Liz Halliday-Sharp and Deniro Z
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Liz Halliday-Sharp may have had a busy schedule recently zipping between the USA and UK but it certainly did no harm with Liz and the nine year old Deniro Z winning the CIC2* Section C at the St. James’s Place Barbury International Horse Trials on Saturday
While the Event Rider Masters class was doing their thing in the dressage arena, the riders in the CIC2* sections were zipping around the rolling downlands of the Barbury Castle Estate just outside Marlborough in Wiltshire.
Liz and Deniro made light work of the cross country, coming home clear and under time to finish on their dressage score of 41.3 while the overnight dressage leader Chris Burton and Lawtown Boy had to settle for second place when they added 4.8 time penalties on cross country (42.2) and Fiona Breach moved up from 14th after dressage into third place thanks to a clear show jumping round and just 1.2 time penalties.
Chris Burton and Lawtown Boy
Only a handful of riders achieved the optimum time over Mark Phillips’s fair but imposing course and Liz, who enjoys speed as a racing driver as well as professional eventer, was the only one to make the time in this class She bought the nine-year-old from Sussex-based rider Francis Whittington as a horse to sell, but is now excited by Deniro’s potential and has managed to get a syndicate together to buy the nine-year-old who is a real prospect for the future
‘I think he’s a real four-star horse,’ Elisabeth said. ‘He gallops and is brave. The cross-country course rode really nicely, but you have to commit to get the time.’
Shane Rose and Sea Summer Bay
Australia’s Shane Rose added just 5.6 time penalties and one show jumping rail on Sam Griffiths’ Sea Summer Bay to finish in 14th place and he also picked up sixth in the CIC2* Section E on the nine year old Paulank Kings River, half brother to Sam’s Badminton winning mare Paulank Brockagh
It was also lovely to also see Lucy Jackson and Willy Do at the top of the Section C in fourth place after Lucy had time off last year to have baby Evie but probably the happiest lady rider of the day was 21 year old Emily King who finally scored her first international, taking the CIC2* Section D on Jane Del Missier’s 13-year-old mare Walitze F Vejgard.
Emily King and Walitze F Vejgard
Emily has been so close on so many occasions and has not had the luckiest of seasons so far so this was something of a boost.
‘It’s nice when your luck turns,’ said Emily ‘Walitze is really good at this two-star level. She’s quite a sharp mare, has an amazing gallop and moves like a dressage horse’
Emily held off two Olympic lady riders to finally capture her first international win with Pippa Funnell and the on-form Sandman in second place and Gemma Tattersall on Chilli Knight while Craig Barr on Marli III took fourth with one of only two double clear cross country rounds of this class
There were more celebrations when Emily’s boyfriend, Sam Ecroyd, captured CIC2* section E on The Quiet Man, an eight-year-old by Quiet Edition. Sam has had the gelding since he was purchased as a three-year-old at Brightwell’s sale at Addington and the pair has had a strong start to the season with second place in the CIC2* YR at Houghton International in May
‘This is the best he’s ever felt – he just cruised round,’ said Sam who topped the British Eventing Goldman Cup League for the leading U21 rider at the end of June
Gemma Tattersall and Chilli Knight
