View all fences on the Ian Stark 3* cross country course here
Oliver Townend and MHS King Joules lead the CCI3*
Huddersfield born Oliver Townend took a step closer to realising a childhood dream when he finished atop the leader board in the Equi-Trek CCI3* at Bramham International Horse Trials. Riding Tom Joule’s MHS King Joules, Oliver, was thrilled with the 11 year old Gareeb-sired gelding. They were the first combination in front of the judges in the final group of riders and were consistent, active and well presented to score 37.9 to overtake long time leaders, Sammi Birch and Hunter Valley II of Australia.
Oliver said afterwards; “That was a very good start. We were really hopeful for the horse to put up a big performance; we know that he’s very capable. He’s got everything he needs to be absolutely exceptional and glad we put it all together in the dressage today. He’s a good horse full stop. .... Let’s hope we’re in the same set up on Sunday night.”
Oliver Townend
Sammi came close to beating both Oliver and herself with her second ride, The Court Jester, but 40.4 just wasn’t quite enough and left her in third jointly with local heroine Nicola Wilson riding James and Jo Lambert’s Bulana.
Tom McEwen found himself in a familiar position in the Bishop Burton College u25 CCI3* with Sammi Birch’s Toledo de Kerser as he was in 2013 when he won the under 25s title aboard Diesel. The leaderboard shuffled a few times through the afternoon but it was Tom who finished on top with 40.4 on the tricky gelding. Second place is occupied by Devon rider Emily King with Sir Patrick Beresford’s Charlemagne who she’s ridden since he was four. They scored 43.9 with Bert Bolton and Purple Sands just behind on 46.6. It’s tight at the top so all to play for tomorrow.
Tom commented; “Really pleased with him. He’s a young horse and has been progressing well through the year. There’s still a lot to work on to get to the end aim. He’s not easy – a complete fruit loop at home and we can’t jump him at home. But he’s really started to enjoy the shows now and is a fantastic horse; tricky but I like him for it.”
In the Event Rider Masters the USA’s Clark Montgomery riding Loughan Glen produced a stunning dressage test to take the lead on 36.5 penalty marks despite an error of course
“I am delighted with Loughan Glen’s performance, the atmosphere today in the arena actually helped him rather than made him tense. I don’t know what happened with my course error – I think I had a bit too much fun at the Bramham BBQ last night!”
The open distances of tomorrow’s cross-country should suit Glen, there are some big questions out there but it’s it will be our last run before Rio and the ERM prize money on offer is fantastic so I don’t plan to hang around”.
Bill Levett and Shannondale Titan
Bill Levett leads the way for the Australians following a superb test from Shannondale Titan scoring 39 penalties to put them into second.
“His test was really good today, I worked him for a bit longer as we had a bit of disaster at Chatsworth where he really got taken back by the atmosphere of the arena. But he’s a beautiful horse and it’s nice to do him justice and that everyone can enjoy him when he goes as nicely as he did today”.
Alex Hua Tian and the stunning Don Geniro
Alex Hua Tian representing China was very happy with Don Geniro dressage, positioning him in third place on a mark of 40.
“Don has endless scope in the dressage and has changed a lot this last year. We were used to ‘floppy Don’, as he was a relaxed character, but he took us by surprise in the dressage at Chatsworth and was fresh, so we have changed his warm up routine and he’s certainly improved”
“Tomorrow’s cross-country should suit and it would be great to get a slice of the £50,000 up for grabs”!
Happy! Alex, Clark and Bill at the press conference
The current leader of the ERM series ‘Flying Frenchman’ Astier Nicolas and Molakai is expected not to hang about in tomorrow’s cross-country. Lying just seven marks off the leader following their dressage and renowned for his swift cross-country performances, Astier along with his teammate Maxime Livio riding Pica D’Or currently lying in fourth with 40.8, France could once again dominate the ERM podium tomorrow.
The Brits played a strong hand in the dressage with four riders placed in the top ten. This includes 2015 Bramham CIC 3 star winners Nicola Wilson and Annie Clover who sit in equal sixth place along with Pippa Funnell and Mirage D’Elle on 42.3 penalty marks. Izzy Taylor and Be Touchable lie in equal eighth scoring 42.9 and Allstar B in tenth with 43.3.
Sir Mark Todd and NZB Campino
Breathing down the neck of the leaders are New Zealanders Sir Mark Todd riding NZB Campino (42.2) and Jonelle Price with Faerie Dianimo (42.9) who currently lie in fifth and equal eighth place respectively. With the previous competition form indicating the likely winner could come from the top ten after dressage and the Kiwi pair renowned for their solid cross-country form a New Zealander featuring on the podium tomorrow would be no surprise.
New for 2016, ERM incorporates six CIC *** Eventing competitions at venues across Great Britain with a total of £350,000 on offer across the series. The ERM competition can be viewed live on Saturday, when the competition culminates with the showjumping and cross-country run in reverse order. Free streaming can be viewed at www.eventridermasters.tv
