An Eventful Life filmed all competitors on cross country at
Passing through the impressive gates of Aske Hall was very exciting, and the journey down to the marquees took you past a good section of the cross-country course with beautiful views of the lake, complete with swans and their cygnets. The course ran slightly differently to previous years, running predominantly downhill. The views from the dressage arenas were beautiful and the show-jumping ring provided an interesting challenge to the riders, with its undulations and spooky fillers. The food was top notch too!
The winner of the Open Intermediate Section A was Caroline Powell riding On The Brash owned by Sue Smiley and Sarah Tobey. Caroline was using the Yorkshire Hills as a Burghley prep run and it was a very good one, finishing nearly 11 penalties ahead of second placed Kirsty Stark and, as Caroline said on her Facebook page, there was an added bonus as “A trip to Yorkshire also meant a quick visit to a Burghley legend and a snog with the one and only Lenamore”
Harry Mutch won the Intermediate Section B on HD The One owned by Carole Mutch and he too is looking forward to Burghley in September on his other horse
“HD The One was amazing” says Harry “He’s a seven-year-old and it was his fourth Intermediate start. He has now won at every level up to Intermediate I think. I’m 22 years old, I event full time and the other horse I had there, HD Bronze, is now starting his preparation for Burghley. He was also really good at Aske but we only went out to jump a few fences and I was really happy with his performance.”
The Intermediate Section C was won by Katherine Lindsay on Hilton Cooley, known as Olaf at home, owned by the Balcarres Eventing Syndicate II. Katherine has had Olaf since he was four years old and owns him with a syndicate of Jo Sherrard and M Bicket. Katherine says “They are two VERY supportive owners and regularly come and support at events but sadly they couldn’t make it to Aske. Olaf was bred by John Leddingham and as you might imagine he has an incredibly scopey jump. He has a huge heart and just loves giving and trying his hardest which makes my life very easy. I am very lucky to ride such a trier and I’m so pleased he’s delivering the results I know he’s capable of”
Emilia Proctor won the Novice Section D on her own Larksbelle, Section E was won by Christopher Whittle on Curious Mr Chips owned by Eliza Watson and Section F by Emily King on Georgie Girl owned by Penelope Ecroyd. Emily also took second and third place in Section F and won Section Q on Vamonos owned by Patrick Beresford.
Megan Boocock and Sportsfield Ricky in the BE100
BE100 Section G was won by Victoria Devlin on her own Faerie Fantastic. The 23 year old Victoria is originally from Northumberland but moved to Lincolnshire last year.
“I finished my degree in 2018 in Equine Performance Science and have since set up my own equestrian business; livery, coaching and riding. I’ve been riding Florence (Faerie Fantastic) since last season but we weren’t getting on too well due to behavioural issues. Since then we had her scoped and treated for mild ulcers and earlier this year I had an ACL regeneration operation, which is why my season has only just begun”
“I didn’t expect to be competing this early, but my recovery had been very quick and straightforward, so we entered Aske BE100 for a nice confidence-building run to start the season ready for her step up to Novice at Aston-Le-Walls in a few weeks’ time. We didn’t expect to win!”
Louise Anderson won Section H on Diancara VDL owned by Paula Gallagher after “a wonderful day at Aske, it’s such an amazing venue and we’re so lucky to be able to visit such beautiful places”
“I’m mainly a showjumper and starting eventing by accident really. I’m an Equine Bodyworker (which is particularly useful as I can keep all of my horses supple!) and also a UKCC SJ coach but I ride Diancara for my friend and client Paula Gallagher. We show jumped her until two years ago then we decided to have a go eventing at Frickley Park (another of our favourite venues) as it’s close by and we were show jumping there with other horses anyway. Unbelievably we came third and qualified for the Yorkshire Challenge, so we thought we might do a few more!”
“Being relaxed and calm in the dressage has been a particular challenge as Diancara can be VERY spooky - I’m sure she used to think that the white boards were actually white snakes in the grass and some days they still are! We’ve worked very hard on the flatwork and also the right system for her, she has to stay out in the field or lunge pen the night before, and finding the right combination of gastric supplements and calmers but, fingers crossed, we seem to be moving in the right direction. Our goals for this year are to try and improve on our fourth place in the 100 Yorkshire Challenge final and to qualify for Badminton again would just be amazing”
The BE90 Section I was won by Kathryn Harrison on her own Heddfan Adviser, Section J by Ellie Clarke on Helen Marsh’s Lex IV, Section K by Tillyjane Buckley on her own Sunrise II, Section L by Kathryn Woolley on her own Alimarr and Section M by Sophie Dods on her own Bamber Bridge.
Michael Owen and Bradeley Law in the Open Intermediate
Georgia Dukes won the BE100 Section N on Caoife Z, owned by Rachel Inman. Georgia is just in the process of setting up her own yard offering competition, schooling and full livery. Georgia describes the owners as being “a lovely family who have a big dairy farm in the village I live in. Caoife’s a hunter through the winter and has fun eventing through the summer, he’s a huge horse in size and character.”
Section O was won be Samantha Jimmison on Quarryfield Vintage, owned by Paul Crompton, and Section P by Storm Straker on Fever Pitch, owned by Victoria Straker. Storm has had Pitchie since he was a four-year-old, having competed a little in Germany beforehand.
“He is probably the easiest horse on the yard, which is quite nice, he always tries his hardest every time you get on and absolutely adores cross country so I always feel fairly confident when I leave the start box at this level. He has actually had 2 wins in the past week as he qualified for Burghley Young Event Horse on Thursday which was a shock for us all as. I also had my Russian Stallion in the BE90 for a confidence run and he would’ve been second if I wasn’t competing HC”
Aske Horse Trials benefits from a very grand setting which was clearly appreciated by the riders, and the Capability Brown inspired parkland always makes for good viewing of cross country plus offers a perfect spot for paddling ...
Article by Jess Johnson
