Vogg's 'strong woman' triumphs

Switzerland's Felix Vogg returns from injury to win his second five-star title and a New Zealand thoroughbred takes his first podium spot at this level

- By PIPPA ROOME

FELIX VOGG pulled off a successful reroute plan when he topped the US autumn five-star with Cartania. The Swiss rider had planned to return to Burghley, where he and Phoenix Eventing S.A.R.L.'s mare were 13th last year, but suffered a paralysing arm injury in a fall from another horse at Saulieu the week before.

With four hours of physio a day, he returned for the European Championships at the end of September on Frieda and then travelled to Maryland with long-standing partner Cartania.

"She tried so hard and if you need a strong woman in life, she's there," said Felix after his clear in the showjumping, which he attributed to help from German coach Marcus Döring, watching his girlfriend, Austria's Lea Siegl, on the mare and a change of tack.

"She had a tooth problem during the season, so I changed her to a hackamore and she went well, so I've only jumped her in that since," he said.

The 14-year-old Cartania, by Cartani 4 out of a Clinton mare, has been in the top 15 at Badminton twice, as well as eighth at the 2021 Europeans and 14th at the 2022 World Championships before five-stars became her speciality.

Felix said he's never had to teach her anything across country and there's nothing she can't jump, but she has not been the easiest in the other phases and so has sometimes not been top priority in his busy stable.

Felix - who was making his debut in the five-star here, courtesy of a travel grant, but rode at the venue at CCI4*-S when he was based in the US in 2019 - is Switzerland's first two-time five-star winner, having also won Luhmühlen in 2022 on Colero. The other Swiss five-star winner is Captain Hans Schwarzenbach, who won Badminton in 1951 riding Vae Victis.

THOROUGHBREDS RULE ON SATURDAY