An Eventful Life filmed all competitors on cross country at
Calmsden Horse Trials - find out more here
Calmsden Horse Trials in Gloucestershire provided exceptional ground and great competition for day one of their weekend event but fell foul to the horrible British weather overnight and had to abandon the second day of competition. The same story unravelled for both Tweseldown and Weston Park in other parts of the country. Nevertheless, we’ve spoken to some of the successful riders from Saturday at Calmsden, all of whom were very complimentary about how good the ground was for all three phases.
The Open Novice Section A was won by Daisy Berkeley on NPS Devon who is owned by Roxana Janet White, and Becky Woolven won Section B on Bounty Castle, owned by Julie Boeree. Becky also placed 10th in the BE100 section H with Tullabeg Springtime, owned by Christina Ticehurst.
Dickon Reader won the Novice Section C on Kate Kearns’ Storm Clara and placed third in the Novice section B on Tempest Wick, owned by Sophie Janes. Dickon has a yard in the Forest of Dean, not far from Ross-on-Wye and has just won the Mark Todd bridging the gap scholarship for 2020, which he says is ‘super exciting’.
“Storm Clara has been with me for two and a half years now. She’s a six-year-old thoroughbred mare, homebred by Liam and Kate Kearns who are two fantastic owners of mine. Clara had a great run at Calmsden and next week she’ll head to Bicton for the CCI2* S 6YO class so it’s perfect to get a win before that!”
“She always produces a competitive test but to be six points ahead was quite unexpected. Show-jumping can be her weakest phase so to jump her second clear round at Novice makes the win feel even more deserved for her. I had a minor panic on the cross country when, after Fence 4, I looked down at my watch thinking ‘it hadn’t yet beeped at me’ to see that the darn thing hadn’t started properly!! I had to just gauge my speed accordingly and hope for the best. We really are spoilt with being able to wear a watch at every level now, I worried I lost my ability to pace! But, thankfully, she finished just outside the time and still clinched the victory”
“Tempest Wick is another homebred and talented six-year-old, and also aiming for Bicton. He’s owned by Sophie Janes, an owner who has been very good to me over the years. He had another good result. Only recently have I ‘cracked’ him on the flat ... he has endless talent but the attitude (stubborn that is) to go with it and it has taken some time to get him on side. His mark was great but he’s got so much more in him. He’s a consistent jumper and fast against the clock, so always whips round the cross country. This time he felt a little unsure under foot out on course and when we came home, we discovered he’d lost both shoes on his left side!! So a fair feat for him to complete the way he did. He loves the job and can really dig deep for me when it’s needed”
Section D was won by 17 year old Ellie Clist who fits in eventing around her final year of A-levels at Kings College in Taunton studying chemistry, maths, and biology. She won the class, much to her surprise, on her own Cutton Bentley
“This is my first season riding Cutton Bentley who was bred down in Exeter at Cutton Farm. We’ve spent this season getting to know each other competing at BE100 and we were selected to be part of Team South West to compete at Frickley U18 National Championships.”
“Calmsden was our first Novice together and my very first Novice ever so to get placed, let alone to take the win, was an amazing surprise. The plan wasn’t to go for the time out on the cross country but we just kept in a good rhythm and were only seven seconds outside. We have had a very successful first season together with nine top ten finishes including two wins and two second places. The week leading up to Calmsden was incredibly exhausting and hectic, making sure that we had the right preparation, but in the end it was really worth it and proves that hard work pays off. I couldn’t have done any of it without my mum who drives me miles on end to get me to training and competitions, often picking me up in the lorry from college.”
Louise Harwood and Baloutero
The Novice Section E was won by Louise Harwood on her own Carlingford’s He’s A Clover. Louise also placed sixth in the BE100 section G on Baloutero, owned by Stella Bunn.
“Calmsden was a lovely friendly event, we were all worried that it may be cancelled but we drove on easily without being towed and the ground was great for all phases. It was quite a tough cross country with a few testing combinations and some skinnies. The water jump proved really tricky with a log drop in and a skinny out - if you over-rode the jump in, there was no chance of turning to the skinny, however, if you sat too quiet at the log in you may stop if your horse wasn’t bold!”
“My horse was only one point off upgrading to intermediate at Calmsden and it all felt good on him. I bought Tommy nearly two years ago when he was five rising six. He started eventing last year as a six year old and I have brought him on slowly whilst he has strengthened up. He is a super jumper but is quick to spot things and spook off in the wrong direction!”
Holly Clarke won the Pony Open Novice section on Red Dandy, owned by Lucy Robinson. Georgie Strang won both BE100 sections on Global Halifax, belonging to Diana Morrish, and Just Cawrus Girl, belonging to Barbara Heaton-Smith.
“It was a great day. The mare Just Cawrus Girl is only five years old and has shown huge promise this season. She was bred by her owner Barbara Cooper and has a foal by embryo transfer who won the foal class at Osberton the week before. Global Halifax is a new ride for me this season, he is seven years old and has previously show-jumped. He is a cheeky character but has huge potential and I can’t wait to crack on with him next season.”
“I was so impressed by the ground at Calmsden. With all the rain we’ve had I was sure it would be cancelled on Saturday but it was almost perfect going which is a huge credit to the organisers.”
As we hear of several more events having to cancel for this coming weekend, we cross our fingers and hope that Oasby goes ahead as one of our last UK events of the year. What a sport!
Article by Jess Johnson
