CHIO in Aachen
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Red card for Werth, no win for Jung and a dead horse
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Rosalind Canter on her horse Allstar.
Photo: dpa/Uwe Anspach
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Aachen Isabell Werth disqualified, Michael Jung downgraded and a dead horse as a sad low point: Aachen lived through all facets of the sport on Saturday.
Isabell Werth was on the way to victory, Michael Jung supposedly already had it in his pocket, but in the end the two top stars of the German cavalry were left empty-handed. The death of Allstar weighed much more heavily than the disqualification of Werth in the Grand Prix Special in dressage and the denied victory of Michael Jung in the cross-country event. The 17-year-old stallion owned by the British world champion Rosalind Canter suffered such a serious injury to his left front leg that he was put to sleep in an Aachen veterinary clinic.
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Isabell Werth was well on course in the special with twelve-year-old Quantaz when the bell rang. At first she thought it wasn’t her at all, said Werth: “Then I thought I had ridden in the wrong direction, then I saw blood on my mouth.” The test with the white handkerchief was clear, Werth was classified according to the regulations disqualified and will therefore not start in the Grand Prix on Sunday either.
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“Of course I’m very disappointed, especially for the team,” said Werth afterwards. She was “in the sport for so long, and now I’ve experienced something for the first time again. I could have done without it.” National coach Monica Theodorescu thought it was “really stupid”. Quantaz obviously bit his tongue during the test, “everything was fine before the bite check”. Theodorescu said she had often experienced something like this: “It can happen very quickly.”
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This is the first time since 2010 and for the fourth time since the Aachen Nations Cup was first held in 1977 that Germany has not appeared in the list of winners. In 2005, 2009 and 2010 the Netherlands had prevailed, this time it was Denmark with their top rider Cathrine Dufour, who also won the individual classification with Vamos Amigos and confirmed her role as the big favorite for her home World Championships in Herning in six weeks. The best German in second place was the two-time German Vice Champion Frederic Wandres (Hagen aTW) with Duke of Britain.
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The spectators at the Soers had previously been happy about a German double victory in eventing, but this joy didn’t last long either. The three-time Olympic champion Michael Jung (Horb) was subsequently denied first place, ex-world champion Sandra Auffarth (Ganderkesee) was declared the winner. After repeated evaluation of the videos, the judges decided that Jung and his gelding Chipmunk had not correctly taken an obstacle on the cross-country course. Jung fell back to eighth place in the overall ranking.
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In the team classification, Germany remains second, well behind last year’s winner Great Britain. Jung started the competition with his young horse Kilcandra Ocean Power.
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The day in Aachen was overshadowed by the death of one of the best eventing horses in the world. After a jump, Allstar had lost his left front leg, and there was no fall. “The injury could not be operated on,” tournament director Frank Kemperman told WDR: “The owners then made the decision.” It was a heavy blow for the cavalry, said Kemperman: “But it was an accident that can always happen. “
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