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Are you familiar with the six bar challenge? And do you know who's the sharpest rider here? If we mention high jump and Emil Hallundbæk, then you can read on to find out how the story goes. We can definitely reveal that it's all about being the last one standing - and the bravest.
Read also: Portrait: German talent Christian Kukuk
Fundamentally, the jumping discipline of six bar - also known as puissance - is about being the last pairing standing. It's a high jump competition where there are six obstacles that get higher and higher. After each round, they're raised even more. The obstacles are placed one after the other, usually with two gallop strides between each. Sometimes the first two obstacles are placed separately on a long side, while the last four are placed on a diagonal or on the opposite long side. Each obstacle is a pole's height higher than the previous one, making the last one the biggest challenge for the pairing to overcome.
Each pairing gets two attempts to clear all the jumps flawlessly. If you knock down an obstacle in both attempts, you're out of the competition. If the last obstacle becomes so high that the remaining pairs break their personal records, they get three attempts each. The pair that remains without knocking anything down wins.
Read also: Portrait: Triple European Champion Christian Ahlmann
Because it's not just about clearing one high jump, this discipline differs from "regular" high jumping. Therefore, the sixth obstacle in six bar competitions will rarely be as high as in a genuine high jump competition with only one obstacle. But it can still get quite high, we must say! The great thing about a six bar competition is that the excitement lasts longer because there are more jumps, and when the obstacles are also towering, the six bar can feel like a lot to clear flawlessly.
In July 2019, our very own Emil Hallundbæk, along with the horse Cool Hand Luke 3, won the six bar competition at the Longines Global Champions Tour of Paris. They were the only flawless pair after the last jump had been set to 1.95 cm. They beat, among others, the German rider Christian Ahlmann on the horse Dolocia.
Also back in 2018, Emil won an international six bar competition. It's therefore no surprise that he ranks number 21 on the U25 list, making him the best Dane and North European in show jumping. Enjoy Emil and Cool Hand Luke's victory in Paris below.
