Michael Jung celebrates a start-to-finish victory with his star horse Chipmunk in Luhmühlen, Lower Saxony. The national coach Peter Thomsen is an attentive observer. The Olympic nomination is at stake.
Michael Jung was just “extremely happy” after his days in Luhmühlen in Lower Saxony. The 41-year-old from Horb won the German eventing championship for the fourth time. With his star horse Chipmunk, the three-time Olympic champion scored 30.9 points after the final jumping competition. In second and third place were Sandra Auffahrth on Viamant du Matz (Ganderkesee/32.8) and Calvin Böckmann with Altair de la Cense (Warendorf/33.9).
“Luhmühlen and then the German Championships. That’s always something special,” said Jung after the show jumping. With Chipmunk he had already led the rankings after the dressage and defended the top position on Saturday after the almost four-kilometer cross-country ride through the Westergellerser Heide. With his second horse Ocean Power the 41-year-old was also ahead of Auffahrth and Böckmann with 32.7 points. However, a rider can only ever enter the German Championships with one horse.
Vice-champion Sandra Auffarth spoke of a “great weekend” on Sunday. The 37-year-old was “very happy in all three disciplines” with her horse Viamant du Matz.
Results also important for the Olympics
The German championship was embedded in an international four-star competition. The victory went to the British rider Yasmin Ingham on Banzai du Loir (29.3) ahead of her compatriot Tom McEwen with Dublin (29.6). Jung missed the victory with Chipmunk due to a knockdown at the third-to-last obstacle.
The result from Luhmühlen will be taken into account by national coach Peter Thomsen in the nomination for the Olympic Games in Paris. Three pairs will compete for Germany in France. Another will be registered as a reserve. The final decision will be announced on July 8th after the CHIO in Aachen.
“Not everyone has laid their cards on the table yet,” said Thomsen on Saturday after the cross-country ride, adding with a view to the traditional CHIO: “Aachen has always brought us luck.” Against the historical backdrop of the Palace of Versailles, eventing is on the Olympic programme from July 26 to 29.
Source: Stern
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