramatic reverse-order cross country phase, and they finished an impressive 48 penalties clear of Great Britain.

Having won the opening leg of the series, at Fontainebleau in France, and finished second behind Britain at Houghton Hall, Germany retains the lead at this midway stage of the FEI Nations Cup Eventing season.

National coach Hans Melzer was delighted with his team’s victory.  Even if the individual classification wasn’t won by a German rider, with seven riders in the top ten, the Germans celebrated their best ever result in Aachen.

“An incredible performance,” said an overjoyed Melzer, who is now confidently looking ahead to the European Championships in Malmö, Sweden at the end of August.

The British team moved up from fifth after dressage to second with three clear jumping rounds. However, they were still some 20 penalties in arrears of the Germans at this stage and they failed to close the gap during the final phase – in fact the gap was widened considerably – after Izzy Taylor and KBIS Briarlands Matilda had a run-out at the influential fence 8b, a brush corner in the Rolex Water. The Australians lost their second place after dressage when Andrew Hoy and Cheeky Calimbo, who were second to Auffarth after this phase, ran into difficulties across country. They slipped behind the Swedes, who also had cross country problems. Their best rider was newcomer Frida Andersen (Herta), who had one of the fastest cross country rounds of the day.

For once, New Zealand, fifth, didn’t have the best of days. Badminton winner Jock Paget had a cross country run-out with Clifton Lush and Andrew Nicholson and his Kentucky winner Quimbo glanced off 8b. Nicholson was clearly struggling with rain on his glasses and ended up taking them off and tucking them into his number bib.  Jonelle Richards was the best of the Kiwis. She and The Deputy jumped a solid clear round, but picked up time faults to finish 18th spot. Paget and Clifton Lush finished in 24th spot, with Nicholson just behind him in 25th after doing the same. The fourth team-member Clarke Johnstone and Incognito had two outs and time faults to finish in 34th spot. Individual rider Megan Heath and St Daniel also had time and jump faults to finish in 28th place.

Equestrian Sports New Zealand high performance coach Erik Duvander said it was a disappointing finish for the team, but all had given their best.

“We could have played it safe for a bronze, but it is never our intention,” he said. “We rose to chase that big prize but it just wasn’t our weekend.”

Duvander said the course had been every bit as tough as expected, with three days of rain making it slippery and more difficult.

“The margins are so fine here. With a course like this you need to be going fast, and that means high risk when they are riding to win.”

One of the happiest riders was anchor-man Joseph Murphy, best of the sixth-placed Irish team with a fast clear on  his 2012 Olympic mount, the Irish Sport Horse Electric Cruise. “I was delighted to see the rain!” he said. “It suits me and my horse. This was a real rider’s course, not that big dimensionally but very tricky. There was quite a lot of sand on the track and that became dead which meant you couldn’t really ask the horse to quicken.”  He finished 11th individually.

Pathfinder Austin O’Connor and Ringwood Mississipp returned with no jumping penalties, but had just over 20 time penalties to record a solid start for Ireland.

Aidan Keogh and Sarah Ennis, who were both making their first appearance on a senior Irish eventing team, both incurred 20 jumping penalties but got their horses home as eliminations and retirements accumulated on the course.

Eventing High Performance Manager Nick Turner said: “Overall I am pleased with how the event went for us. It was our first time to be invited to the event and the riders did a very good job. When you take the Germans out of it there was very little between the other teams. Joseph was outstanding today and Austin did a very good job as pathfinder. Sarah and Aidan showed great maturity on their team debuts to get their horses home on a course that caused massive problems. This event will really stand them in good stead for the future,” he said.

The US team failed to finish after Marilyn Little was unseated from RF Smoke On The Water at 8b and Will Faudree had the misfortune to fall at the very last fence with Pawlow.

As the European teams now focus on the forthcoming HSBC FEI European Eventing Championships at Malmö, Sweden in August, at which the Germans look clear favourites, there is a break until the last three legs of the FEI Nations Cup Eventing series, which resumes at Montelibretti, Italy, in September. Last month’s Polish leg at Strzegom had to be cancelled due to wet weather.

 

Results 

1 Germany, 134.6 penalties

Sandra Auffarth/Opgun Louvo, 31.8 + 0 + 4 = 35.8; Andreas Dibowski/FRH Butts Leon, 38.6 + 0 + 8.4 = 47.0; Dirk Schrade/Hop and Skip, 41.0 + 4 + 6.8 = 51.8; (Michael Jung/Halunke FBW, 39.0 + 4 + 8.8 = 51.8) 

2 Great Britain, 182.6

Kristina Cook/Miners Frolic, 42.2 + 1 + 7.6 = 50.8; Gemma Tattersall/Chico Bella P, 41.2 + 4 + 14 = 59.2; Izzy Taylor/KBIS Briarlands Matilda, 44.2 + 0 + 28.4 = 72.6; (Tom McEwen/Dry Old Party, 61.4 + 0 + 68.8 = 130.2) 

3 Sweden, 219.0

Frida Andersen/Herta, 47.2 + 8 + 3.6 = 58.8; Niklas Lindback/Mister Pooh, 41.2 + 0 + 37.2 = 78.4; Sara Algotsson-Ostholt/Reality 37.4 + 6 + 38.4 = 81.8; (Niklas Jonsson/First Lady, 45.0 + 12, RET) 37.4 4 

4 Australia, 226.0  

Christopher Burton/Holstein Park Leilani, 35.6 + 0 + 0 = 35.6; Paul Tapner/Wickstead Didgeridoo, 56.0 + 5 + 20.8 = 81.8; Andrew Hoy/Cheeky Calimbo, 32.6 + 4 + 72.0 = 108.6; (Bill Levett/Silk Stone, 52.0 + 12 + ELIM) 

5 New Zealand, 247.8

Jonelle Richards/The Deputy, 55.6 + 15 + 7.2 = 77.8; Jock Paget/Clifton Lush, 38.8 + 5 + 40.8 = 84.6; Andrew Nicholson/Quimbo, 40.2 + 4 + 41.2 = 85.4; (Clarke Johnstone/Incognito, 49.8 + 0 + 82.0 = 131.8) 

6 Ireland, 261.8

Joseph Murphy/Electric Cruise, 53.8 + 0 + 4.8 = 58.6; Austin O’Connor/Ringwood Mississippi, 56.6 + 16 + 18.8 = 91.4; Aidan Keogh/Master Tredstep, 49.0 + 4 + 58.8 = 111.8; (Sarah Ennis/Sugar Brown Babe, 47.8 + 0 + 66.4 = 116.2) 

7 USA, 1,210.0

(Tiana Coudray/Ringwood Magister, 43.0 + 0 + 14.8 = 57.8; Clark Montgomery/Universe, 50.6 + 16 + 85.6 = 152.2; Will Faudree/Pawlow, 40.6 + 4 + ELIM; Marilyn Little/RF Smoke on the Water, 49.8 + 4 + ELIM)