European Championship Jumping: Sterrehof’s Calimero reaches finale

During the European Championship in Riesenbeck Sterrehof’s Calimero already jumped his fourth big championship. He made his debut at the Europeans in Gothenburg (2017), after which performances at the WEG in Tryon (2018) and the European Championships in Rotterdam (2019) followed.

Impressive start

The opening class in Riesenbeck went very well. After a quick clear round in this big class against the clock our duo was ranked nine in a field of 65 starting combinations. The next day Calimero jumped impressively again in the first round of the Team Final but two unfortunate mistakes at the end of this difficult course costed him and Marc dearly. As the Dutch team failed collectively, the day ended with a bummer. For the first time in a decade the Dutch team was not allowed to come back for the decisive second round in a Team Final.

Good form

In this second round only Calimero and Marc represented the Dutch colours, but only on an individual basis. Our top-class gelding gave a conformation of his good form in this round. Calimero jumped a convincing clear and he and Marc leapfrogged to place 15 in the individual ranking and qualified for the individual final for the third time in a row during a big championship. Nevertheless Marc decided in consultation with chef d’equipe Rob Ehrens that he would withdraw Calimero for the final as there are still some big events ahead in September, like CHIO Aachen and the FEI Nations Cup Final. “A difficult decision, but first of all I think about Calimero’s wellbeing,” said Marc.