The overnight dressage leaders Laura Collett and Count Onyx remain on top of the CCIO4*-L leaderboard at Military Boekelo but it took a while before she got there after Saturday’s cross country phase.
Deemed to have missed a flag at Fence 12B, Laura dropped to 40th place after her ride early in the day. A protest was lodged with Laura later saying that “My horse was absolutely fantastic from start to finish. I never doubted for a second that I had missed the flag. This was our very first competition at this level, and I’m incredibly proud of him. He’s an outstanding horse for the future.”
It took a while for the Ground Jury to deliberate but the decision was eventually reversed with Laura finally making it to the end of the day press conference as the leading rider.
Angela Tucker, the British president of the Ground Jury, apologised for the lengthy deliberation, saying “There were several matters under discussion, and we have a duty to make the correct decision so that no competitor is treated unfairly. Every situation is different, which made this one particularly complex. Otherwise, it was a wonderful day for our sport — skilled combinations and a huge crowd.”
During those deliberations, New Zealand’s Jesse Campbell looked set to claim the lead for much of the cross-country phase with his 11-year-old gelding Speedwell staying on their dressage score of 27.1 penalties for eventual second place.
Jesse was among the 22 combinations that completed the 5,700-meter course with a double clear round, while Ireland’s Padraig McCarthy moved into third on his nine-year-old bay gelding MGH Zabaione Z, adding just 0.4 time penalties to finish on 27.8 penalties.
Australia moves up to sixth place
Olivia Barton is now the highest placed Australian rider, having completed with a fast clear round, adding just 0.8 time penalties on the nine-year-old APH Sodoku. They moved up to 29th place (35.6), just one place ahead of Bill Levett riding Sligo Candy Cane in 28th (35.7) after adding 4.8 time penalties on cross country.
Bella English riding Cil Dara Bombay S added 7.2 time penalties for 38th (41.2), while Ema Klugman riding Chiraz added 20 penalties at Fence 6B, making theirs the discard score for this phase. The Australian team finished the day on a combined score of 112.5 in sixth place.
Individual Australian competitor, Katja Weimann riding Tullibards You Make Me Feel incurred 11 penalties for a broken MIM at Fence 20B and added some time penalties for 60th place and Kevin McNab riding Wilfred Lancer was unfortunately eliminated after a fall at Fence 22B.
Kevin was one of six combinations eliminated on the Adrian Ditcham designed course with four riders also retiring. Just one of these was a team rider with Ireland’s Georgie Goss eliminated after a fall on the flat between Fences 21 and 22, which may prove critical for the Irish team heading into the final day.
FEI Eventing Nations Cup leaderboard
In the FEI Eventing Nations Cup team competition, Great Britain still tops the leaderboard with 87.9 penalties, Ireland remains in second (91.5) and France has moved up to third (96.1).
New Zealand dropped from third to fifth with Dan Jocelyn and Blackthorn Cruise picking up 20 penalties at the dratted Fence 12B, where two more combinations (France’s Victor Levecque and Brazil’s Marcio Carvalho Jorge, both riding as individuals) were also awarded 15 penalties for a missed flag.
The 2025 FEI Eventing Nations Cup Series leaders, Germany is now in fourth place and, should they hold onto that spot or move higher, they are assured of a win in this year’s Series.
But first we have the second horse inspection and then the showjumping – can Laura make it a second Boekelo crown? Check back tomorrow and see!
