Becky Morrish and Kilsallagh Cathal
An Eventful Life filmed all competitors on cross country at
Firle Place International - find out more here
Firle Place International Horse Trials has almost as many waggy tails attached to dogs as it does tails attached to horses, thanks to the canine activities held on the Sunday with something for every type of dog (and their owner).
Dog shows and a dispaly of MG vintage cars mixed with the horses on Sunday
Even on Saturday there were plenty of dogs around just having a good day out as riders completed the BE 90 and BE100 classes. The BE100 Open was won by Becky Morrish on board Kilsallagh Cathal, making it their second win in a row at this level, having won at Eridge recently too. It is also not the first time they’ve won this class at Firle either, winning in 2016 (watch their ride here)
Another winner at Eridge and Firle was Melissa Joannides who is having a very good season with her team of small horses (as opposed to a small team of horses). Melissa and her horses may not be very big but they certainly pack a punch for their size and the five year old British Sports Pony Stallion, graded with the SPSS, Prometheus II won the BE100 Section I, and one of our XC Video prizes, at just their second start at this level.
Melissa Joannides and Prometheus II (above) and on Silken Creme (below)
The 14.2h Prometheus came to Melissa’s stable this year, having started his career in show jumping and he certainly seemed to want to be in charge during this phase at Firle! However, the feisty little horse jumped clear, having started with a good dressage score of 26.5, and then added nothing to his overall score on the cross country course.
Laura Schroter and Billy Shamrock
Melissa also picked up second place on the very attractive 15h Trakehner x Connemara mare Silken Crème in the BE100 Section H behind the winner Laura Schroter on Billy Shamrock, a 16.2h mare by the show jumping sire Billy Congo, and local rider Francis Whittington took third place on Adrenalin II with an unlucky rail in the show jumping arena costing them the win.
Another top level Sussex-based rider, Nana Dalton also had two rides on Saturday with both Isington Irish Spirit and Own Agenda (seen in the video below) finishing in the BE100 on their dressage scores
Out of the placings in this class but with an interesting story was Linton, a 12-year-old grey thoroughbred with Australian connections, who won over $2 million including a Group One win during his racing career in Australia. Ridden by Jody Sole, the pair finished in 15th place
More BE100 combinations came forward on Sunday with Charlotte Hordle riding JKS Top Gun winning the BE100 Mitsubishi Motors Regional Final Section P and Jane Rogers riding Corrieview Merlin Magic taking Section T; it's hard to believe that we’re already thinking about next year’s Mitsubishi Cup in May
Australia's Sarah Martin and Nero The Hero
Helen Witchell won the BE100 Section R on board A Cooley Deal Breaker ahead of another Australian connection with Sarah Martin riding Nero The Hero taking second place. Sarah relocated from Australia and brought Nero The Hero with her; together they are now enjoying competition on the other side of the world.
But Helen’s big win of the day was in the CIC1* on board Castlerichmond William finishing on their very impressive dressage score of 22.9, several penalties ahead of Liz Halliday-Sharp on one of her many talented young Cooley horses, Cooley Moonshine (28) and France’s Gaspard Maksud on Pizazz II (30.20)
No wonder she's smiling! Liz and Castlefield Flash Cooley - another 2nd in the BE100 Open Section J
