British rider Sarah Bullimore leads the intermediate ranking after the first dressage day of the Military Boekelo-Enschede. With a score of 27 on her only eight-year-old chestnut mare Corimiro, she scored the best result of the fifty combinations that competed.

Much care for the cross-country course
Under the supervision of course builder Adrian Ditcham, a lot of care has been taken in recent days to keep the route that the 96 horses must complete in the cross-country on Saturday as optimal as possible. Ditcham, who has succeeded his compatriot Sue Benson since 2019: “It is the first time that I have had to deal with a very wet week prior to the cross. The groundwater has also risen considerably and we had to pump a lot of it away. But the green part of the course is easily accessible and is kept completely free for the horses. The spectators have to cross the black part where there is quite a bit of mud. It will be a challenge anyway.”

Ditcham is happy that the weather is improving and that almost all 29 obstacles set up in the course can remain part of the competition on Saturday. The first water combination with obstacles 8 and 9 (TKF Pond) promises to be the first serious test for the participants with an extra jump. The Sunken Road (12 abc) is new and on 14 and 15 (Bij Robers) a double with a new and partly renovated obstacle awaits.”

Renovated forest pond
The Forest Pond (20) was tackled extensively at the beginning of this year. Adrian Ditcham: “We renovated the entire soil base there and opted for only two instead of three possible routes. It is now more straight ahead.”

Ditcham concludes: “In our sport you are very dependent on the weather. We will do everything we can in the coming days to get the course in the best possible condition for the competition.”

On Friday, 46 combinations will enter the ring, including all 43 riders who represent their country’s national team

Image courtesy of Marjon Hoen Fotografie