Clayton Fredericks and Brookleigh - winners CIC 2*
Having injured her ribs during a fall on the CIC 3* cross-country course yesterday, Pippa Funnell decided not to present her two horses for the CIC 2* cross country today. This was a shame for Pippa as Billy Landretti was in second place and Billy Beware in fourth place after the dressage and showjumping phases.
Nicholas Touzaint (FRA), who had been lying in third place on Princess Pilot (pictured above), and took advantage of Pippa’s demise to claim second place with a clear cross-country round under time; this is a horse that Nicholas hopes will be a good replacement for the 3* horse he is riding in the World Cup here, Neptune de Sartene that is currently for sale. Young David Doel (GBR), riding the Australian horse Koyuna Sun Magic leased from Wendy Schaeffer, moved up to third place, again with a great clear cross-country round.
The winner was Clayton Fredericks, who despite not defending his 2011 World Cup title here has had a good weekend, winning both the CIC 1* on Sorrento and now the CIC 2* on Brookleigh, owned by well-known eventing supporter Nikki Brooks from Western Australia. Nikki is also the owner of Sonja Johnson’s 4* horse Parkiarrup Illicit Liaison and owners such as Nikki are a great asset to the sport in Australia.
Clayton was obviously delighted saying, “This year has been a roller coaster so it’s good to be on top for a while. It was a strong 2* cross-country course with lots of things to surprise and shock the horses, especially coming quickly on top of each other. The crowd was good too and that can take a horse’s attention momentarily around the popular fences so that is a factor for less experienced horses.”
David Doel returns from cross country after a good round on Koyuna Sun Magic
David Doel was only two years old when Wendy Schaeffer first met his family in England many years ago, but at 19 he is now a top young eventing rider in his own right. David has been riding the 16-year-old Koyuna Sun Magic (Fox) since he arrived in Australia with Wendy earlier this year and the combination have obviously gelled. David had ridden two horses around the course which he thought needed some very bold riding.
“I had one really good ride out there today on Fox and one not so good, but it’s been a great experience overall.”
This was David’s first press conference but I’m sure it won’t be his last and he has his eye on future British teams. Having ridden for Britain at junior level he is keen to continue to represent his country saying, “I think that’s what it’s all about in the end”.
Someone who would know a lot about that is Olympic champion Michael Jung, who picked up time faults on his 2* cross-country ride on the seven-year-old Rocana FST to drop him to 9th place. However, he mentioned yesterday that he thought the terrain here was quite tough for young horses so he was probably taking into consideration the longevity of this young horse.
This class was not without incident, with many of the 127 competitors not completing the course, resulting in some hold ups on course and minor delays to the World Cup class but it was still a good morning of 2* cross country in the sun at Le Grand Complet.
Video interviews with Clayton and David to come
Final results CLICK HERE.
