Nicola Wilson and Bulana are back on track for the 2018 World Equestrian Games
The St James’s Place Barbury Castle Horse Trials proved to be the comeback platform for both of winning CIC3* combinations with France’s Tom Carlile and Upsilon taking the Event Rider Masters here after retiring on course at Arville recently and Britain’s Nicola Wilson leading the CIC3* Section B from start to finish to win on the super-talented but sensitive Bulana.
Like Tom, who recently told us about bringing Upsilon back into competition after problems at the European Championships last year, Nicola and her black mare, on whom the Yorkshire rider won team gold and individual bronze medals at the Europeans, have had an interrupted season, due to a wet spring and Nicola's knee injury.
The lack of work hasn't played to Bulana’s feisty temperament with the pair also retiring on cross country at Luhmuhlen “I felt we were at sixes and sevens” admitted Nicola “My main aim this weekend was to get our partnership back on track, but she has been great in all three phases and feels back to her best”
Both Tom and Nicola were among the WEG hopefuls from many the nations competing at Barbury. Hitting top form at the right time for both the selection period and then the actual performance at the World Equestrian Games is always a juggling act but we are now getting to the exciting part with long lists and squads being announced. That ‘team’ feeling was palpable at Barbury and it will intensify even further at Aachen in a couple of weeks’ time; the chef d’equipes, selectors, and trainers were out in force watching, evaluating, perhaps even making decisions?
The team bonding is often apparent but in Championship years it certainly increases - Blyth Tait jumped a beautiful clear show jumping and the Kiwi contingent on the rail immediately turned to coach Luis Alvarez Cervera and patted him on the back, congratulated him, shook his hand...
Gemma Tattersall and Pamero in the ERM 3*
Arena side is the place to be for experiencing the emotion – when you stand next to Team GB’s Chris Bartle and Dickie Waygood, and Gemma Tattersalls’ mum Marcy, you can feel the anxiety and encouragement flowing the rider’s way. The two experienced coaches urge her (even though she can’t hear them) to sit up, or wait, and her mum is clucking and almost jumping for her. It does make you wonder at times how much credit the horses and riders can actually be given with all this hard work being put in on the sidelines!
The Kiwis had rather spotty form this weekend but that may be because they’re not afraid to use events, and especially lower level events e.g. the 2* divisions as a learning experience for their younger horses. They bring them out and go for it and, although they don’t always win, their horses are getting exposure and being educated. Even more impressive is that the Kiwis know how to party (and let’s face it, this is part of why we love eventing) but they still show up and perform on the day as Sammi Birch tells us in a coming interview
The top placed New Zealander in the CIC3* Section B was the tallest member of the Kiwi contingent, Jesse Campbell on Cleveland, finishing in fourth place (43.1) while Andrew Nicholson took seventh on Yacabo BK (45.3) but it was the British riders that took the top three spots with Nicola and Bulana show jumping clear and adding 5.6 time penalties for the win on a score of 30.8. Second place (36.0) was a great result for young Richard Coney from Lincolnshire riding his own Kananarskis, who is only 15.1hh, and in third place was the in-form Gemma Tattersall on Chris Stone's Chilli Knight, by the 2015 Badminton winner Chilli Morning.
Fiona Kashel (nee Breach) and Creevagh Silver De Haar put in their best performance at this level for sixth place (44.6), young Rosa Onslow made her long trip from the north worthwhile with a great result on RLE Limbo Kaiser in eighth (46.1) while the fastest rider on cross country, David Britnell, picking up just 0.4 time penalties riding Continuity, must have been cursing his 12 show jumping penalties – without them he would have been second rather than ninth
Even the Australian based riders went fairly slowly on the firm ground with Rob Palm cantering Koko Story around what he thought to be a ‘very odd track’ as he told Samantha Clark, to finish in 29th place
The cross country course does roll back on itself over and over again and the horses are on the camber a lot, which is great for the spectators but maybe too much like a dirt bike track and not quite so much fun to ride.
10 riders opted not to start on the cross country in the CIC3* Section B including Chris Burton on Cooley Lands (heading to the next leg of ERM), Sammi Birch on Hunter Valley II (heading to Aachen) and Laura Collett on London 52, another very exciting horse in Laura's stable
Laura with London 52 (above) and Daisy Berkeley (below) on Ballinteskin Cooper S, a very impressive horse that had a green run out at the big brush corner after the owl hole on the mound near the end of the cross country course but definitely one to keep an eye on
Stay tuned for our interviews with Chris Burton, Sam Griffiths, Sammi Birch, Alex Hua Tian and Christine Bates at Barbury – all coming up soon .....
