AACHEN, Germany--Steve Guerdat of Switzerland on Dynamix de Belheme, won the Individual gold medal at the World Championship on Sunday, Aug. 23

Steve Guerdat on Dynamix de Belheme (Photo by Allen MacMillan)Guerdat was the only one to jump five clean rounds, including three over incredibly difficult courses that caused numerous riders to withdraw after problems on course and other top riders like Richie Vogel of Germany and Ben Maher of Great Britain to have stops.

Thibeau Spits of Belgium on Impress-K van't Kattenheye Z won the Individual silver to add to the Team silver he won on Friday, finishing on 5.60 penalties.

Harry Charles of Great Britain on LT Holst Freda made the biggest move of the day, climbing from 59th 23rd to third to win the bronze on 7.17.

McLain Ward and Laura Kraut made the top 25 but neither made the top12, with Kraut finishing clean jumping but with a foot on the tape at the water for four faults, finishing 14th on 9.06 and Ward with eight faults in the Final finishing 21st.

 

"IT WAS VERY disappointing because Baloutinue jumped outstanding," said Kraut. "He thinks he had a clear round. He didn't have any idea he touched the tape. In all the time I've ever ridden him, I've never been even close to the tape."

Laura Kraut on Baloutinue (Photo by Allen MacMillan)"But he's been a champion all week," Kraut said. "He jumped clear today and jumped it so easily. There was plenty in the tank to jump a second round if I'd made it."

"He gave so much in the team round, he was maybe a little out of gas," said Ward of High Star Hero. "I think he was a bit surprised by how big the second fence was. I thought I was out of contention at this point."

"We should have had a team medal," said Ward. "Hero is an incredible horse; he jumped a true championship test with this course and I am proud of him.”

Before another sold-out crowd of 40,000, Guerdat finally claimed the one major honor that, until now, had eluded him, and he did so emphatically as the only rider to complete every round of the week without lowering a single rail.

“It feels amazing,” he said. “The World Championship is something I dreamed of. Once I jumped the last fence, all the emotion came up. I don’t really have words for what it means.”

“I was extremely nervous because I thought this might be my last shot at it,” he said.“It’s not all the time that you have a horse like Dynamix in this form and everything goes your way. The week has been very, very long.”

Winning it in Aachen made the moment even more significant.

McLain Ward on High Star Hero (Photo by Allen MacMillan)“It’s the history of our sport and nothing gets bigger than Aachen,” he said. “There is not one day in my life where Aachen doesn’t come to my mind. I don’t think it gets any better than winning the World Championship in Aachen. I never wanted to finish my career without a win in Aachen.”

"I''d like to be with my team now, because I owe it to them," said Guerdat.

Guerdat is the first Swiss rider to claim Individual Jumping world gold.

He had previously won European and Olympic gold and a World Championship silver.

“My idea before we started was that I wanted a good champion, and that they should be the only one to jump five clear rounds,” course designer Frank Rothenberger said. “And that happened.”

For 25-year-old Spits, silver completed an extraordinary week with Impress-K van't Kattenheye Z.

“I never really dared to dream of it,” Spits said. “I’ll probably never come to a Championship with a horse in such good shape and so talented. He just gives me so much trust. After the Team medal I could enter without pressure and really just try to enjoy today. It’s unbelievable.”

Charles has only ridden LT Holst Freda, for three months, and he began Sunday in 23rd position before two textbook clears carried him onto the podium.

"After the first day, I never thought a medal would be possible," said Charles. "My mare brought me to this."

It's extraordinary for such a short partnership to do so well in a major championship.

The combination began almost by chance. Freda had originally been considered for Charles’ wife, Eve, but when the opportunity arose to see the mare, Charles and his father traveled to the Netherlands.

“We just stood looking at her in the cross ties and I said, ‘I don’t think you even need to try this horse.’ I was so in love with her already,” he said.

What followed exceeded even his expectations.

“We honestly got on really well from day one. She is a freak, the amount of power she can generate and her nature. I’ve never had a horse like her and I might never again,” Charles said.

“She’s the one for the future, and I just want to take good care of her now," he said. "She’s strictly for the big, big things in this world.”

In the Youth competition, JJ Torano, who has been fighting a very sore throat and cold all week, had a rail down to finish 12th.