The cross completely turned the ranking of the eventing upside down in the UBS-Cup again. Not even the currently domineering Brits were spared from unplanned incidents. The beaming winners across the board were the riders from New Zealand and the new Cours Designer, Giuseppe Della Chiesa.

New Zealand was able to win the UBS-Cup in Aachen for the second time after already claiming the victory in 2018. On a combined score of 108.5 minus points, they left the teams from the USA (117.2) and Great Britain (134.1) trailing behind them. Nothing like the interim results after the dressage. It became clear at the latest after the performance of Monica Spencer from New Zealand with her English thoroughbred, Artist, that it would hardly be possible to ride within the best time. The pair were indeed just one second over the ideal time of 6:35 minutes. But faster than that simply wasn’t possible. Whether the new Course Designer, Giuseppe Della Chiesa, had expected anyone to stay within the time? “To be honest, no. But the riders did a good job, they came very close. They looked at the jumps first, then at the time. The influence of which had a corresponding effect on the ranking.

Monica Spencer and Artist formed the basis for the later victory of New Zealand’s team. Her fast-paced ride catapulted her from 19th place into 6th place in the individual classification. Her team colleagues followed suit. Clarke Johnstone and his Hanoverian-bred Diacontinus son, Rocket Man, delivered a solid round, to come ninth. Samantha Lissington and Lord Seekönig triggered off a MIM on the 21st obstacle, but reached the finish line. Tim Price and his 15-year-old Holstein-bred Contender son, Vitali, rounded off New Zealand’s victory perfectly. They were the last pair to set off on the track and ultimately produced the fourth fastest time, to secure the team’s second win in Aachen after 2018. And Tim Price, who has topped the world rankings list so many times, but has never managed to win in Aachen before, now has a coveted place on the Winners’ Board at the Soers.

The Brits had a turbulent day. Gemma Stevens’ Flash Cooley did all justice to his name and sped through the cross like lightning. The third best time meant third place for her in the individual classifications. But the cross went like clockwork for Tom McEwen as well. In third place with Brookfield Quality after the dressage and jumping, the pair managed to move up one place in the ranking in the individual classifications: Second place. But their team colleagues both ran into a bit of trouble. Bubby Upton and Cannavaro had a run-out at the last element of the coffin at the Boss complex. The team Olympic gold medallist and individual bronze medallist from Paris, Laura Collett, had a run-out with Dacapo in the Rolex Water Jump. Both refusals had cost additional time on top, as well as the victory. Third place for the British team.

They opened the door for the USA. The winners of Aachen in 2021, William Coleman and Off were the team’s best result – fourth in the individual ranking, followed by Boyd Martin with Commando. He had really tried hard, not only because it was his first time in Aachen but also because his mother-in-law was watching. The team was completed by Phillip Dutton with Possante in eleventh place and Caroline Pamukcu, who was the first to go on the course today with HSH (27th).

And Team Germany? Finished fourth today with a total score of 138.6 minus points. Jérôme Robiné and Black Ice had already been the best German pair after the dressage and jumping. They also had a fantastic round in the cross, but they too picked up time faults, which meant eighth place in the final ranking. Anna Siemer and Butts Avondale came 17th. Calvin Böckmann and Altair de la Cense finished in 23rd place. Libussa Lübbeke and Caramia had a run-out at obstacle 7, the Turkish Airlines Complex, but had a smooth ride after that.

Quotes

Jonathan Paget, Chef d ’équipe of the New Zealand time, said: Aachen is a hard place to come to and we hoped to do well. We tried to be as competitive as possible. The effort of the riders was very good. Our thanks to the owners for letting us bring the horses here. For us Aachen is like a European Championships, because we don’t have one, so we treat it like that. Good to come here with next year in mind.“

How Tim Price felt after his first victory in Aachen? “It is taking time to soak in. First of all, you are just focused, then there is the team aspect, that is the primary thing. Come out the other side I wasn’t sure if I’d won because everyone claps however well you have done. I was really happy to discover that I had won with this cracking horse. He is a fantastic horse to ride cross with. I picked up on the atmosphere from the first jump onwards. It gave us a feel of the atmosphere all round the course. It was a very enthusiastic crowd,” is how explained his emotions during the cross.

Tom McEwen praised how Giuseppe Della Chiesa had designed the course. “The course was amazing, it flowed well. I actually really enjoyed riding round it. The time was tight, I couldn’t have shaved much more off it.

The Course Designer also drew a positive balance after his first time as course builder at the CHIO Aachen, passing on the praise to his team and the organisers: “It is always a team effort wherever you go. Rüdiger (Schwarz) helped me. He said the course was not too bad,“ he said with a wink of the eye. “It is great to work here in Aachen. We have the builders who put our ideas into practice. The riders did a fantastic job. They respected the course, put the horses in a good frame of mind. Produced some good pictures of the sport.”

There were a few falls, which were all fortunately harmless. Two horses were examined at the clinic, but they were both fine. Nothing bad happened. CHIO Aachen Head of Sport, Birgit Rosenberg, drew an extremely positive balance, especially with regards to the World Championships next year: “We are looking forward to the World Championships. This was the test event for that. We saw super sport.“

Whether the team from New Zealand we celebrate today? “It depends what time we have to go to the airport,” was the hesitant answer. A few minutes later the door opened and Tim Price’s wife Jonelle, who also competed as an individual participant, entered, bringing drinks for her victorious fellow countrymen. Cheers, Kiwis!