CHIO Aachen Eventing: Tim Price, Team New Zealand Big Winners

Canada's Jessica Phoenix and Freedom GS finish 21st in elite company at the UBS-Cup CCIO4* at CHIO Aachen.

A woman on a bay horse performing a dressage teast, the same horse and rider jumping a cross-country fence.

Jessica Phoenix and Freedom GS. (Mackenzie Clark and Libby Law Photography)

By: Horse Sport staff | July 7, 2025

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you're listening to an article from horse sport.com. chio aachen eventing: tim price, team new zealand big winners by: horse sport staff |. the ubs-cup ccio4* took place july 4-5 during chio aachen, featuring eight teams and a star-studded individual field of 45 starters. on friday morning, tim price (nzl) with vitali and jérôme robiné (ger) riding black ice were tied for first place after the dressage phase, both on a score of 27.3 pp. however, after black ice collected four faults in the show jumping friday afternoon, robiné slipped back into fourth place. in the team standings, great britain had the lead, followed closely by new zealand, with germany in third heading into the cross-country on saturday. the final day’s cross-country test at the soers, built for the first time by italian course designer giuseppe della chiesa, completely turned the rankings upside down. even the british team, the overnight leaders, were not spared mishaps. despite a brilliant fast ride for gemma stevens and flash cooley which landed them in third place individually, teammate bubby upton and cannavaro had a run-out at the last element of the coffin at the boss complex. team olympic gold medallist and individual bronze medallist from paris, laura collett, also had a run-out with dacapo in the rolex water jump, which cost the brits the victory and moved them to third behind the us. team usa was led by william coleman and off the record, boyd martin with commando 3, phillip dutton with possante and caroline pamukcu with hsh blake. advertisement scroll to continue with content strong rides by new zealand saw them win the ubs-cup in aachen for the second time, having also claimed victory in 2018. it became clear after the speedy performance of the team’s monica spencer from new zealand with her english thoroughbred, artist, that it would be nearly impossible to ride within the optimum time, although her fast-paced ride catapulted her from 19th into 6th place in the individual standings. the new course designer, giuseppe della chiesa, was asked if he 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.”. spencer’s colleagues followed her lead: clarke johnstone and his hanoverian rocket man delivered a solid round to finish ninth; samantha lissington and lord seekönig triggered a mim, but reached the finish line. tim price and his 15-year-old holsteiner vitali rounded off new zealand’s victory perfectly, producing the fourth-fastest time to secure the win and earn himself a coveted place on the winners’ board at the soers. jonathan paget, chef d’équipe of the new zealand team, 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.”. individual winner tim price said, “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. coming 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. the only canadian in the ubs-cup, jessica phoenix, rode charlotte schickedanz’ 13-year-old mare freedom gs to 21st place with a final score of 49.80. phoenix and freedom scored a 39.0 in dressage to sit 38th, then progressively moved up the leaderboard after jumping a lovely double-clean stadium round to move up to 28th, then topping it off with a clear cross-country effort with just 10.8 time penalties for a final placing of 21st. individual results here. team results here. ~ with files from chio aachen.

The UBS-Cup CCIO4* took place July 4-5 during CHIO Aachen, featuring eight teams and a star-studded individual field of 45 starters.

On Friday morning, Tim Price (NZL) with Vitali and Jérôme Robiné (GER) riding Black Ice were tied for first place after the dressage phase, both on a score of 27.3 pp. However, after Black Ice collected four faults in the show jumping Friday afternoon, Robiné slipped back into fourth place. In the team standings, Great Britain had the lead, followed closely by New Zealand, with Germany in third heading into the cross-country on Saturday.

The final day’s cross-country test at the Soers, built for the first time by Italian course designer Giuseppe Della Chiesa, completely turned the rankings upside down. Even the British Team, the overnight leaders, were not spared mishaps. Despite a brilliant fast ride for Gemma Stevens and Flash Cooley which landed them in third place individually, teammate Bubby Upton and Cannavaro had a run-out at the last element of the coffin at the Boss complex. Team Olympic gold medallist and individual bronze medallist from Paris, Laura Collett, also had a run-out with Dacapo in the Rolex Water Jump, which cost the Brits the victory and moved them to third behind the US. Team USA was led by William Coleman and Off The Record, Boyd Martin with Commando 3, Phillip Dutton with Possante and Caroline Pamukcu with HSH Blake.

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Strong rides by New Zealand saw them win the UBS-Cup in Aachen for the second time, having also claimed victory in 2018. It became clear after the speedy performance of the team’s Monica Spencer from New Zealand with her English thoroughbred, Artist, that it would be nearly impossible to ride within the optimum time, although her fast-paced ride catapulted her from 19th into 6th place in the individual standings. The new course designer, Giuseppe Della Chiesa, was asked if he 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.”

Spencer’s colleagues followed her lead: Clarke Johnstone and his Hanoverian Rocket Man delivered a solid round to finish ninth; Samantha Lissington and Lord Seekönig triggered a MIM, but reached the finish line. Tim Price and his 15-year-old Holsteiner Vitali rounded off New Zealand’s victory perfectly, producing the fourth-fastest time to secure the win and earn himself a coveted place on the Winners’ Board at the Soers.

Jonathan Paget, chef d’équipe of the New Zealand team, 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.”

Individual winner Tim Price said, “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. Coming 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.

The only Canadian in the UBS-Cup, Jessica Phoenix, rode Charlotte Schickedanz’ 13-year-old mare Freedom GS to 21st place with a final score of 49.80. Phoenix and Freedom scored a 39.0 in dressage to sit 38th, then progressively moved up the leaderboard after jumping a lovely double-clean stadium round to move up to 28th, then topping it off with a clear cross-country effort with just 10.8 time penalties for a final placing of 21st.

Individual results here.

Team results here.

~ with files from CHIO Aachen