With the sun high in the air and temperatures soaring, the final day of competition at Barbury International Eventing and Show came to a close. Spectators positioned themselves tactfully in front of the large TV screens that displayed the men’s finals at Wimbledon whilst still being able to keep an eye on all the action across the country. Two fantastic sporting show downs were on offer, both providing plenty of moments that had you on the edge of your seat.
The best were saved for last as both sections of the CIC3* ran with the top 15 competitors being the last to go. Andrew Nicholson (above) was the final man out on cross country and all eyes were on him as he set out to defend his title from last year. There was never any doubt however as the cross country master took off aboard the brilliant grey Avebury. Racking up just 0.8 time penalties, Andrew took out the CIC3* section A comfortably ahead of Great Britain’s Izzy Taylor and Lucy Wiegersma.
Sam Griffiths and Paulank Brockagh (above) were Australia’s best placed combination. They incurred 5.2 time penalties across the country but jumped beautifully to finish in sixth place. Captain Mark Phillips’ course proved to be fairly difficult with run outs being spread across the field, however it was the time that was most difficult to obtain. Just two combinations made it home under time across both sections of the CIC3*.
Paul Tapner and a tired Kilronan had an unfortunate run out towards the end of the course. The added 20 penalties dropped them down to 22nd place, still not a bad effort in a class that started with 78 competitors. However Paul had plenty of success in other classes throughout the weekend. The Retraining of the Racehorses National Championships came to an end today and the Aussie finished third aboard Inishmor. A catch ride in Launces Lad (above) also saw Paul finish fifth in this class. New Zealand's Tim Price and and Vortex won the Championship for the second year running.
The other Lamperd - Murray's brother Warren and Silvia in the 3*
Lucinda Fredericks and Warren Lamperd also completed the cross country phase in the 3* today after difficult show jumping rounds yesterday. Lucinda and Prada incurred 33.6 time penalties and Warren and Silvia racked up 21.6 time, both finishing mid field. Unfortunately Matt Ryan and Bonza Moorabinda were eliminated in section A and Matt withdrew from section B aboard Bonza Rusty May after yesterday’s show jumping.
The CIC3* section B was won by Great Britain’s Piggy French and Tinkas Time (above). Piggy incurred just 0.8 time penalties across the country to finish on a fantastic score of 37.2. Clark Montgomery from the USA came very close to taking out the section. An unfortunate rail in the show jumping and 0.8 time penalties on cross country today saw the American lose his winning dressage position and taking second place. Rebecca Howard made Australian Olympian turn Canadian coach, Clayton Frederick’s trip back to the UK worthwhile. Rebecca finished in third place after a fantastic cross country round.
The beautiful scenery of the Wiltshire Country side provided a brilliant setting for this week’s Horse Trials. The weekend attracted large crowds of families, both horsey and non-horsey and provided the opportunity for people to enjoy eventing whilst enjoying a day out. With a huge list of entries that included all the big names as well as some fantastic up and coming combinations, Barbury Castle has truly reflected the best of what British Eventing has to offer.
Article by Emily Penney
A great little compilation of footage thanks to HamsterLearner11
