Equestrian: A great start for Mark Bluman at the World Championships in Aachen
The Israeli rider and the horse Landon de Niez are ranked seventh at the end of the first qualifying day. They finished without faults in a time of 72.50 seconds, just 0.95 seconds from first place. The Israeli team is ranked ninth at the end of the first day and is aiming for a ticket to Los Angeles 2028.
A great start for Israeli rider Mark Bluman at the World Equestrian Championships taking place in Aachen, Germany. Bluman, together with the horse Landon de Niez, is ranked seventh overall at the end of the first qualifying day in the show jumping competition, out of 145 pairs. Bluman and Landon de Niez participated today in the first qualifiers, which were held in a speed format, and finished the course in an excellent time of 72.50 seconds, with no faults. Following this result, Bluman is just 0.95 seconds away from first place.
Tomorrow the second stage will take place, this time on a course that is not against the clock. At the end of this stage, the teams that will continue to fight for the team title will be determined, with the top 10 teams advancing to the next round. At the same time, the top 60 riders in the individual ranking will also continue to the next stage in the individual competition.
Bluman said at the end:
"It's amazing, it's a wonderful feeling to represent Israel in one of the most iconic and important horse competitions in the world, and to start in such a good way. It's an incredible feeling. I hope we can qualify with the team for the Los Angeles Games. This is our goal, and this is the reason why we came here."
The other three Israeli riders also completed the course today. Daniel Bluman and the mare Corbie V.V. set a time of 76.78 seconds and are ranked 43rd. Theodore Boris and the horse Kazan Z finished without faults in a time of 78.84 seconds and are ranked 55th. Robin Muhr and the horse Foudjoua de Chatel set a riding time of 76.32 seconds, but two faults added eight seconds to their time, which totaled 84.32 seconds. The two are ranked 92nd out of 145 pairs. Tomorrow, the Israeli team, currently ranked ninth overall, will try to continue the successful start and improve its position on the way to fighting for tickets to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
