Tara Staveley and In The Wind Photo: 1st Class Images
An Eventful Life filmed all competitors on cross country at
Swalcliffe Park - find out more here
It was a wild and woolly weekend at Swalcliffe Park Horse Trials in Oxfordshire but at least the event was able to go ahead, after having to cancel last year. Other events were no quite so fortunate with Pontispool and Stafford both abandoned after heavy rain affected ground conditions
It may have been wet and windy for the BE90 and BE100 classes at the Swalcliffe Park Equestrian Centre on Saturday but there were glimpses of sunshine and the ground held up fantastically well, so it was full steam ahead for Sarah Taylor and her team. The winner with the most aptly named horse was In The Wind ridden by Tara Staveley who took the BE90 Section C sponsored by Newbridge Straw Products on Saturday, winning on their dressage score of 27.5
Tara was delighted with In The Wind, especially under the conditions
“In the Wind can be quiet sharp at times” Tara told us “However she just knuckled down in the test. I think we were both thinking ‘what on earth are we doing here’ as we did our test in gale force winds!”
“Indi always tries her hardest however she can be very strong and opinionated when we are jumping so over the winter we have been working on our jumping and our brakes. She jumped well despite finding the ground quite slippery. She was awesome cross-country; she actually listened and went in a lovely rhythm not like a bat out of hell like she usually does. I was really pleased to finish on our dressage score for our first time out this year but to get a regional qualification and win was great”
It was a baptism by fire for Tara’s first time at Swalcliffe but, despite that, she says she will be back.
“A big thanks to the very generous sponsors for the rug and the voucher. Indi was a total star and we are really looking forward to the rest of the season. All the competitors, their horses, supporters, the organisers and all the volunteers deserve praise, the conditions were extremely testing for everyone”
Some BE100 classes also ran on Saturday and Australia’s Kevin McNab added to his win at Aston-Le-Walls with a win in the BE100 Section F on board the six-year-old German bred Vidalgo. It was a good weekend overall with Kevin riding four horses and all of them in the top six of their BE100 classes
Christina Wiederkehr and Lilas Girl Photo: 1st Class Images
The BE100 riders were back on Sunday (some, such as Dassett Eventing having to return as they had forgotten to bring one of their horses on Saturday!) and there was another international winner in Switzerland’s Christina Wiederkehr in the Section BE100 Section I sponsored by Sheldon Bosley Knight. Christina was riding Lilas Girl (Maisie), a seven-year-old mare who finished the 2018 season with a BE100 win at Aston-Le-Walls (5) and started just as well this year but Christina wasn’t putting pressure on herself or the young mare by Cassini
“I never go out with any expectations” says Christina “I just try and allow the horses to perform the best they can in the moment. The dressage was next to a part of the cross country course so she got lit up a bit when she saw a few horses flying past; she is very sensitive and can over react really easily to little changes but once settled, she tried so hard and we were rewarded with lovely comments from the judge and a good score of 27”
“With a clear in the show jumping, I didn't want to waste time cross country but I did want to see how she would cope with the ground and was delighted to find she was extremely keen and coping well. The ground was astonishing, despite all the rain we had! It got cut up at places but was not holding so I let her travel. The organisers did a great job with ensuring the best going where it was needed, they put extra gravel down where it was needed, and I think they deserve a huge thank you for running this event”
“We have been preparing to move up to Novice level over the winter, but I decided to give her a nice first start for the season. After this run, I should think she is confident to step up so I’m looking forward to that and hopefully we’ll also have an international start this year”
New Zealand’s Jesse Campbell added to the international flavour in second place on Global Candy Boy and Mrs Campbell-to-be, Georgie Strang, also had a busy day with rides on several young horses
Georgina Herrling and Kilpatrick Knight Photo: 1st Class Images
Georgina Herrling scooped two wins in both BE100 Open U18 Sections, taking Section K on Falvaro and Section L on Kilpatrick Knight. If that horse’s name rings a bell then it’s because this is past Austin O’Connor’s 3* ride, now with Georgina.
Georgina, who won individual gold at the 2017 Pony European Eventing on board SF Detroit, trains with Amy O’Connor at Attington Stud and has taken over the ride on Kilpatrick Knight, a 14-year-old gelding by Master Imp. They won the Section L by a country mile on their dressage score of 13 (yes, you read that correctly – 13.0) ahead of second placed Florrie Dyer on a score of 23.8.
SF Detroit is still owned by Georgina but is currently being ridden by Daisy Bathe while Georgina has moved up to some bigger horses and has taken over the reins on Kilpatrick Knight (KK) thanks to his owner Wendy Foster. KK is known for some high jinks in windy conditions but Georgina struck lucky with a break in the weather
“There was no wind or rain during the dressage phase and KK was very well behaved. We did find ourselves in a hail storm during the cross country warmup but that didn’t faze him as he had his eyes on the jumps already! The dressage test felt super - KK has lovely paces, was listening so well and was very accurate so I knew he would get a good score”
“He is so incredibly talented and gives a feeling like no other horse I’ve experienced” says Georgina “I’ve only been riding him since January so I am so pleased with how our partnership is already coming along”
Georgina’s win in the Section K on Falvaro was not quite so emphatic but still a great effort to win both U18 sections, taking this one on their dressage score of 25.
“Falvaro (Larry) is a horse I’ve owned since the beginning of 2018 and he is my first ever horse, as opposed to pony. Unfortunately, I broke my ankle on him at the start of 2018, so we didn’t manage to compete much last year”
“Hopefully this year I will be able to bring him up the levels and he has proved himself every time he’s been out - two wins in a row so far! Larry is the opposite character wise to KK, he will get very nervous, even at lower levels, so we always need to keep his mind busy and him thinking positively, but he is so sweet and talented”
“Both horses enjoy the cross country the most - they absolutely love it and I can’t wait to try them around some tougher tracks. I am also very lucky to be trained on both by Amy O’Connor who has helped me so much with both of them. The support from her and Austin has been unbelievable”
