The first day of competition for teams took place on Thursday, with Australia claiming the silver medal.
It was a great effort from the Aussie team – comprised of Andrew Driffield (II1), Sarah Sherwood (II1), Sui Watts (II2), and Phoebe Roche (II3) – who all rode borrowed horses, as did third-placed Germany, Spain and France. For this competition, only the winning British team rode their own horses.
While the first day of competition was to decide the team placings, all eight Aussie riders competed individually in these tests as well.
Virtus Open European Equestrian Championships teams. Image: Virtus Sport.
In the II1 division (Grade IV Novice B) Sarah Sherwood was the highest placed Australian rider, finishing on the podium in third place aboard Jack on a score of 66.08%. Sarah was the first rider into the arena for not only this class, but the whole event! Catherine Viney and Delilah finished sixth, Chloe Karsten and Gunner were seventh, Andrew Driffield and Clarke were ninth, and Luke Purtill was eleventh with Max.
In the II3 division (Grade IV Novice B), Bel Dabic and Tommy claimed second place, while Phoebe Roche and Eddie placed third. The II2 class (Grade III Novice A) featured one Australian, Sui Watts, who placed second with Apollo on an impressive score of 68.54%.
On Friday, athletes competed in the Individual competition, with many improving on Thursday’s scores as they became better acquainted with their new equine partners.
Sui Watts again took second place in the II2 class (Grade III Intermediate B) with Apollo on 66.67%, while in the II3 division (Grade IV Intermediate A), Bel Dabic was again second riding Tommy and Phoebe Roche was third aboard Eddie.
Sarah Sherwood produced another strong test with Jack in the II1 class (Grade IV Intermediate A), scoring 69.13% to finish in second place just behind a British rider on their own horse by the narrowest of margins. Cathrine Viney and Delilah were sixth, followed by Chloe Karsten and Gunner in seventh place, Andrew Driffield and Clarke in eighth place, and Luke Purtill in 12th place with Max. All Australian II1 riders greatly improved their scores from Thursday’s test.
Image: Australian Virtus Equestrian team.
What fabulous performances from the eight Aussie riders at the Virtus Open European Equestrian Championships. It was the first time competing internationally for many of the athletes, and what a great experience. It was fantastic to see such a large and talented Virtus Equestrian team competing for Australia on the world stage, and as the movement continues to grow here we look forward to following these riders – and many more up-and-coming stars – at events back home. Congratulations to all athletes and the support team involved!
