| Weston Park International Three Day Event, 2005.
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Liberte Self Drive Horse Box Hire CCI* and CCI**.
Style Products Junior Regional Novice Individual Championship.
Horses in Sport JRN Team Championship.
Hartpury College Under 21 British National Championship.
Weston Park International Three Day Event has a world record for running the most horses at any Horse Trials and staged an action-packed four days, with over 300 horses competing in four separate competitions. The event was held from 5th to 9th October in the beautiful grounds of Weston Park House, on the borders of Shropshire and Staffordshire, England. Overseas competitors came from Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and the USA.
The Liberte Self Drive Horse Box Hire CCI**.
Winner of the CCI** event was San Calido, ridden by Piggy French. They lay in second place after dressage, with a score of 44.8, and maintained their place after cross country with a clear round and just 1.6 time faults in heavy rain. Then they jumped a clear showjumping round to clinch the title when the previous leader, Kings Cross with Kitty Boggis, hit one showjumping fence.
‘I’m just thrilled!’ said Piggy French. ‘I’m relieved more than anything because he’s always been perfectly capable. He’s very good in all three phases, but it’s just getting it right in the week. I can’t fault him. I’m looking forward to more successes in the future. He’s a lovely horse and he’ll hopefully be a good one.’
Piggy French is based in Norfolk and San Calido is a 16.3 eight-year-old dark bay gelding by Calido. He belongs to Miss Rebecca Finch and Mrs Alice Vaughan-Jones.
The nine-year-old chestnut mare Sea Oro, ridden by Bill Levett from Australia, finished on her dressage score of 46.5, just 0.1 of a point behind San Calido, to take second place. She was one of only six horses to complete the cross country without time faults in the very wet conditions.
‘It was nice she finished on a good note at the end of the season,’ said Bill Levett. I only took over the ride at the start of the season. She’s had a hard year, and she’s realised her potential. She’s not chestnut mare-ish. She’s trying to do the right thing, which is great.’
The long-time leader was the chestnut Kings Cross and Kitty Boggis. Their dressage score of 43.8 placed them just one point ahead of San Calido and Piggy French, and they had identical time faults of 1.6 on an otherwise clear cross country round. One pole down in the showjumping dropped them to third place.
‘When you move up to third you are really pleased, but when you drop down it’s a disappointment,’ said Kitty Boggis. ‘But he’s a real trier and couldn’t have gone better all week. He’s a really genuine honest chap and it’s his first three-day event. I gave him a smack and he went motoring up the hill. Next year he might go to Bramham if the owners don’t decide to sell him.’
The bay King of the Castle II, ridden by Vittoria Panizzon from Italy, jumped clear across country and in showjumping, moving up from joint 18th place after dressage to take fourth place with a score of 53.3.
‘I’m thrilled he finished on his dressage score,’ said Vittoria Panizzon. ‘He’s not always been the easiest horse so I’m really pleased he tried so hard. That was a good dressage score for him, and a nice double clear within the time afterwards.’
Drummer Boy III and Matthew Wright jumped clear without time faults across cross country, which improved their position from 23rd to seventh, but they rolled a showjumping pole to add four faults to their dressage score of 54.4. However they finished in fifth place because they had more than one fence in hand over Opposition Buzz and Nicola Tweddle, who finished sixth on their dressage score of 60.2, an improvement from joint 45th place after dressage.
Harveys Courage and Emma Lambourne-Hall added 2.4 time faults across country to their dressage score to finish on 61.8, which put them in seventh place. Star Prospect and Sara Elizabeth Squires had lain sixth after cross country, but two showjumping fences down relegated them to eighth place.
Bill Levett also rode the chestnut gelding Hippolyte, who was equal 11th after dressage, with a score of 50.2. In spite of 8.0 time faults across country and once fence down in the showjumping, he improved on this placing to finish ninth, which made Bill the only rider to have two horses in the final line-up.
Cousin Jack II and Jessica Waley-Cohen had been in 22nd place after dressage, but after collecting 4.4 time faults on an otherwise clear cross country round and having one fence down in the showjumping they finished tenth.
Last year’s winners, the brown gelding Memphis II and Stefanie Thompson from Germany shared third place with Sea Oro and Bill Levett after dressage. They also won the Sansaw CIC** earlier this year, and if they had been able to win this class, they would have won the Liberte Self Drive Horse Box Hire Slam of £25,000. This is awarded to the first horse or rider to win three consecutive events at Weston Park and Sansaw. It entails winning the Sansaw CIC** and either the CCI* or CCI** at Weston Park. However they had time and jumping faults in both cross country and showjumping, which put them down to 28th place.
Glenbuck and Sherelle Duke from Ireland had been in fifth place after dressage, with a score of 46.7, but ten cross country time faults and 16 showjumping faults relegated them to 22nd place. Crown Obsidian and Fiona Forsyth had been sixth after dressage, but time and jumping faults in both cross country and showjumping dropped them out of contention.
Imperial Cavalier and Vicky Brake lay in joint seventh place after dressage on a score of 49.2, but with 33.6 time faults on cross country, they lost their chance. No Regrets II and Ewart Woolley were equal seventh after dressage, but after time and jumping faults on cross country, they withdrew before the showjumping.
Leslie Law was riding the seven-year-old bay gelding Kif D Estruval, whose dressage score of 49.8 had put him in ninth place. A stop across country at the Toboggan Run, incurring time faults, and 24 showjumping faults lowered his position to 31st.
The other horses not to have time faults on cross country were Snowflake, ridden by Beanie Hughes, and Silbereen Eagle, ridden by Joseph Murphy from Ireland. The grey Snowflake had lain in fourth place after cross-country on his dressage score of 50.0, but four showjumping fences down dropped him to 13th place with a score of 66.0. The bay Silbereen Eagle finished the cross country still on his dressage score of 58.8, which had raised him from 39th to 12th place, but twelve showjumping faults relegated him to 18th place.
Three eye-catching stallions taking part were the Appaloosa Centaur’s Jolly Jack, the Irish chestnut Gee Apollo, and the piebald Greenbank Harlequin. They finished 40th, 43rd, and 44th.
The weather stayed fine for dressage and showjumping, but although cross country day started by being dry, conditions steadily deteriorated into pouring rain for the two-star event.
The dressage test involved two turns on the hindquarters, which many horses found difficult to execute without moving in too wide a circle.
The cross country course was flat except for a downhill slope to the Farm House Drop, a log with a drop on the landing side of 1.40 metres. The Trakehner was 1.15 metres high, with a top spread of 95cm, but it appeared bigger. The base spread was 2 metres. Three riders fell off here.
The most influential jump turned out to be the Liberte Kidney Pool. A 95cm fence with a drop of 1.65 metres into the pool was followed by two narrow roll-top fences, also in water. Any error at the first element resulted in the horse missing his stride and running out at the second element, which happened to fourteen horses. Eight horses stopped or ran out at the Toboggan Run. This consisted of a bounce between two rails with frangible pins, with a barrel as a third element.
A fence that looked challenging was Big Ted’s Party, a table that was so narrow between the flags and so wide from take-off to landing that it was almost square. The height was 1.05 metres at the front and 1.15 metres at the back, with a base spread of 1.20 metres. Amanda Ratcliffe fell off here, shooting forward over Vallee Paradiso LF’s neck, and three other horses stopped or ran out.
Sowerby’s Dilemma was a coffin with very narrow first and third elements, topped by brush. Nicola Browne fell off Cosette here and five other horses incurred 20 penalties.
The showjumping course consisted solely of poles, and included a multicoloured triple combination with one stride between each element. 53 of the original 81 starters completed the showjumping phase, with 12 clear rounds.
Weston Park also stages three other competitions over the four days. There are four rings for dressage, two for showjumping, and two courses for the action-packed cross country. This ran from 8.30 am until nearly 5.30 pm with a fresh starter every two minutes at least, and sometimes every minute. The easier CCI* and JRN Championship course was jumped first, followed by the Under 21 British National Championship and the CCI** on the second course.
The Liberte Self Drive Horse Box Hire CCI*.
A jubilant Laura Collett won both the CCI* and the Junior Regional Novice Individual Championship.
‘I can’t believe it!’ she exclaimed. ‘The whole year for me has been incredible! I went out to the Pony European Championships and won an individual bronze medal and a team gold.’
Riding the bay Fernhill Sox in the CCI*, she went clear across country and began the showjumping phase on her dressage score of 47.1, with more than a fence in hand. Fernhill Sox rolled one showjumping pole and finished just 0.1 points ahead of Kate Scott on a Touch of Dutch.
‘I was really pleased with his dressage test because it was quite electric in there and he didn’t get tense,’ said Laura Collett, who is only sixteen, and surely a star of the future. ‘It was the hardest cross country he has done. We went all the direct routes and he was great. Today he jumped really well, but I took too many checks at a short-striding double and that’s why he had it down.
He started eventing this year, and has done five Novices and two Intermediates, where he was second and fourth, but this is his best win to date. He’s a very quick learner and hopefully next year we’ll do two star.’
The unlucky second, A Touch of Dutch and Kate Scott, went clear across country and in showjumping, but picked up just 0.4 time faults on cross country and 2 time faults in showjumping, to finish on 51.2.
The leader after dressage had been Imperial Master and Kitty Boggis, who performed an excellent test to score 40.5. Although they completed the cross country course inside the time and had a clear showjumping round, two stops across country, including a problem at the water, relegated them to 38th place.
‘He was fantastic in dressage and showjumping, but he can be quite quirky,’ said Kitty Boggis. ‘He’s won his last three events, but he’s gone off the boil. He’s a horse for the future.’
A Burning Ambition and Jonathan Hagan from Ireland had lain in second place before the showjumping, having finished the cross country still on their dressage score of 47.6. Four showjumping fences down and four time faults put them out of contention, so third place went to Button Rock and Elder Scouller, who jumped clear throughout to finish on their dressage score of 55.7, an improvement from 23rd place after dressage.
The Style Products Junior Regional Novice Individual Championship.
Laura Collett’s other win was on the little bay gelding Walnut, in the JRN Individual Championship. They jumped clear across country and in showjumping to win on their dressage score of 43.1.
‘Walnut is seventeen and he’s been eventing since he was five,’ said Laura. ‘He’s still owned by the same people. He won this class last year and was second two years ago. During the two years I’ve been riding him, he hasn’t been out of the top three once, which is pretty amazing! Before that he was with Simon Lucey, whose mother trains me, for three years. I’m really grateful to the Caldins for letting me ride him, because without them I wouldn’t be here now.’
Everyone else who finished cross country on a dressage score of less than 50.0 had showjumping faults. Clonterm Bellair, ridden by Laurie Cooper, had lain in second place on their dressage score of 46.0, but two showjumping time faults and eight jumping faults relegated them to fourth place. Bee Zed and Adam Morgan had been in third place on 47.9, but 20 jumping faults and four time faults put them out of contention. This gave Littleworth Splashes and Emma Mellard, on 49.1, a good chance of second place, but three time faults and eight jumping faults put them down to 13th.
Basil Jinks and Jess Butler, lying in sixth place after cross country, completed the showjumping with only one fence down to take second place with a score of 53.8, over ten points below Walnut’s score. Kerry Minstrel and Louise Bradley had been lying fifth, just 0.3 points ahead of Basil Jinks, but they not only had four jumping faults but incurred one time fault to finish third on 54.5.
The Horses in Sport JRN Team Championship.
In the JRN Team Championship, the winning Central team included both Walnut and Kerry Minstrel. The other team members were Dutch Treat with Pippa Taylor and Fancy That II with Marina Lawson-Smith, who finished 19th and 26th. The team score was 228.6, just 1.2 points ahead of the second-placed Midlands and North East team. This included Basil Jinks, fifth-placed Ballin Willow, with Dani Cuomo, and seventh-placed Flagmount Red Diamond, with Kim Ferrier, The latter two both finished on their dressage scores. The remaining team member was Edan Park, with Gaby Cooke, who had eight showjumping faults to finish 16th.
In third place was the South East team, whose most successful member was 12th placed Spider VI with Harry Dzenis. Sensibility with Zoe Gould and Shanagarry with Rose Fenton finished 15th and 17th, and the final member was Pilgrim’s Way V with Camilla Kear, who was 28th. The team score was 253.
The Hartpury College Under 21 British National Championship.
Winner of the Under 21 British National Championship was Amy Young on the ten-year-old chestnut Highville. She jumped two clear rounds, with 4.4 time faults on cross country to add to her dressage score of 49.8, to finish on 54.2.
‘It’s fantastic! Absolutely brilliant!’ she exclaimed. Asked if she thought she would win, she replied: ‘Well, I hoped! I jumped the cross country is a torrential downpour, and the five people before me retired, but he was brilliant! My nerves were not too bad before the showjumping and I didn’t really watch it all. I just focused on him. I had a fall at the end of July and tore ligaments in my right shoulder, but it’s better now. Next year I’ll try the Bramhan Under 25s. I won the Under 18s two years ago.’
Bruce Rock and Louisa Brassey had finished cross country in the lead, having 4.4 time faults, exactly the same as Highville, to add to their dressage score of 45.6. However they knocked down three showjumping fences to finish in third place with 62.0.
‘When the fences aren’t massive he doesn’t respect them,’ said Louisa. ‘He ran downhill into them. He’s so honest I trust him with my life, but it would have been nice to have a little more help today. However it’s not solely his fault. He’s very genuine and it’s just getting it right on the day. I would love to have a crack at Bramham.’
Silver Curtis with Rosalind Canter had lain in second place after dressage with a score of 49.0, but retired on cross country at the very last fence. He was one of seven horses to have problems here. Bruce Rock’s showjumping faults permitted Zero Flight and Lauren Shannon to jump into second place with a clear round. They had jumped clear across country with 7.2 time faults to lie in third place overnight, and finished on 59.5. Lauren Shannon also finished fourth on Quixotic, who had likewise jumped two clear rounds, with just time faults across country, to finish on 65.0.
Rosemary Cooper.
Results on the Weston Park Horse Trials website.