Nicola Wilson recieves her Tri-Star winner trophy and jacket but could it be a £50,000 cheque soon?
The third leg of the Shearwater Insurance Tri-Star Grand Slam concluded at Houghton International Horse Trials with an exciting new contender added to the mix
Nicola Wilson joined Oliver Townend and Chris Burton as a winner of one of the legs of the Tri-Star Grand Slam which offers a tempting £50,000, 'winner-takes all' prize for any rider who can win three of the five CIC3* events; Burnham Market International, Belton International, Houghton International, Hopetoun International and Burgham International in 2016.
Oliver won at Burnham Market and came close at Houghton Hall with a fifth place riding Dromgurrihy Blue while Chris Burton won at Belton International riding Nobilis 18 but did not compete at Houghton. These three riders that have already won one leg each would have to contest the last two legs to be in with a chance to win but what an exciting finale that would make
Southern based Chris Burton has never competed at these events (but may now have the incentive to do so) however both Nicola and Oliver have enjoyed good results at these northern events
In March 2016 Oliver won the CIC3* at Burgham International (1) riding Dromgurrihy Blue and was fourth on ODT Ghareeb while Nicola has also shown great form there.
Nicola won the CIC3 at Burgham (2) on One Two Many and third on Annie Clover in 2015 and also won both the CIC3* and CIC2* at Hopetoun on One Two Many and Ngong Hills in the same year. If she can repeat that performance she, will be £50,000 better off in 2016!
The next events of the Shearwater Insurance Tri-Star Grand Slam are at Hopetoun International, near Edinburgh from 17-19 June and Burgham International in Northumberland from 29-30 July
