European Championships CH J YR, in Fontainebleau gold medals for Netherland and Germany teams

Today at the Grand Parquet in Fontainebleau, France, equestrian sports fans took inthe conclusion of the 2018 Longines FEI European Jumping Championships for childrenpresented by GPA. And at the end of the two rounds held over the past two days,Germany took the gold ahead of silver medallists Ireland and third-place Belgium.Stringing together faultless rides and finishing with just four faults overall, the German riderspreserved the leader status they had assumed in the first part of the championship. “I’m soproud of my teammates today! I had a lot of pressure during my ride because I knew wecould drop in the standings if I made a mistake,” said Chiara Reyer as she left the arena.“I’m so happy! My horse fought so hard for me… There are no words to describe myhappiness!FRANCE EIGHTHFinishing the championship with a total of 25 penalty points, the French team dropped toeighth place in the final standings. Indeed, French riders racked up small errors today,adding sixteen points to their total. “Overall, my ride went pretty well, and I’m pretty happywith Urbain,” explained team member Julia Mermillod Baron after the event. “I made amistake at the exit of the triple because I came back a little too strong. I did my best tomake up for it but it didn’t work out.“A very disappointing result then for these young riders who had hoped to shine in thischampionship at home. They will now have to battle to climb back up the individualstandings at the Final scheduled for Saturday.DRESSAGE: THE NETHERLANDS ON TOP IN THE JUNIORS CATEGORYAs expected this evening, the team from the Netherlands won the Team Final ofthe Longines FEI European Dressage Championship, presented by Devoucoux. Germanyand Denmark rounded out the podium.
Indeed, the four Dutch teammates put on a fantastic riding display this afternoon in theDressage arena. Taking the lead in the Individual standings with a final average of 75.909%,Daphne Van Peperstraten was delighted with the result and paid tribute to the country’sEventing coach, Jan van Beek, who passed away Monday. “I managed to ride as I hadhoped for and I got a great score,” she said. “I am happy with this victory and also to takethe lead in the Individual ranking. We started this championship with a lot of sadness afterthe death of Jan van Beek, but it brought the team together and made us stronger. We didour best to honour him today. Now we’re going to drink champagne!”For theirpart, Kimberly Pap and Thalia Rockx, who are competing in their first EuropeanChampionship, had a hard time believing the result: “This is my first EuropeanChampionship and I’ve been riding my horse for only six months – it’s just amazing,” saidthe first while the second added, “ I am very proud to be here and very proud of myteammates. I had the worst routine so I really thank the other girls for having done such agood job!”.The best French rider, Lea Bonifay, left the Dressage rectangle with a score of 69,696, a nicesurprise for the young rider. “I have had my horse, Fantastic, for only three or four months –my old horse had a health concern and I had to find another very quickly,” she explained. “Ihave ridden in some competitions with him, but it had not gone very well. It’s a real surpriseto get my best score of the season at the European Championships!”. The young Dressagerider was particularly worried about parts of the Freestyle test: “But today, I paid particularattention to managing [her horse] and it paid off. He was a little tired at the end of theFreestyle, but he didn’t let up: he was very responsive to what I asked of him, so it’s reallymagical!
Source: Press Release Longines Fei European Championships Fontainebleau 2018 CH / J / YRPhoto: courtesy of Longines Fei European Championships Fontainebleau 2018 CH / J / YR