Australian Kevin McNab has posted a strong dressage score on day one of the action at Blenheim International, achieving a mark of 29.4 to place fifth with Wilfred Lancer in the GFS Saddles 8 & 9 Year Old CCI4*S.
Friday (19 September) will see four further tests from Australians on the second day of dressage for the CCI4*S:
10.19am (7.19pm AEST): Sammi Birch and Parkfield Artie Blou
11.40am (8.40pm AEST): Sarah Clark and Casallia S
12.19pm (9.19pm AEST): Isabel English and Cil Dara Bombay S
4.20pm (1.20am Saturday AEST): Kevin McNab and Faro Imp
Kevin McNab with Faro Imp and Isabel English with Cil Dara Bombay S have also just been named on the Australian team for the CCIO4*-L Nations Cup to be held in Boekelo, The Netherlands from 9-13 October.
Great Britain’s Gemma Stevens leads CCI4*S
The score to beat on the CCI4*S at present is 22.9, set by Great Britain’s Gemma Stevens aboard Cooley Park Muze.
The 2025 edition of Blenheim International not only hosts the prestigious CCI4*-S for up-and-coming equine stars, but also the Agria FEI Eventing European Championship (CCI4*-L).
Germany take the early European Championship lead
Team Germany dominated the opening day of Dressage on Thursday at the Agria FEI Eventing European Championship 2025 in Blenheim Palace in the UK. Malin Hansen-Hotopp and Libussa Lübbeke delivered the two best scores of the day, finishing first and second in the individual standings.
Germany holds the overnight lead on 27.8 penalties. Great Britain and France share second place on 29.0, with Yasmin Ingham of Great Britain and Sebastien Cavaillon of France tied for third individually.
Hansen-Hotopp set the standard, scoring of 27.8 with Carlitos Quidditch K. The talented pair are no strangers to success at Blenheim, having won the CCI4*-L here in 2023. Balancing elite Eventing with running a farm and raising three children, she credits her countryside lifestyle with giving her horses the best preparation.
“I live in the countryside and we have a lot of space so you can make really good training- trotting and cantering up hills and it helps to prepare.”
Thrilled with her test, the 47-year-old described her test: “He was just a perfect picture and I could really ride into the half passes; it was really fun and the flying changes were very good.”
Looking ahead to Cross-Country, Hansen-Hotopp is cautious but confident about the four-star course designed by Captain Mark Phillips: “My first impression is that it is not too big but there are a lot of angles and corners where you really have to pay attention because you want to ride fast at the Europeans and I think Captain Mark Phillips will catch you (out) if you don’t keep an eye on your line and the horse in front (of you). So it’s not too big but I think it’s tough and technical.”
Just 0.5 penalties behind, 24-year-old Lübbeke and her family-bred mare Caramia 34 scored 28.3 to take second place. “It was fun. She was relaxed and concentrating and I was able to ride everything as planned and I enjoyed it. We know each other so well.”
Lübbeke has been a key member of Germany’s youth squads, wining a team silver in 2022 with this horse. She now makes her Senior Championship debut. Caramia 34 was bred by her parents and originally ridden by her brother before Lübbeke took over in 2019.
“It was my luck to take over the reins and now we are competing at five-star level and at our first Senior European Championship- it’s pretty special.”
As Germany’s pathfinder, she relished the responsibility: “It feels quite like trust from the team and the trainers because you are the first to go. They all trust you to go clear and go fast and all the direct routes so it is pretty special.”
The stage is set for a thrilling second day of dressage. Friday’s field features a plethora of champions, so the best may yet be to come.
Great Britain’s Laura Collett is still riding the crest of the wave with London 52. The pair have three five-star wins together with their double Olympic team golds and individual bronze from Paris. This formidable partnership is a strong contender for an individual gold. Although they will have to battle it out with another legend of the sport, Germany’s Michael Jung and his Olympic individual gold medal-winning horse FischerChipmunk FRH. Jung is a three-time European champion and has amassed 21 senior medals.
The heat is on at Blenheim.
Watch the FEI Eventing European Championship via ClipMyHorse.TV here.
Source: FEI press release by Eleanore Kelly
