William and Seacookie win at Pau
When William Fox-Pitt finished his cross country at Pau he said to FEI TV that having a great first ride made all the difference and improved his confidence for the next two rides. Yesterday he wasn’t quite so lucky and his first show jumping round on Neuf des Coeurs was not the most auspicious of starts to his three show jumping rounds. But, being the champion and experienced rider he is, he put it behind him and moved on, to win the CCI4* on Catherine Witt’s Seacookie and place third on Cool Mountain.
It was another beautiful sunny day in the south west of France, although there were ominous rumblings about a huge storm on its way towards the UK and the English Channel which may affect the travel plans of those heading straight back to England.
Yesterday morning however the main concern of those going through to the show jumping phase was the immediate task ahead.
Megan Heath and St. Daniel pull off a rare clear round
Francis Whittington, lying in 17th place after a great cross country round on Sir Percival II was one of the three who withdrew before the show jumping, along with Australia’s Murray Lamperd as we reported yesterday and Germany’s Benjamin Winter on Woolpit Amble. All of the other horses presented for the second inspection were passed by the Ground Jury.
The first session of jumping started in the large, newly resurfaced main arena at 12 noon with the first 30 riders jumping in reverse order. Dressage leader Lucinda Fredericks and Flying Finish had eight faults and World Number One rider Andrew Nicholson had one rail on Quimbo. Clear rounds were few and far between with only New Zealand’s young riders Megan Heath and Annabel Wigley jumping lovely clears as did Germany’s Andreas Dibowski on FRH Butts Leon
With three horses in the top three spots William Fox-Pitt had his rides interspersed throughout the afternoon session for the top 20 riders. The afternoon session also demonstrated that the course was indeed difficult
“It was a very good track” said William later “It walked big and I think that most people who walked it felt that this was a serious track. It had some quite interesting lines and there was a little bit of a mound in there so the horses were working up and down the slope on the camber. I’m not surprised it caused that trouble actually, I think the horses did a lot of work yesterday and it was a serious, very square follow up to a 4* track”
Several riders knocked up some impressive totals including poor Kai Ruder who unfortunately had a cricket score of 40 points. New Zealand’s Tim Price, another very experienced rider but on his 10 year old Ringwood Sky Boy in his first 4*, was one of several who incurred 20 faults, including William on his third placed Neuf des Coeurs, the first rider in after lunch.
Chris Burton and Tempranillo
Australia’s Chris Burton followed William and, for me, this was the round of the day. Maybe I’m a little biased but Alan Skinner and Jenny Jackson’s handsome horse Tempranillo jumped a fabulous clear round, one of only four clears in the afternoon session, looking extremely comfortable and on top form.
“Absolutely thrilled with Pea's performance in the show jumping today. I haven't had many horses who can jump like she did at the end of a three day. What a fun and exciting way to end the season” said Chris on his Facebook page
You would swear that Caroline is grinning at Libby!
Caroline Powell’s Onwards and Upwards was also impressive, showing huge scope and just missed out on a double clear round with two time penalties. This 10 year old chestnut must be an exciting prospect for Caroline in the future
Another Kiwi, Lucy Jackson riding Willy Do provided the second clear round of the afternoon, just making the time and then was immediately followed by another talented young rider, Britain’s Tom McEwan riding Dry Old party who provided the third clear in impressive style.
William’s second placed horse after the cross country, Cool Mountain had one rail and by now the tension was mounting as we approached the pointy end of the competition. Andrew Nicholson’s Mr Cruise Control didn’t look quite as fluid as usual and had eight faults – interestingly Mr Cruise Control was one of here horses finishing in the top ten by the great Irish stallion Cruising, the others being Phil Dutton’s Mr Medicott and Joseph Murphy’s Electric Cruise.
By comparison Maxime Livio’s grey Cathar de Gamel (above) looked positively feisty as he jumped around the course for a fabulous clear round with the 26 year old new French star. Maxime and Cathar won the CIC 3* at Le Pin recently but seem to have stepped up a notch even since then. The horse was for sale last year but my guess is they’ll be hanging on to it now!
Maxime’s cool clear round had the French fans holding their breath as Phillip Dutton and Mr Medicott had one rail down early in the course to drop below Maxime. William had one rail in hand and he needed it, dropping a rail at Fence 6 but maintaining his composure to leave all the rest up riding his overnight leader, Seacookie.
For those of you who have never attended a French event or didn’t get to see the live streaming (which was excellent from DailyMotion), the presentation is a big part of the fun. The little chaps on horseback were quite bizarre but as always the volunteers welcome the winners in – a lovely touch to finish a great event
As the first event of the 2013/14 FEI Classics Series season, William has picked up valuable points towards the prize money next year, as has young Maxime.
FEI Classics™ 2013/2014 Leader board (after 1 of 6 events)
1 William Fox-Pitt (GBR) 15 points
2 Maxime Livio (FRA) 12
3 Phillip Dutton (USA) 8
4 Andrew Nicholson (NZL) 6
5 Donatien Schauly (FRA) 5
6 Cedric Lyard (FRA) 4
7 Joseph Murphy (IRL) 3
8 Sarah Bullimore (GBR) 2
9 Clark Montgomery (USA) 1
Although many in the northern hemisphere maybe packing up for the season as winter rolls in, here in Australia we have the highlight of the eventing year coming up. After that event which takes place from 14th-17th November there will no doubt be a few Australian riders’ names on the list
The Australian International 3 Day Event gets bigger and better each year and we’ll be bringing it to you, wherever you are in the world, every day direct from Adelaide so stay tuned ………………….
