| Blenheim International Horse Trials, 2006.
|
by Rosemary Cooper
Blenheim 2006, held in the grounds of Blenheim Palace from 31st August to 3rd September, had no title sponsors this year, but was jointly sponsored by Waitrose, Ariat, Goodyear, Gallo, Puffa, the Oxford Times, Oce, Classic FM, and Volkswagen Touareg. It provided a triumph for Daisy Dick, fresh from her team silver medal in the World Equestrian Games at Aachen the previous week, and this time riding Springbok 1V. It was her first ever three-star win, although she has been regularly placed in four-star events on Springalong, her mount at Aachen, and in last year’s European Championships, when she rode him into 11th place here at Blenheim.
‘Springbok’s fantastic! He slipped coming out of the combination and did everything he could to help me out. He was a real grown-up in there, but he’s never done a track as long as this before,’ said Daisy. Asked how riding at Blenheim compared with the World Equestrian Games, she answered: ‘I was riding a different horse at a different venue with a different challenge, so I just had to give it my best shot. Both he and Springalong are lovely little game horses.’
After dressage she had lain in third place with a score of 46.0, but picked up 2.4 time faults across country to reach second place for the show jumping phase. After Springbok lived up to his name by jumping clear again, the long-time leaders, Pippa Funnel and Ensign had one fence down to leave them in second place.
Ensign, a bay ex-racehorse whom Pippa was originally bringing along to sell, first showed his true ability when Pippa realised he was to be her ride in the European Championships last year and finished ninth on that occasion.
‘He came out of racing because he was too laid back, ‘said Pippa, ‘and the three people who tried him found him too lazy. He earned his place in the yard here last year.’
Towards the end of the first day Ensign took the lead in the dressage with a score of 40.4 and maintained his lead across country with 4.8 time faults, before his one show-jumping mistake cost Pippa her fifth victory at Blenheim, all won on different horses.
William Fox-Pitt had three rides, of whom the most successful was Parkmore Ed, described by William as a ‘carthorse’. Actually an Irish Draught/Thoroughbred cross, Parkmore Ed had shared fourth place after dressage with Jeanette Brakewell’s Equinox Sidewinder, with a score of 46.9. Then 2.8 time faults across country and a clear show jumping round raised the pair to third place. William had also lain sixth after dressage on Birthday Night, but a stop across country and eight show jumping faults put them way down the list, below William’s third ride, the eight-year-old Macchiato, who had time faults across country and four show jumping fences down.
‘I couldn’t be happier with Parkmore Ed,’ said William. ‘He was second at Bramham in 2004 and if he hadn’t done a three-star this year, he would have been demoted to two-star level next year. ‘He came to me at the end of July. He’s very talented, and jumped all the tricky fences very well. Philip Adkins (Parkmore Ed’s owner) knows he and I have a great partnership.’
‘Birthday Night slipped; otherwise he would have been fine. He is fit and has ability. Macchiato didn’t put a foot wrong and jumped all the best routes. He is ready to move up a gear next year.’
Major Sweep, ridden by Rodney Powell, and Le Samurai, ridden by Amy Tryon from the USA, also improved on their dressage scores by jumping two clear rounds each, with only time faults across country, to finish fourth and fifth. On the other hand, Faere Vision and Jo May, who likewise jumped clear throughout, accumulated 18.8 time faults across country to drop them from the second place they had held after dressage, with a score of only 44.0, so they finished in sixth place.
The only horse not to have time faults across country was Sir Percival III, whose immaculate cross country round raised him from 29th place after dressage to fifth, although he lowered two show-jumping fences to finish seventh. In fact no other horse show-jumped clear, although three more picked up only time faults. These included Valdemar, ridden by Hannah Bate, who finished eighth, and Zinzan II, ridden by Rodney Powell into tenth place. Separating them was Noble Opposition, ridden by Sam Griffiths from Australia, who had 6 cross-country time faults and four show jumping faults to add to a dressage score of 55.0, raising them from equal 22nd to ninth.
Equinox Sidewinder, who had maintained fourth place after cross country, scored sixteen show jumping faults with seven time faults to drop to 15th place, while Jeanette’s other horse, Running on Empty, was another of the 39 horses to go clear across country, but had to be withdrawn afterwards.
‘The cross-country course was big for a three-star,’ commented William Fox-Pitt. ‘Quite a few fences were there last year for the European Championships. I’m surprised the course designer, Mike Etherington-Smith, didn’t modify it more.’ In fact 16 of the 28 fences caused problems for 27 competitors. Most influential was the water complex. After jumping Cameron’s Coop, on top of a hill, a steep slope ran down to the Waitrose Water, consisting of a roll-top spread, followed by two flower-filled fences that formed a bounce into water. Upward Trend and Somerset II fell here, dunking Pip Peters and Sara Dierks in the water, while Niall Ferguson fell off Spring Fever V at the earlier spread and retired. Phantom Pursuit and Tim Rowland also retired after stopping at the bounce and Woodlands Talisman and Hannah Bucknell were eliminated for their fourth stop. In fact Big El and Dee Kennedy were the only combination to stop here, yet still continue.
After a gallop through the water came the Touareg Trial, a large wooden duck in the water followed by a skinny brush on the bank. This caught out The Ostler, who consistently refused with Natasha Eddery, and The Good Witch, with Jennifer Wooten, who stopped.
Also influential was the Goodyear Road Safety, a sunken road with skinnies before and after, which caused the riders of Admiral Bruny, Party Wings and Sheridan Park to fall off, as well as occasioning two stops. There was almost as much trouble at the Silk and Stem Saddlerack , a raised trough of flowers preceding two brush-topped skinnies as wide as they were deep. As well as a couple of horses who glanced off once, Ferndale Ballyheen stopped twice and The Good Witch lost her rider, although she was recaptured to complete the course.
Springbok, a bright bay 11-year-old, is out of a 15hh mare, Horsehill Birthday Blonds, who was bred for sprint racing, but shown as a hack. His sire, Creden Herewardian, is a show pony type whose breeding includes Arab and Thoroughbred, so Springbok was bred to show, and bought by Annabel Clapham, who suggested to Daisy that she might like him. ‘I wasn’t wild about this guy’s name when I bought him,’ said Daisy. ‘I know it’s supposed to be bad luck to change a horse’s name, but I changed it to fit in with Springalong. Springbok’s got talent and character, but he’s quirky, and it took a lot of time for him to get this far. Now he’s a possibility for Badminton next year.’
The arena has a wonderful view of Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. Included in the Sunday entertainment was a ridden appearance by Ted the Clydesdale, who has raised thousands for the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, with his story narrated by his owner Sally Anne Oultram, and the Celebrity Challenge, sponsored by
Townfields Saddlers and Bates Ltd.
In the latter, pairs of riders, mostly in fancy dress, had to gallop out of the arena over a shortened cross country course including water, and then jump back into the arena for a show jumping relay. This consisted of a line of poles, with the second rider having the option of jumping the Joker, a formidable set of planks, which earned an extra 100 points. Every rider but one knocked them down. This one was Captain Richard Waygood on a coloured horse, but he had previously fallen off, so lost points and was demoted to third place. Winners were Bill Leven and Coleena Allen, with Nick Burd and Eric Winter finishing second.
RESULTS.
1, Springbok IV & Daisy Dick (GBR), 48.4 penalties;
2, Ensign & Pippa Funnell (GBR), 49.2 penalties;
3, Parkmore Ed & William Fox-Pitt (GBR), 49.7 penalties;
4, Major Sweep & Rodney Powell (GBR), 56.4 penalties;
5, Le Samurai & Amy Tryon (USA) 59.2 penalties;
6, Faere Vision & Jo May (GBR), 62.8 penalties;
7, Sir Percival III & Francis Whittington, (GBR), 64.3 penalties;
8, Valdemar & Hannah Bate (GBR), 64.6 penalties;
9, Noble Opposition & Sam Griffiths (AUS), 65.0 penalties;
10, Zinzan II & Rodney Powell (GBR), 67.4 penalties;
11, Haka & Neil Spratt (NZL), 69.5 penalties;
12, Tudor Romance & Vicky Tuffs (GBR), 73.4 penalties;
13, Close the Deal & Bonnie Mosser (USA), 74.1 penalties;
14, Bruce Rock & Loiusa Brassey (GBR), 75.4 penalties;
15, Equinox Sidewinder & Jeanette Brakewell (GBR), 75.5 penalties;
16, Monarch’s Rock & Beanie Hughes (GBR), 76.1 penalties;
17, Jacko’s Delight & Stefanie Thompson (GER), 79.1 penalties;
18, Waylaid & Bryony Holloway (GBR), 79.7 penalties;
19, Woodfalls Pure Gold & Lucy Wiegersma (GBR), 79.9 penalties;
20, Jakarta & Julia Crowson (GBR), 80.9 penalties.