Pippa Funnell and Billy The Biz lead the CCI4*-S at Hartpury
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Sarah Bullimore has had a busy time at the NAF Five Star International Hartpury Horse Trials during the first two days, topping and tailing the NAF Five Star Magic CCI4*-S dressage phase and finishing with her least experienced horse in third place. The first cab on the ranks was Sarah’s top horse and reserve on the British squad for the European Championships, Reve Du Rouet who scored 28.5 but it was the eight-year-old, homebred Corouet, a pocket rocket at only 15.1h, who moved into the lead just before lunch today with a score of 23.6
Sarah and Corouet moved ahead of yesterday’s leader Pippa Funnell riding MGH Grafton Street (24.8) and Emily King on Brookleigh (24.9), the horse who started his international career with Australia’s Clayton Fredericks.
Brookleigh may now be 17 years old but he is on very good form, having finished third with Emily in the CCI4*-S at Bramham recently and is currently in sixth place (24.9) at the end of dressage here. Emily’s other ride, the chestnut Dargun who recently won the Open Intermediate at Aston-Le-Walls (3) is also doing well, currently in eighth place with a score of 25.4
Bubby Upton and Eros DHI
The first horse after lunch was Eros DHI ridden by the recent Team GB gold medallist at the Young Rider Europeans, Bubby Upton. They scored 28.1 for 16th place and were helped in the warm up by Emily – we had a chat with the two talented young riders after Bubby’s test on Eros
Australia’s Kevin McNab on Scuderia 1918 Don Quidam is heading the Antipodean charge on an equal score with Emily of 25.4. The Scuderia brand that has been synonymous with show jumping in the past is now building a strong team of horses within eventing, ridden by Kevin and Holly Woodhead, and Scuderia 1918 Don Quidam is a horse that came from a show jumping background but also has some great movement.
Kevin McNab and Scuderia 1918 Don Quidam
Other Antipodeans here this weekend include some recent arrivals with the ‘backpacking’ pair Christine Bates and Adelaide Hill having turned in yet another good dressage for a score of 28.7 on Thursday, Thea Horsley riding Kelecyn Supernatural on 37.3 and New Zealand’s Sam Lissington riding Ricker Ridge Rui having their first international start in the UK (42.2)
The last two hours of the CCI4* dressage featured a Who’s Who of eventing with, to name a few, Tom McEwen, Tim Price, Pippa Funnell, Piggy French, Tina Cook and Sarah Bullimore back as the last ride of the day on her third horse Conpierre.
Tom, Piggy and Tina are all headed to the European Championships at Luhmuhlen and all three have brought their Championship horses for a hit-out. Piggy’s Quarrycrest Echo is currently in 11th place (26.6) and Vanir Kamira, on her first outing since winning Badminton is in ninth place (25.8) while the new’ish horse Calling Card is in 20th (28.6) and Brookfield Quality is on track for yet another win, leading the NAF Five Star Superflex CCI3*-L on a score of 27
Piggy French
These last few riders challenged Sarah’s lead when Tom McEwen on his European Championship horse Toledo De Kerser equalled her score of 23.6
Tom McEwen and Toledo De Kerser
Toledo De Kerser has had a quiet season so far with good runs at National level “There was nothing I wanted to particularly aim for so we’ve just kept him ticking along” says Tom who took advantage of showing off Toledo De Kerser’s huge canter to the judges as he went around the arena “It’s a bit of a way for me tell him he’s on show and off he goes. He’s got a really expressive medium canter so it’s good to show it off”
It certainly worked with them moving into equal first place but not for long as Pippa Funnell and a gleaming white Billy The Biz (a big round of applause here for this horse’s groom) came in soon after and just pipped both Sarah and Tom with a score of 23.3.
It was an up and down week for Pippa, winning the Advanced on Maja’s Hope but having a run-out on Billy Walk On when she was in the lead of the British Open Championship at the Festival of British Eventing but today she was all smiles as, not only is she leading the CCI4*, but she is also in fifth place (24.8) on MGH Grafton Street
Not everyone was lucky with the rain - just after Tina Cook's rainbow, Alex Bragg was drenched
The weather has been changeable all day in this pocket of Gloucestershire but the gods smiled on Tina Cook, giving her a full rainbow as the backdrop for the test on Billy The Red, also selected for the European Championships. They scored 23.7 for fourth place, making it very tight at the top heading into tomorrow’s show jumping and cross country
With an Yellow Warning in place by the Met Office and forecast wind gusts of up 48mph tomorrow, a decision has been made to bring the 4* show jumping indoors tomorrow which could have quite an impact on how the horses jump (but at least the wind won't be blowing them down)
We talked to Sarah Bullimore about her young star Corouet, currently in third place and how she thinks the indoor jumping will pan out
