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Thieme takes European horse jumping title from Fuchs

Madrid, Sep 5 (EFE).- Germany’s Andre Thieme, riding DSP Chakaria, on Sunday unseated Switzerland’s Martin Fuchs as the European titleholder in equestrian show jumping in Riesenbeck, Germany, at the 2021 FEI Jumping European Championships.

Fuchs had won the title two years ago in Rotterdam, Netherlands, but this year – after a disappointing performance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics – Thieme was at the top of the ranking table at the start of the last five rounds of jumping, having accumulated just 2.84 penalties in the first qualification round.

The 46-year-old German thus wrapped up a perfect weekend performance, winning the silver in the team event at the Euros last week.

He was riding the same horse he had ridden during the poor overall German performance in Tokyo, but this time around – although the horse did pick up 4 penalty points for touching the barrier on the triple obstacle – the pair’s overall 6.84 score, with three perfect rounds out of the competition’s four, was enough to take home the gold in the jumping event.

Thieme’s win gave Germany its 15th individual title in the 64-year history of the competition, with Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum last winning it in 2007.

Fuchs, riding Leone Jei, came in second with a score of 9.31 after several mistakes on Sunday, also on the triple obstacle.

In third place in the competition was Sweden’s Peder Fredricson, who wrapped up a great summer season by adding two Olympic medals in Tokyo to his haul and winning the bronze in the Euros aboard Catch Not Me S with a score of 9.93.

The Swedish rider said in a interview with the International Equestrian Federation that his horse was in great form, showed great character and gave a great performance.

Regarding the Spanish riders, Manuel Fernandez Saro, who competed with Jarlin de Torres, ended up in 20th place with 17.76 points, while Eduardo Alvarez Aznar, aboard Legend, was in 21st place with 18.49 points. Neither man could get into the last round after committing errors and garnering an extra penalty point for failure to complete the event under the time limit.

Nevertheless, Alvarez Aznar told EFE that his horse, while lacking a bit of experience in top-level competitions, got into the final, an achievement he called “fantastic and positive.”

Fernandez Saro remarked that he, too, considered the event a great opportunity to continue gaining experience and was satisfied with his horse’s performance.

The 2021 European Championships saw Switzerland win the team competition last Friday before 2,100 riding enthusiasts, with Germany in second place and Belgium in third.

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