European Eventing Championships
The European Eventing Championships, like most other European Championships, is held every two years. Today it is a three star eventing competition. A three star event is one step down from the grand slam which consists of three four star events.
The first Championships were held at Badminton in 1953, where six teams (Britain, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland) were sent, although only Britain and Switzerland were able to get their horses fit in time to actually compete. However, 10 teams were able to compete at the 1959 competition.
The 1995 and 1997 European Championships were held as part of events open to non-European riders (in Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy in 1995 and Burghley, England in 1997) with the top three European individuals and teams receiving medals. The first woman to win the competition was Shelia Wilcox in 1957, although women were not allowed to compete in the Olympics in eventing until 1964.
There is also a Championship held for young riders, juniors and ponies.
Format
The Championships offers both team and individual gold, silver, and bronze medals.
Each nation may bring a team of four riders and two individuals. The team riders also compete for the individual gold, silver, and bronze medals. The host nation may bring up to eight individual riders, with a total squad of 12.
The best three scores among the teams—the team with the lowest number of penalty points—receive the gold, silver, and bronze medals. However, a team must have at least three riders completing the competition, or else they will be eliminated. If a team has four riders complete, there is a drop-score in their results. If three riders complete, all three scores are added into the final total for the team.
Beginning in 2005, the European Eventing Championships was held in the short-format, without the phases A, B, and C (roads and tracks, and steeplechase) on speed and endurance day. It included just the dressage, cross-country, and show jumping phases.
The competition begins with a horse inspection to make sure all competing horses are sound before beginning the dressage. Then the nations nominate their four team riders and the order they wish them to compete, before the order of nations is determined. The order of go is especially important on cross country day, when the first competitors have the best footing, but do not know how the course will ride, while the later competitors will know the tricky obstacles on course, but may have to run their horses on torn up or sloppy footing.
Past winners
Britain's Ginny Elliot & Germany`s Michael Jung are currently the only riders to have won the individual European Champion title three times in succession, Ginny became European Champion in 1985, 1987, and 1989. Michael Jung became European Champion in 2011, 2013 and 2015.[1]
Individual results
| Individual medalists | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Location | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |
| 1953 |  Badminton | Laurence Rook on Starlight | Frank Weldon on Kilbarry |  Hans Schwarzenbach on Vae Victis | |
| 1954 | Basel | Bertie Hill on Crispin | Frank Weldon on Kilbarry | Laurence Rook on Starlight | |
| 1955 | Windsor | Frank Weldon on Kilbarry | John Oram on Radar | Bertie Hill on Countryman | |
| 1957 |  Copenhagen | Sheila Willcox on High and Mighty |  August Lütke-Westhüs on Franco |  Jonas Lindgren on Eldorado | |
| 1959 | Harewood | Hans Schwarzenbach on Burn Trout | Frank Weldon on Samuel Johnson | Derek Allhusen on Laurien | |
| 1962 | Burghley | James Templer on M'Lord Conelly |  German Gasyumov on Granj | Jane Wykeham-Musgrave on Ryebrooks | |
| 1965 | Moscow |  Marian Babirecki on Volt | Lev Baklyshkin on Evlon | Horst Karsten on Condora | |
| 1967 |  Punchestown | Eddie Boylan on Durlas Eile | Martin Whiteley on The Poacher | Derek Allhusen on Lochinvar | |
| 1969 |  Haras-du-Pin | Mary Gordon-Watson on Cornishman | Richard Walker on Pasha | Bernd Messmann on Windspiel | |
| 1971 | Burghley | HRH The Princess Anne on Doublet | Debbie West on Baccarat | Stuart Stevens on Classic Chips | |
| 1973 | Kiev | Aleksandr Yevdokimov on Jeger | Herbert Blöcker on Albrant | Horst Karsten on Sioux | |
| 1975 | Luhmühlen | Lucinda Prior-Palmer on Be Fair | HRH The Princess Anne on Goodwill | Pyotr Gornushko on Gusar | |
| 1977 | Burghley | Lucinda Prior-Palmer on George | Karl Schultz on Madrigal | Horst Karsten on Sioux | |
| 1979 | Luhmühlen | Nils Haagensen on Monaco | Rachel Bayliss on Gurgle The Geek | Rüdiger Schwarz on Power Game | |
| 1981 | Horsens | Hansueli Schmutz on Oran | Helmut Rethemeier on Santiago | Brian McSweeney on Inis Mean | |
| 1983 | Frauenfeld | Rachel Bayliss on Mystic Minstrel | Lucinda Prior-Palmer on Regal Realm | Christian Persson on Joël | |
| 1985 | Burghley | Virginia Holgate on Priceless | Lorna Clarke on Myross | Ian Stark on Oxford Blue | |
| 1987 | Luhmühlen | Virginia Leng on Night Cap | Ian Stark on Sir Wattie | Claus Erhorn on Justyn Thyme | |
| 1989 | Burghley | Virginia Leng on Master Craftsman | Jane Thelwall on King's Jester | Lorna Clarke-Sutherland on Fearliath Mor | |
| 1991 | Punchestown | Ian Stark on Glenburnie | Richard Walker on Jacana | Karen Straker on Get Smart | |
| 1993 | Achselschwang | Jean-Lou Bigot on Twist La Beige | Kristina Gifford on Song and Dance Man |  Eddy Stibbe on Bahlua | |
| 1995 |  Pratoni del Vivaro | Lucy Thompson on Welton Romance | Marie-Christine Duroy on Ut Du Placineau | Mary King on King William | |
| 1997 | Burghley | Bettina Hoy on Watermill Stream | William Fox-Pitt on Cosmopolitan II | Kristina Gifford on General Jock | |
| 1999 | Luhmühlen | Pippa Funnell on Supreme Rock | Linda Algotsson on Stand By Me | Paula Törnqvist on Monaghan | |
| 2001 | Pau | Pippa Funnell on Supreme Rock | Inken Johanssen on Brilliante |  Enrique Sarasola Jr. on Dope Doux | |
| 2003 | Punchestown | Nicolas Touzaint on Galan de Sauvagere | Linda Algotsson on Stand By Me | Pippa Funnell on Walk On Star | |
| 2005 | Blenheim | Zara Phillips on Toytown | William Fox-Pitt on Tamarillo | Ingrid Klimke on Sleep Late | |
| 2007 | Pratoni del Vivaro | Nicolas Touzaint on Galan de Sauvagere | Mary King on Call Again Cavalier | Bettina Hoy on Ringwood Cockatoo | |
| 2009 | Fontainebleau | Kristina Cook on Miners Frolic | Piggy French on Some Day Soon | Michael Jung on La Biosthetique - Sam | |
| 2011 | Luhmühlen | Michael Jung on La Biosthetique - Sam | Sandra Auffarth on Opgun Louvo | Frank Ostholt on Little Paint | |
| 2013 | Malmö | Michael Jung on Halunke | Ingrid Klimke on Escada | William Fox-Pitt on Chilli Morning | |
| 2015 | Blair Castle | Michael Jung on fischerTakinou | Sandra Auffarth on Opgun Louvo | Thibaut Vallette on Qing du Briot | |
| 2017 | Strzegom | ||||
Team results
All-time medal table (1953–2015)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Britain | 39 | 24 | 17 | 80 |
| 2 | Germany | 9 | 13 | 14 | 36 |
| 3 | USSR | 4 | 5 | 1 | 10 |
| 4 | France | 3 | 9 | 10 | 22 |
| 5 | Ireland | 3 | 4 | 6 | 13 |
| 6 | Sweden | 2 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| 7 | Switzerland | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 8 | Poland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 9 | Denmark | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | Italy | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 11 | Netherlands | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 12 | .svg.png){kind=small} Belgium | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 13 | Spain | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 64 | 63 | 61 | 188 | |