Tim Price and Vortex Photo: BailliPhotos.com
Top French rider Nicholas Touzaint produced a good test riding Lesbos to score 43.50 and take the lead in the CCI 2* at Lignières in central France. Swiss rider Eveline Bodenmüller is in second place (44.10) but New Zealand riders Tim Price, Lucy Jackson and Jesse Campbell have all made their mark early in this competition by finishing in the top six after dressage.
Jesse Campbell and Too Swish Photo: Pixizone.com
Tim riding Vortex is in third (45.40), Lucy riding Wellshead Munnings is in equal fourth (47.0) and Jesse riding Lancelot 359 is equal sixth (47.8). Tim is also in equal 22nd place riding Purbeck and Jesse is in 25th place riding Too Swish.
Photo: Toni-anne Collins
Further down the leader board in equal 35th place is the Australian horse Watermark Grayson, previously ridden by Olympic gold medallist Stuart Tinney who sold Grayson to Fabio Magni of Italy last year. Fabio visited Australia when he purchased the horse and rode him in the 4* at the 2011 Australian International 3 Day Event (pictured above)
Tim and Bango in the CIC 1* Photo: Pixizone.com
Last year New Zealand rider Jonelle Richards won the CIC 1* class here so this is obviously happy hunting ground for the Kiwis. Jonelle is currently equal 22nd on Fernhill T Scarlett in this class this year while Tim is equal 11th riding Bango. Unfortunatley Jonelle's second horse in this class was eliminated in the dressage but such is life with young horses! Although Jonelle grew up in Motueka, near Nelson New Zealand, home is now Mere Farm in Marlborough, UK with fiancé Tim Price where they have about 30 horses on their 120 acre Farm
The leader after dressage is the French rider Geoffroy Soullez from Jardy Stud on a score of 36.30 with three riders in equal 2nd place on a score of 40.00; Lara de Liedekerke of Belgium riding Alpaga d'Arville, Hervé LMetheux of France riding Ruslam de Petra and Bertrand Vuatoux, also of France riding Quirikou Bougaux. The Belgian rider also has a second horse, Averouge des Quatre Chênes in fifth place.
The CCI 2* cross country is run on Saturday starting at 1pm and the CIC 1*continues with the show jumping phase starting at 8am.
