Carsten-Otto Nagel is the man of the moment in Madrid. The 48-year-old already has a team gold medal in his back pocket after yesterday’s German victory at the FEI European Jumping Championships and, as leader of the individual rankings, he’s hoping to make that double gold here at the Club de Campo de Villa Madrid tomorrow.
Nagel will celebrate his 49th birthday next Friday, and what better present could there be than two European gold medals to add to the team gold from last year’s Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ that’s already in his collection.
There were five no-shows for this morning’s second horse inspection, most notably Pilar Lucrecia Cordón, best-placed of the Spanish in 12th overnight. Nuage Bleu has a minor leg injury and there was no question of risking the 10-year-old gelding over two big courses tomorrow. But the home side still has Julio Arias and Jarnac to cheer on and the Spanish rider’s fan club is sure to be out in force in the glorious Club de Campo showgrounds tomorrow afternoon.