THE seven-year-olds faced a tough challenge in the two jumping phases in the CCI2* at the FEI World Eventing Championships for Young Horses at Le Lion d’Angers last weekend and, if you competed on the second day of dressage, it was hard to better those at the top of the leaderboard who had gone on Thursday.

Last into the arena in the second of four sessions on day one, Germany’s Ingrid Klimke looked like maintaining her lead on Asha P (25.3) right to the end of the phase but was pushed down into second by the final rider to compete, her teammate Michael Jung, who was awarded a penalty score of 25 for his work with Choclat.

Saturday’s lengthy (9m 14secs) cross-country phase with numerous combinations caused plenty of problems with 10 horses failing to complete including Choclat who fell at the ditch at eight. Jung was diagnosed with a broken humerus and chipped shoulder socket on his return home to Germany on Sunday.

Last season’s six-year-old champions, Britain’s Izzy Taylor and Monkeying Around, dropped from joint-fourth to 42nd with a stop on course while her compatriot Laura Collett, who was also on 26.1 following dressage with the Tattersalls CCIYH1* winner Calmaro, took longer to get back on track from her run-out and finished 45th on 56.5.

Other notable combinations to have a problem on this leg were New Zealand’s Jesse Cambell, who started the day in sixth place with Gambesie (24) but ended in 43rd and one of the local heroes, Thomas Carlile with Birmane (28.1) who were third in the CCI1* last year but among the seven combinations who were eliminated on Saturday.

Show jumping rounds were hard to come by the following day but the majority of the top-six jumped clear apart from Britain’s Sarah Bullimore who dropped from fourth (29) to 24th when picking up 12 penalties with Corouet and her teammate Nicola Wilson who slipped from second (25.6) to fifth when JL Dublin rolled a pole.

The gold medal therefore went to a delighted Klimke and her Brandenburg mare Asha P who is by Askari 173 (HOLST) out of Hera (SA) by Heraldik (XX). Britain’s Tom Jackson took silver with the Irish Sport Horse Capels Hollow Drift, a grey by Shannondale Sarco St Ghyvan who was bred in Co Clare by Jeanette Flynn out of the Lucky Gift mare Lucky Crest.

Astier Nicolas gave the home crowd something to cheer about when third on the Selle Français stallion Babylon de Gamma.

For most spectators, the attraction of these championships is to see many of the world’s top riders on their young horses. Best of the Irish was recent World Equestrian Games team silver medallist Cathal Daniels who finished eighth on Heidi and Ian Woodhead’s Dutch Warmblood gelding Galant DHI, who completed on his dressage score (32.1), and 10th with Michelle Nelson and Kieran Connors’s home-bred ISH gelding OLS King Aragon (by Samgemjee) who had a pole down for a completion score of 34.3.