Shakers & Movers: Who’s Up & Who’s Down?
The past weekend of competition has caused some interesting shifts and changes in the Elo-ratings. Especially some of the younger horses in the sport brought their A-game to the world’s toughest competitions to establish their position among the world’s best.
It’s been quite the week in the showjumping world with not one, not two, but three prestigious five-star competitions taking place at the same time. The highlight for most was CHIO Aachen, aptly named ‘the Mecca of Show Jumping’ which hosted a 5* Nations Cup, as well as the Rolex Major Grand Prix worth €1.5 million. The same amount of prize money was up for grabs in the LGCT Grand Prix of Monaco, while Spruce Meadows in Calgary hosted the CSI5* Pan American.
New Record Reached and Lost
Thanks to his win in the LGCT Grand Prix of Stockholm two weeks ago, Kind Edward had reached a new Elo record of 805. The reigning World Champions then set off to Monte Carlo for the next leg of the Longines Global Champions Tour. A clear and fourth place in the Grand Prix Qualifier saw the King improve on that record and reach an Elo of 806. In their current form, Henrik von Eckermann and King Edward were obvious favourites for the win in the LGCT Grand Prix of Monaco but with two poles rolling out of the cups saw their chances and their Elo drop. While the chestnut is still the highest-rated horse in the world, his Elo has dropped back to 803.
Heartbreak for HH Azur
Perhaps the most heartbreaking story to come out of last weekend is the Grand Prix retirement and the overall career retirement of HH Azur. McLain Ward and HH Azur were in the running to claim the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping at Aachen, but two early rails saw their chances crushed. After the competition, McLain announced that HH Azur would no longer return to the competition arena and will be retired at the age of 17. This leaves a spot in the Top 10 highest-rated horses up for grabs.
Building an Elo on Runner-Up Placings
For the seventh time in his career, Monaco N.O.P. sees the 5* 160 win pass through his fingertips as he settles for second. The 14-year-old gelding produced a superb double clear round but couldn’t match Donatello d’Auge’s jump-off time to take the win. While this surely is frustrating, it did give Monaco N.O.P. a two-point increase in Elo, now sporting a career high of 779, fourth highest-rated in the world. As HH Azur has announced her retirement and Explosion W currently recovering from an injury, could we see Monaco N.O.P. enter the top 3 Elo-rated horses without ever having recorded a win at 5* level?
One man’s loss is another man’s gain
While for one, Aachen has been a way to build their Elo, the other has seen their Elo plummet. The reigning European Champions Andre Thieme and DSP Chakaria entered CHIO Aachen with the expectations of producing solid results on home soil, before attempting to prolong their European title later this summer. Unfortunately, they saw a couple of rails roll out of the cups throughout the weekend which caused DSP Chakaria to lose 7 Elo points and drop out of the Top 10 highest-rated horses. With an Elo of 759, she now settles in 15th, a place she shares with Katanga v/h Dingeshof. Unlike DSP Chakaria, Katanga v/h Dingeshof’s outing in Aachen did nothing but boost her Elo. She produced a crucial double clear in the Nations Cup with Nicola Philippaerts in the saddle on Thursday to help Team Belgium take up a spot on the podium. On Sunday, the pair once more brough their A-Game and didn’t touch a single rail. Unfortunately, a time penalty kept them out of the jump-off for the win and saw them settle for sixth place.