Klimke Secures Record Start

Germany’s Eventing stars registered a FEI World Equestrian Games™ record as they maintained their top spot after two days of competition.

After a superb performance from Ingrid Klimke, their overall score of 73.4 gave them the best Eventing team score after Dressage in the history of WEG.

At the conclusion of day two, Germany lead Great Britain and USA, while their stars Julia Krajewski and Klimke lead the Individual competition.

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Friday’s session saw the fight for the podium really begin with the leaderboard changing throughout the day.

A spellbound crowd fell silent as Germany’s anchor rider Klimke on SAP Hale Bob OLD gave an exhibition in accuracy, putting the German rider in second place on 23.3 penalties. Klimke now lies just behind team member Krajewski, who scored a memorable 19.9 yesterday, making it a German one-two and securing the provisional team gold position.

Paying tribute to her 14-year-old gelding, Klimke said: “He was so relaxed, so calm, so concentrated that I could really ride him and was not sitting on a bomb or anything."

With a growing crowd, the electric atmosphere made Friday’s competition a test of nerves. Riders needed to present a cool and calm picture as the fight up the centre line intensified.

Great Britain’s Rosalind Canter stayed true to form with a quiet and confident test. Riding for every mark on the Dutch bred Allstar B, their score of 24.6 penalties improved the British team’s fortunes by securing the team’s second spot, while also putting the pair into an individual bronze position before Saturday’s Cross Country phase.

Team USA’s Phillip Dutton, riding the bay gelding Z, provided the next best score of their team, just 0.5 penalties behind fellow teammate Boyd Martin, who moved into eighth place.

Lying currently in 12th position, Dutton’s score of 27.6 penalties helps to secure team third after the Dressage phase.

Excitement brews in the Irish camp with the team lying in seventh place. Moving quietly up the leaderboard, Ireland’s Padraig McCarthy and Mr Chunky and anchor rider, Sarah Ennis, riding Horseware Stellor Rebound, pulled out all the stops, with both riders in the top ten after the Dressage phase, their scores proving pivotal to the team standings.

43-year-old Ennis produced the best of the Irish performances to finish on a score of 26.3 penalties and into sixth place individually.

The jam-packed leaderboard in both the Team and Individual standings has intensified the battle for medals with the top 30 riders all on sub thirty scores.

New Zealand’s Tim Price and France’s Astier Nicolas and Thibaut Vallette Lt Col put in strong challenges to Krajewski’s lead of 19.9 penalties. However, their efforts fell short with Price and Nicolas both finishing 27.2 penalties. Vallette Lt Col lies just one penalty behind Rosalind Canter, challenging her third place position on a score of 25.6.

Tomorrow the stakes heighten as riders prepare to battle it out over the Captain Mark Phillips-designed Cross Country course.

With the French, Australian and New Zealand teams hot on heels of the top three, and the tightly bunched Dressage scores in the individual competition, there is no doubt we will see dramatic changes in the standings after tomorrow’s test of strength, stamina and accuracy.

The Eventing competition at this year's World Equestrian Games continues on Saturday with the Cross-Country discipline. Watch the action live on FEI TV from 10:50am EST (3:50pm BST / 4:50pm CET)

Text by Catherine Meenaghan