Britain's Rachel Proudley celebrated a sensational success at her very first championship: bronze with the team and gold in the individual final for young riders. In June, the 19-year-old even broke her own record in a puissance competition when she cleared a 2.20 m wall at the CSI3* in Bolesworth. On Sunday, the young rider from North Yorkshire demonstrated to everyone why she was nominated for the British European Championship team this year. Riding the 14-year-old Irish-bred mare Quality Street, she maintained a perfect jumping record throughout the week. With just 0.7 points, she finished the individual final of the FEI Jumping European Championships as the last competitor and remained clear once again, securing the gold medal.
Proudley has been training with successful Irish rider Richard Howley for two years, and understandably, he was very proud of his student: “Rachel is a very talented rider. She is only 19 years old and has had very little experience at this level or in any kind of championship before. But she has once again shown her true class as a rider and her ability. She was just so solid throughout the whole week.”
French rider Eden Leprevost Blinlebreton won the silver medal riding the 11-year-old chestnut mare Barbie de la Roque Z. She also finished the tournament without a single rail down — no surprise, as show jumping is in the 21-year-old's blood. Both of her parents are professional riders; her mother is none other than Olympic team gold medalist Pénélope Leprevost. Mathieu Guery celebrated team gold with his teammates on Saturday and added a bronze medal to his tally on Sunday afternoon. The 20-year-old, who is the son of Olympic showjumper Jérôme Guéry, was also faultless in both rounds.
The decision for the FEI Jumping European Championship medals in the individual category for young riders was the final jumping event of this weekend in Riesenbeck. The course designers, Peter Schumacher (GER), Phil Schmauder (GER), and Petr Mašek (CZE), once again created a fair challenge for these young talents.
