An Eventful Life filmed all competitors on cross country at
The Cotswold Cup Championships at Cirencester Park Unaffiliated 2022
Cirencester Park hosted the final of The Cotswold Cup Championships, an unaffiliated eventing series that has exploded in popularity thanks mainly to the efficient organisation from the team at The Cotswold Cup along with Musketeer Event Management, but also the much appreciated prizes as part of the £10,000 prize pool on offer
While Cirencester Park Unaffiliated hosted competitions for One Day and Two Day competitors from 23rd – 25th September, it was The Cotswold Cup Final that attracted the most attention, not only for the big finale but also the format. Contested as a traditional three day-event with the endurance phase including roads and tracks and steeplechase added to the challenge and was an invaluable and unique experience for riders and horses.
100cm 3DE Senior Championship
The 1003DE Senior Championship was headed by Charlotte James and Creagh Bay Boy who rose from fourth after the dressage to head into the show jumping into second place thanks to a faultless endurance day.
Dressage leaders, Emma Payne and Sezincote Allegria, were still narrowly in front despite picking up 1.2 cross-country time penalties for being too fast, but they rolled poles and added time to drop down to seventh, so it was Mark Ford and Minnie Manoeuvrez who took the runner up spot.
Inspired by the recent World Equestrian Games, Charlotte says, “It may not be a World Championship but it’s a pretty big win for us!”
Charlotte’s 600k fans of her ‘Charlotte James Eventing’ Tiktok account will no doubt attest to that.
Creagh Bay Boy, known as Captain, is so tricky that followers more often watch her landing on the floor than landing a good result.
Charlotte says, “I even stopped eventing him a couple of years ago as I worried I wasn’t good enough to handle him but this weekend he somehow turned from being quirky to perfect!”
Creagh Bay Boy’s antics were in full swing at their preparatory run at Elmwood, says Charlotte “Luckily, he seemed to get all his attempts to buck me off out of his system there – his thoughts on that event were, ‘Trot down the centreline and then take off, try and buck my rider off in the show jumping, but finish off the day with a speedy confident clear cross-country’.”
As they live locally, Charlotte trailered in every day and, after achieving a good dressage score of 29.3 penalties, they returned for the all-important and unusual endurance day.
“Captain got fairly excited for roads and tracks and steeplechase but we were all clear inside the time, and I then gained some crucial information from other riders in the 10 minute box that the water jump was riding quite stickily” Charlotte explained
“So at that point I decided, with not having as much practice in as I’d have liked, that the smart decision would be to have a confident round and go long there, which we did. It was a very nice solid Championship track, he flew over all of the combinations, and we finished clear inside the time.”
At the show jumping, the nerves began to kick in “We walked the course as the 90cm prize giving was taking place and I wish I hadn’t! It seemed huge, a very technical course where the time proved crucial! Walking it with my mum, we both kept saying whatever happens does, we were both so proud of him for his cross-country round!”
“As we were in second place, we were the penultimate combination to jump and, warming him up he understandably felt tired, so we popped a couple of small fences and then waited our turn.
Poles had been flying and time faults were being picked up and although we had a pole in hand from third, we got rid of that at the second fence! I was thinking we’ve got a long course ahead now, but Captain flew round. I was conscious of the clock so made sure to really keep the momentum going which suited him. I made a couple of mistakes, but he was extremely honest and we finished with just that one pole early on and no time faults.”
As they watched the leader Emma’s show jumping round, it became clear, Charlotte and ‘Captain’ had won.
Charlotte says, “I couldn’t believe it! He even wore his rug and sash with pride when you can’t even ride him in an exercise sheet at home”
“I would never would have imagined we’d actually get this far together, we’ve come a long way and to be Cotswold Cup Champions is just surreal.”
90cm3DE Senior Championship
Show jumping rails and time penalties shook up the order of the 90cm 3DE Championship with 26-year-old Abby Lloyd and Clonakilla Blaze squeezing ahead of Jack Stancombe, who then netted both second and third placings with Fivale Fairytale and Watermill respectively.
Abby, who hails from Gloucester but originally began her eventing from a young age as part of the Wheatland Hunt Pony Club, has also had tricky times in the past with her equine Champion, Clonakilla Blaze
“I have threatened to sell him many times as he’s never been the bravest on the cross-country and we’ve left many a course, and an event, in tears.”
Both at these Championships, those tears turned into tears of joy
“I was daunted”, admits Abby, adding, “I didn’t know what to expect – especially from Blaze – and I hadn’t done a roads and tracks or steeplechase before, but I think it really helped him and so did the preparatory work getting him really fit for the three-day-event.”
Abby appreciated the hands-on help of her friends and family with her Dad helping out and her Mum frantically refreshing the online scores.
Abby says, “Blaze was so quiet – not like him at all – but it was like he knew he had a job to do, and he really gave his all. Anyone who knows him will know what that means for me.”
Netting £1000 in prize money along with a clutch of other prizes Abby says that “The whole event was absolutely brilliant and I’m so thankful to the organisers and sponsors.”
80cm 3DE Senior Championship
Again, the show jumping phase proved critical in the 80cm Senior 3DE Championship with the leader into this stage, Jill McFarland dropping right down to tenth. But a faultless performance from Swanview Delta Dawn, piloted by Annabel Berry, propelled this partnership up into the lead.
The pair is no stranger to success – they won the Barbury Castle qualifier and were runners-up at Oxtalls en route to qualifying for this Championship
Article by Anna Bruce
Read The Cotswold Cup Junior Championships Wrap Up here
