Mary King and King Robert
Mary King last won at Blenheim Palace Horse Trials in 1996 on board King Solomon III but, with the current trend of great come-backs, who knows what could happen next? The four-time British Open Champion and six-time Olympian is currently in third place of the CCI4*-S 8 & 9Year Old class after the dressage on her home-bred King Robert.
The nine-year-old King Robert is bred in the purple, sired by Badminton winning stallion Chilli Morning and out of Mary’s 5* winning mare Kings Temptress, and the young horse has already proved himself at this level with a top 10 finish at Tattersalls in May. They are currently on a score of 29.6 at Blenheim heading into the cross country
Another King bred in the purple is Mary’s daughter Emily, also riding at the SsangYong Blenheim Palace International. She is competing not against her mum but in the CCI4*-L with her 11-year-old Dargun and they are currently in equal eighth place on a very competitive score of 27.1
It has been an ‘up and down year’ for Emily who started very well with a fifth place at Belton International on Dargun but took a tumble at Badminton while the evergreen Brookleigh continues to produce good results and Patrick Beresford’s bay gelding Vamonos has been selected for the Six-Year-Old Championship at Le Lion d’Angers
Emily spoke to Rupert Bell after her dressage test at Blenheim on Dargun
Emily King
Emily King and Dargun
