POLAND (by Agata Grosicka) The FEI European Eventing Championships (August 17-20) were organized for the first time in Strzegom, Poland, bordering Austria and the Czech Republic, and proved that good eventing horses need more than just good bloodlines. The three days of competition tested not only dressage, cross- country and jumping skills, but also resistance to stress and the ultimate endurance. Eventing is perhaps the only extreme sport that has a dress code!
Out of 77 entries, 56 pairs completed Sunday’s final jumping test. Coincidentally, among the top 10 riders who eventually shared the medals and the credits, seven were ladies, including the British golden team. But, so much for the statistics. Let’s have a closer look at the horses that made their way to the top after an exhausting three-day trial.
The mare Quicklook V (Urkel - Unabresse M x Quick Star) ridden by Gemma Tattersall (eighth in- dividually and members of the British team), has an outstanding jumping pedigree. She is a granddaughter of Quick Star – the famous stallion who gave a lot of great jumping offspring, including this mare’s cousin, Big Star, the reigning Olympic show-jumping champion – the title he won wih Nick Skelton in Rio 2016. Surprisingly, although the mare helped her rider in achieving a personal best score in dressage, they did not have much luck in her presumably favourite test, jumping, when they finished with eight penalties. Perhaps the result of fatigue or stress at the very crucial last moment of the test? “She’s the perfect mare for me,” Tattersall said of Quick- look B. “In the dressage test we did our personal best. She was ner vous at canter at the beginning, but I managed to calm her down fast”...
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