Britain’s Yasmin Ingham has confirmed that she and Rehy DJ are both sound and well after being eliminated for a rider fall on the cross-country course at the Agria FEI European Eventing Championships this morning.
The British pathfinders parted company at the second element of the FEI Mounds at fence 22ab, a corner on top of a mound. It followed an oxer on top of a separate mound.
The incident wasn’t shown on camera and so it wasn’t immediately clear what had caused the fall when an E, signalling elimination, appeared next to their names on the leaderboard.
“I rode the line [and] distance I planned to ride, and he just didn’t quite read the corner as I’d hoped he would and he caught a left front [leg] on the back rail, which caused him to crumple on landing and I just came off out the front door,” explained Yasmin.
“It was no fault of his, no fault of mine, it’s just unfortunately one of those things. The main thing is that we’re both okay and we’ll live to fight another day, so we’ll be cheering the rest of the guys on now.”
‘Not the day we were hoping for’
The pair had looked to be on great form until Yasmin’s fall.
“He was absolutely magnificent on the first part of the course, up on all our minutes. He made it all feel really, really good,” she said.
The next British combination, individuals Caroline Harris on D.Day, also parted company at the same fence, but were unharmed.
Eventing Performance Manager, Richard Waygood, confirmed that all four British riders and their horses – Piggy March also fell off Halo and Bubby Upton was decanted by Its Cooley Time – are unhurt.
“Today is not the day we were hoping for, but the most important thing is that all riders and horses are back in camp and none the worse for wear,” he said.
It means Britain is out of contention for a team medal, however Laura Collett and London 52 hold individual gold overnight and Tom McEwen is in bronze with JL Dublin.
‘Our riders are gutted’
Richard added that Britain’s purple patch – they came to Blenheim as the reigning Olympic and European Champions – had to end eventually.
“Good sport is never knowing the outcome until the final competitor has crossed the finish line. Sometimes, the smallest things can completely rewrite the leaderboard and that’s what makes eventing so exciting,” he said.
“The British team have had a fantastic run of success in recent years, but sport goes in cycles and the bubble has to burst at some point.
“For that to happen at a championship on home soil is unfortunate – our riders are gutted for themselves, their horses and their connections, but also for the British public, who have turned out in their thousands to support us and now won’t see us in a position to defend our team title.
“Yaz, Caroline, Piggy and Bubby all came out today and gave it one hundred percent, but it just wasn’t their day. However, the sign of a true sportsperson is being able to turn disappointment into a strength and I know that they’ll come back from this stronger and with an even greater drive to succeed as we campaign towards the FEI World Championships next year and LA 2028.
“Tomorrow is another day and we’ll now turn our focus to cheering on Tom and Laura as they campaign for a spot on the individual podium.”
Main image of Yasmin Ingham and Rehy DJ at Blenheim today by Tim Wilkinson
