Canada’s team campaign came to an end on the second day of show jumping at the FEI World Championships in Aachen, with the team finishing 17th, but Kyle Timm and Chris Pratt will continue to fly the flag individually.
Canada finished with a score of 21.81, outside the top 10 nations that advance to the team final, on a day that saw Germany strengthen its grip on the championship and a major shake-up at the top of the individual standings.
Kyle Timm and Casino Calvin had a lovely clear round to finish in 40th place, advancing to the Second Individual Qualifier with the top 60 riders. (Cealy Tetley photo)
Mixed Fortunes For Canada
Kyle Timm and Casino Calvin were first in for Canada and had an exciting clear round to finish in 40th individually on a score of 5.03. He said his horse had improved with every appearance in Aachen and felt particularly good in the warm-up ahead of Thursday’s round.
“Today in the warm-up, I think I was hitting 95, 96 percent, exactly what I wanted every warm-up jump,” he said. “He doesn’t do well with shock. He does well with confidence and calmness.”
Timm said he knew early in the round that he had a horse ready to perform. “As I jumped the number two vertical, I felt him push back so hard, and I said, ‘Wow, the horse is on form today!’”
Amy Millar and Jagger HX had a single rail to move them up to 88th place. (Cealy Tetley photo)
Amy Millar and Jagger HX added four faults to Canada’s effort, but Millar was nevertheless delighted with her horse’s performance.
“I’m really happy with my horse,” she said. “I’m a little bummed that I had the four faults, but honestly, he jumped so well, and it was like if I had to do it over again, I think I could jump clean nine times in a row.”
She described the course as big rather than overly complicated, noting fences reached 1.65m, and predicted that the level of technical difficulty will rise considerably for the team final.
Chris Pratt also remains in the individual competition, sitting 36th on a score of 4.85. He was thrilled with Ideaal ES, saying the bay gelding continues to rise to every challenge despite this championship representing by far the biggest test of their partnership.
“I don’t know what he’s capable of,” he said. “He’s always stepped up to what we’ve asked him to do. This is by far the biggest ask, and it felt like he understands the sport exactly how it should be played.”
Chris credited the team around Ideaal, including longtime groom Maya Fratti, veterinarian Eduardo Felix and the Canadian team staff with keeping the horse feeling his best throughout the championship.
The difficult moment for Canada came with Erynn Ballard and Fave d’Authuit. They had the opening fence down before running into trouble at both elements of 5ab, where Ballard nearly came off, and she elected to retire.
Canadian chef d’équipe Ian Millar said the team’s veterinarian and physiotherapist had been unable to find anything physically wrong with Fave d‘Authuit. He explained that Ballard and Fave d’Authuit’s connections had carefully planned the entire season around having the horse peak for Aachen, but something appeared to have changed following their elimination on opening day.
“They did everything they could to try to get past it and get it to mentally recover, and it just didn’t,” Millar said. “And so Erynn made the decision that for the welfare of the horse, she should stop, and she was absolutely right.”
Scott Brash (GBR) leads the individual leaderboard with the amazing mare Hello Mango. (Cealy Tetley photo)
Brash Takes Over Individual Lead
There was considerable movement at the top of the individual standings as several of Wednesday’s leaders ran into trouble.
France’s Julien Epaillard, who led after the opening speed competition, had two rails and tumbled all the way to 64th with a score of 8, putting him outside the top 60 continuing in the individual championship.
Harrie Smolders, second overnight, also dropped dramatically after having a rail. He finished the day 34th on 4.68.
That opened the door for Great Britain’s Scott Brash, who had entered the day in third. Brash and Hello Mango produced another clear to move into the championship lead on 0.80.
Brash was delighted with the mare, but well aware of how much jumping remains.
“It’s amazing, but there’s no illusions so far,” he said. “Long way to go. A lot of big tests to come, so we’ll take one day at a time.”
Although the course, designed by German Frank Rothenberger, produced 49 clear rounds, Brash said that did not reflect a lack of difficulty.
“It’s big,” he said. “Big jumping, but horses jump very good in this ring. Yeah, I think it shows what standard we’ve got here.”
Germany’s Sophie Hinners also moved up from fourth to second after another strong performance left her just behind Brash on 0.84.
Germany Remains on Top
Germany will head into the team final in a commanding position after all four of its combinations jumped clear Thursday, leaving the home nation on 3.48. Daniel Deusser said producing his clear was particularly important because it took some of the pressure off Germany’s final rider.
“All the teams are very close together, so it was important that we go into the last round as a leading team tomorrow,” he said.
The Aachen crowd added another dimension to the performance.
“Of course, when you go into the arena, you feel a lot of pressure, but when you come over the last jump and you had a good round done, that is an absolutely incredible feeling here.”
The United States climbed into second on 4.85 after three clear rounds, while Belgium slipped to third on 7.69.
Italy made one of the biggest moves of the day, climbing from seventh to tie Belgium on 7.69 after three clear rounds.
Great Britain, second after the opening competition, dropped to fifth on 8.98 after Harry Charles and LT Holst Freda and Adrian Whiteway and Chacco Solo each had rails.
France sits sixth on 8.99, followed by Sweden on 9.64, Switzerland on 10.49, Denmark on 11.57 and Ireland on 11.69.
Canada Looks Toward Pan Ams
For Canada, the result turns attention toward next year’s Pan American Games, the team’s final opportunity to earn qualification for the 2028 Olympic Games.
Millar believes one of the keys to improving Canada’s international competitiveness is getting its riders into Europe more frequently to compete against the depth of talent they encounter at a championship such as Aachen.
“We just need to get out in the big world and go to the shows and compete against these people,” he said. “That’s how you get better.”
Millar knows from experience. He recalled moving his own operation to Europe many years ago with his late wife, Lynn, and spending months competing on the European circuit until he became accustomed to its speed and intensity.
“Being in this atmosphere is very important,” he said.
But he also acknowledged the significant obstacles facing Canadian riders. All five members of the Canadian squad are working professionals with clients, students and businesses in North America, making an extended European campaign both logistically and financially difficult.
On top of that, the cost of horses capable of competing at this level presents an even greater challenge. Millar noted that even the less expensive horses competing in Aachen are worth $1 million Euros – which is over $1.6 million Canadian.
For Canada, finding a way to bridge that gap will become increasingly important. With the World Championship team competition now over, the Pan American Games, being held next year in Lima, Peru, represent the next major opportunity and the final route to Olympic team qualification.
For now, Timm and Chris will carry Canada forward at Aachen as the individual championship continues.
Individual standings here.
Team standings here.
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