The Mitsubishi Motors
Badminton Horse Trials.
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Badminton House, Gloucestershire.
1st - 4th May 2008.
by Rosemary Cooper
As Nicolas Touzaint cleared the last fence at Badminton 2008, he flung one arm in the air with joy, then galloped exultantly around the arena. Riding his big bay gelding Hidalgo de l’Ile, he had just become the first Frenchman ever to win the world’s most famous three-day event in its 59-year history. After the partnership hit one fence in the middle of the final jumping round, the crowd held its breath as they cleared the remaining fences with only 1.4 points in hand over second-placed Lucy Wiegersma on Shaabrak.
‘It’s the most important competition there is!’ exclaimed Nicolas through tears of joy. ‘It’s a dream just to come here!’
Hidalgo de l’Ile ditched Nicolas in the Lake on his first Badminton attempt last year, but they went on to win on home ground at Pau last October. After lying 9th at the end of dressage with 39.6 points, they had taken the lead during cross country with only 4.8 time faults over Hugh Thomas’s challenging new course, which has been completely rethought after criticism of the going last year.
Lucy Wiegersma and the chestnut Shaabrak came desperately close to victory, but a couple of long routes on the cross-country course resulted in more time faults than Nicholas. ‘I had intended to go all the quick routes but a couple of times my instincts told me to take the longer option,’ said Lucy, who achieved her best result to date. ‘It was a very grown-up course and you had to concentrate hard all the way. But at least I’ve been beaten by a genius!’
Lucy had lain 3rd after dressage, with a score of 37.4, but also hit a showjumping pole, as did 3rd placed William Fox-Pitt on his previous Burghley winner Ballincoola. William was delighted with this result, having moved up from 17th place.
Sharon Hunt and New Zealand’s Caroline Powell both improved their Olympic team chances, being two of only three to complete a showjumping phase marred by wet weather with neither time or jumping faults. At fourth, Caroline Powell enjoyed her best result ever on the grey Lenamore, and so did fifth-placed Sharon Hunt and the chestnut Tankers Town, who was sixth last year.
The first seventeen places went to horses who jumped clear across country, but achieving the optimum time of 11 minutes 15 seconds proved a challenge over a course that Daisy Dick described as ‘ferocious’. Polly Stockton and Tom Quigley rose 20 places after dressage when they became one of only two partnerships to finish cross-country without time faults. Sadly three showjumping fences down plus a time fault lowered them from third place to eventual sixth. The other clear cross-country round came from first-timer Georgie Davies, and the bay Anglo-Arab Fachoudette, who finished 11 seconds inside the optimum time to lie 5th at this stage. After hitting three showjumping fences, she dropped to 10th, the highest placing for a mare,. ‘She gave me a wonderful feeling because she’s so quick,’ said Georgie.
Nicola Wilson had a wonderful ride on Opposition Buzz to rise from 48th after dressage to take 7th place, with only 0.8 of a time fault across country and one fence down in the showjumping. Matt Ryan was the most successful Australian competitor, finishing 8th on Bonza Puzzle, after being held up for a long time on the cross country course while Dee Kennedy was air-lifted to hospital after falling off Big El at the Quarry. Matt then went on to have one fence down in showjumping, as did the 9th placed horse, the grey Hope Street, one of Daisy Dick’s two rides.
Of Mary King’s two rides, the chestnut Apache Sauce finished 11th with a clear round except for the almost inevitable time faults across country, during which he had to endure being chased by an escaped terrier, but then had two show-jumping fences down. She fell off when Imperial Cavalier hit the penultimate fence across country, but then put in the other showjumping clear without time faults to finish 42nd.
Oliver Townend, competing with a broken collar bone, and 14-year old Coupe De Coeur hit three showjumping fences to relegate them to 12th place, after lying in 6th with 9.6 time faults on cross-country to add to their dressage score of 40.0. The best of Harry Meade’s two rides, the 18-year old Midnight Dazzler, improved on his dressage placing of 37th to lie in 15th place after cross–country, eventually finishing 13th in spite of hitting two showjumping fences.
Rodney Powell’s Zin Zan II, at 17.3 hh, was the tallest horse. He incurred 25.2 time faults across country and one more in showjumping, but collecting only four jumping faults left him in 14th place. The veteran chestnut Fairfax, ridden by Rodolphe Scherer from France was another to hit one showjumping fence to leave him in 15th place.
Zara Phillips competed on two horses, The brown Glenbuck improved on his dressage placing with a clear jumping round across country to take 13th place, but four show jumping fences down plus time faults dropped him to eventual 16th place. However his dramatic improvement on his dressage score earned him the Glentrool Trophy. The chestnut Ardfield Magic Star stubbornly misbehaved during dressage, but similarly improved during cross-country to lie 21st. He was lucky to finish clear after finding an unusual way to jump the Hexagon Hedge, which made Zara laugh, but after two show-jumping fences down plus a time fault he was left in 19th place.
New Zealander Annabel Wigley and Black Drum had lain in 12th place after cross-country but a disappointing showjumping round relegated them to 17th place. William Fox-Pitt’s other ride, Tamarillo, who won here in 2004, was the most successful horse to incur jumping penalties on cross-country. He lay in joint 11th place after dressage, in spite of a couple of bucks, but stopped in the Lancer Village, then hit two show jumps, which left him in 18th place.
Dressage began in such wet muddy conditions that people were reminded of Tamarillo’s year, 2004. However, in an unusually good dressage phase during which both Hidalgo de l’Ile and Nullabor achieved one perfect mark of 10, no less than 9 horses scored less than 40 points. Of these, Emily Baldwin and Drivetime dropped to 25th after running out at the narrow fence in the lake, then hitting a showjumping fence, with expensive time faults in both phases.
Six others all fell by the wayside during cross-country. Andrew Hoy’s 2006 winner, the 17 year-old Moonfleet, led at the end of this phase, after a year off following an operation on his wind. The pair were eliminated after falling at the Irish Sport Horse Studbook’s Huntsman’s Close during cross-country, where Moonfleet stood off too far at a wide brush corner and hit it with his hind legs. Elimination also befell second-placed Ruth Edge and Muschamp Impala after an unplanned swim in the Lake. Nullabor spooked at the Vicarage Ditch before the HSBC Hexagon Hedge, dropping Clayton Fredericks into the chasm. He retired, as did Pippa Funnel when Ensign ducked and sent her flying at the same fence in Huntsman’s Close that had proved Moonfleet’s undoing. Ensign had lost a show early on the course and according to Pippa ‘was never really going.’ Matthew Wright also retired after If You Want II stopped at the Lancer Village. Andreas Dibowski from Germany, placed 6th after dressage, withdrew FRH Little Lemon after cross-country.
The ground dried up to provide good going on the Saturday. Faults were fairly evenly spaced around the cross-country course, but Huntsman’s Close, the Lake, the Hexagon Hedge, the Outlander Bank and the Shogun Hollow caused the most trouble. Not only did Moonfleet and Ensign come to grief in Huntsman’s Close, but five other horses stopped there.
Daisy Dick’s experienced campaigner Springalong was one of six to run out in the lake, where he missed the skinny brush in the water. Richard Jones, on his first Badminton ride, almost fell in the water when Fox on the Run pitched on landing. Comanche gave James Robinson a soaking, then amused the crowd by turning back into the water when he eluded the stewards who were trying to catch him.
As well as Nullabor, Jakarta, Lorgaine and Faere Vision retired at the Hexagon Hedge, a skinny brush at an angle in the Vicarage Ditch. The five horses who stopped here included little Patris Filius, the only coloured horse, who later unseated first-timer Olivia Haddow at the Outlander Bank. Deltry Salute, The Biz, Southern Ben, and Vittori all lost their riders here, while three other horses refused.
Even Hidalgo de l’Ile nearly got into trouble at the Shogun Hollow. Seven horses ran out at the second element, a corner, while Austin O’ Connor and Janelle Pitts fell off Hobby De Mee and Mr Showoff. Altogether 30 of the 78 starters finished clear, and Moonfleet and Muschamp Impala were the only horses to fall.
Hidalgo de l’Ile is a 13-year- old Selle Francais, and Nicolas Touzaint began competing at 13, riding in his first Olympics at 20. At 23 he won the European Championships on the grey Galan De Sauvagere, and a year later finished eighth in the Athens Olympics. He won the World Cup final in 2006, the European Championships again in 2007, when Pau was his first four-star win. At 27, he is the youngest winner since Lucinda Green in 1979.
RESULTS.
1, Hidalgo de l’Ile & Nicolas Touzaint (FRA), 48.4 penalties;
2 & Best British rider, Shaabrak & Lucy Wiegersma , 49.8 penalties;
3, Ballincoola & William Fox-Pitt, 52.1 penalties;
4, Lenamore & Caroline Powell (NZL), 52.8 penalties;
5, Tankers Town & Sharon Hunt, 43.7 penalties;
6, Tom Quigley & Polly Stockton, 59.7 penalties;
7, Opposition Buzz & Nicola Wilson, 59.8 penalties;
8, Bonza Puzzle & Matt Ryan (AUS), 60.3 penalties;
9, Hope Street & Daisy Dick, 61.3 penalties;
10, Fachoudette & Georgie Davies, 54.9 penalties;
11, Apache Sauce & Mary King, 64.5 penalties;
12, Coup De Coeur & Oliver Townend, 64.6 penalties;
13, Midnight Dazzler & Harry Meade, 66.2 penalties;
14, Zin Zan II & Rodney Powell, 73.4 penalties;
15, Fairfax & Rodolphe Scherer (FRA), 74.3 penalties;
16, Glenbuck & Zara Phillips, 78.2 penalties;
17, Black Drum & Annabel Wigley (NZL), 78.7 penalties;
18, Tamarillo & William Fox-Pitt, 78.9 penalties;
19, Ardfield Magic Star & Zara Phillips, 79.8 penalties;
20, Ease On Fire & Joe Meyer (NZL), 79.9 penalties;