Olympic fever returns to Aachen as Jumpers take to the stage
Tuesday 18 August 2015
Olympic fever returns to the FEI European Championships in Aachen (GER) this week with three berths at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games up for grabs in Jumping. And with European Driving and Vaulting medals also on offer it’s going to be a hectic schedule right up to the closing ceremony next Sunday evening.
The Jumping horses had their first tour of the Soers arena in this afternoon’s training session and the competition proper gets underway tomorrow, 19 August, with the first qualifying competition for individuals and teams which begins at 14.30 local time.
Following the withdrawal of Dimitri Natsis (GRE), a total of 94 horse-and-rider combinations from 28 nations will compete, and 23 countries will battle it out for the team medals. Only The Netherlands, France, Germany and Sweden have already achieved Olympic Jumping qualification, so the race for those last remaining Rio spots will be run between the rest. The British return as defending team champions, while individual title-holder, Roger Yves Bost, will be flying the French flag once again.
British Chef d’Equipe, Di Lampard, has the weight of Olympic qualification on her shoulders this week as well as the defence of the European team title, but she’s optimistic about her side’s chances. “We’ve had a great season and the actual team we have here this week is the winning Nations Cup team from Rotterdam”, she said today. “The spirit in this team is second to none and we are well-prepared and looking forward to it.”
The host nation hasn’t enjoyed the same level of recent success in team events, but Germany’s Otto Becker is reckoning on the “home advantage”, and that extra element could count for a lot.
The first round of the Jumping team competition and second individual qualifier takes place on Thursday, with the top 10 teams going through to Friday’s team medal decider. And then, following a rest day on Saturday, the top 25 will go through to Sunday’s individual final which is always guaranteed to be a thriller.
Photo Caption: Frenchman Roger Yves Bost, individual gold medallist at Hagen two years ago, will defend his European title at Aachen (GER) this week. (FEI/Richard Juilliart)
.JPG "British Showjumping Para Riders Benefit from National Training Centre Camp as the Sport Continues to Grow")
