Equestrianism: Smith atones with snaffle bit

Robert Smith rode Marius Claudius to win the Preis von Europe on the second day of the German Super League Show in Aachen. On Tuesday the stallion had five fences down and two time faults; yesterday he jumped two clear rounds, defeating a fast jump-off time from Germany's Marco Kutscher by 0.12sec.

Smith had removed the horse's martingale and changed to a milder snaffle bit. "It made it easier for him to go forward, which is how he likes it, but I sacrificed a little control," he said.

It was Michael Whitaker's turn to disappoint yesterday, with five errors on Handel II.