European Eventing Championship
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The European Eventing Championship, like most other European Championships, is held every two years. It is a **** (four star) eventing competition, the highest level offered, where nations from Europe compete for both team and individual titles. The Championships began in 1953 have been held at venues throughout Europe.
The 1995 and 1997 European Championships were open to the world, but were reverted back to a European-only competition in 1999.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Past winners
Britain's Ginny Elliot is currently the only rider to have won the individual European Champion title three times in succession, in 1985, 1987, and 1989.
- 1953
- Venue: Badminton, Great Britain
- Team: Great Britain
- Individual: Major Laurence Rook/Starlight (GB)
- 1954
- Venue: Basle, Switzerland
- Team: Great Britain
- Individual: Bertie Hill/Crispin (GB)
- 1955
- Venue: Windsor, GB
- Team: Great Britain
- Individual: Major Frank Weldon/Kilbarry (GB)
- 1957
- Venue: Copenhagen, Denmark
- Team: Great Britain
- Individual: Sheila Willcox/High And Mighty (GB)
- 1959
- Venue: Harewood, GB
- Team: West Germany
- Individual: Major Hans Schwarzenbach/Burnt Trout (SUI)
- 1962
- 1965
- Venue: Moscow, USSR
- Team: USSR
- Individual: Marian Babirecki/Volt (POL)
- 1967
- Venue: Punchestown, Ireland
- Team: Great Britain
- Individual: Major Eddy Boylan/Durlas Eile (IRL)
- 1969
- Venue: Haras du Pin, France
- Team: Great Britain
- Individual: Mary Gordon Watson/Cornishman V (GB)
- 1971
- Venue: Burghley, GB
- Team: Great Britain
- Individual: HRH Princess Anne/Doublet (GB)
- 1973
- Venue: Kiev, USSR
- Team: West Germany
- Individual: Alexander Evdokimov/Jeger (USSR)
- 1975
- Venue: Luhmühlen, W Germany
- Team: USSR
- Individual: Lucinda Prior-Palmer (now Green)/Be Fair (GB)
- 1977
- Venue: Burghley, GB
- Team: Great Britain
- Individual: Lucinda Prior-Palmer (now Green)/George (GB)
- 1979
- Venue: Luhmühlen, W Germany
- Team: Ireland
- Individual: Nils Hagenson/Monaco (DEN)
- 1981
- Venue: Horsens, Denmark
- Team: Great Britain
- Individual: Hansueli Schmutz/Oran (SUI)
- 1983
- Venue: Frauenfeld, Switzerland
- Team: Sweden
- Individual: Rachel Bayliss/Mystic Minstrel (GB)
- 1985
- Venue: Burghley, GB
- Team: Great Britain
- Individual: Virginia Holgate (now Elliot)/Priceless (GB)
- 1987
- Venue: Luhmühlen, W Germany
- Team: Great Britain
- Individual: Virginia Leng (Elliot)/Night Cap ll (GB)
- 1989
- Venue: Burghley, GB
- Team: Great Britain
- Individual: Virginia Leng (Elliot)/Master Craftsman (GB)
- 1991
- Venue: Punchestown, Ireland
- Team: Great Britain
- Individual: Ian Stark/Glenburnie (GB)
- 1993
- Venue: Achselschwang, Germany
- Team: Sweden
- Individual: Jean-Lou Bigot/Twist La Beige (FRA)
- 1995
- Venue: Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy
- Team: [Open] Great Britain
- Individual: Lucy Thompson/Welton Romance (IRL)
- 1997
- Venue: Burghley, GB
- Team: [Open] Great Britain
- Individual: Mark Todd/Broadcast News (NZ)
; Bettina Overesch (Hoy)/Watermill Stream (GER)
- 1999
- Venue: Luhmühlen, Germany
- Team: Great Britain
- Individual: Pippa Funnell/Supreme Rock (GB)
- 2001
- Venue: Pau, France
- Team: Great Britain
- Individual: Pippa Funnell/Supreme Rock (GB)
- 2003
- Venue: Punchestown, Ireland
- Team: Great Britain
- Individual: Nicolas Touzaint/Galan de Sauvagere (FRA)
- 2005
- Venue: Blenheim, Great Britain
- Team: Great Britain
- Individual: Zara Phillips/Toytown (GB)
