They were the second pair to go in the individual test and I am sure that no one considered the Swedish combination Elin Aspnas and Tim a medal candidate with the German/Dutch/Danish dominance at the show. With nothing to loose and only points to gain, Aspnas absolutely went for it.
Aspnas' determination was visible throughout her ride. She was riding her 12-year old chestnut gelding Tim with much bravura so that his gaits came to full expression. The trot came to better suspension than in the team test and the canter was energetic and ground covering. Tim does not have the most ground covering gaits, but when ridden in the frame and engaged from good collection, he moves off the ground and well out of the shoulder. Aspnas took risks in the extended canter and Tim opened his frame well. The judges scored Aspnas' ride 70.700 % and she placed between 3rd and 6th place amongst the panel with scores ranging from 69,250% to 71,500%.
"I can hardly believe this is true and I never expected that it would go so well," said a radiant Elin. "I just hoped to do better than last year, when I was tenth and ninth and thought, "OK, this is at least better than being last"."
The 16-year old Elin will be moving on to horses and the 2008 European Championships were her last international show aboard Tim. "I never thought I would have a chance for a medal, but it's the perfect closure of my last show."
Text and Photos copyrighted Astrid Appels/Eurodressage - No reproduction allowed without permission