Two days of dressage have been completed with some exciting, and interesting, leaderboard shuffles.
Defender CCI4*-L
With the dressage phase complete, it’s a very British affair in the leaderboard of the Defender CCI4*-L with a flurry of late entries into the top 10. Overnight leader Ros Canter, riding MHS Seventeen for Lady Milnes Coates and Deirdre Johnston in this section, has been relegated to second by a late charge from Tom Jackson. Winner of the U25 section here at Bramham in 2014, Tom expertly piloted eye-catching grey Ask For Manchier, owned by S.H.E. Eventing AB, through the first phase of his CCI4*-L debut. All three judges awarded their well-presented test with +70% scores for a final penalty of 28.8.
After his test, Tom said; “I’m really pleased with him. He definitely hasn’t had the best of preparations leading into this, but he certainly kept his head in there. I left a few marks in there, so there’s room for improvement, but I’m very happy with how he coped in there.
“I was really pleased with the trot work, but in the canter he started to get a little behind me so we just missed the last change, which is frustrating because his changes are normally bang-on. He’s in first, we’ll take that! It’s his first time at this level, but hopefully he’s got enough mileage to tackle Ian’s course tomorrow,” he said of his ever-consistent partner.
Tom went on to elaborate on why the build-up hasn’t been smooth sailing, much to everyone’s surprise.
“I actually managed to break my leg six weeks [in a fall from a young horse] before Badminton, which hampered preparation for the horses I have here, but they’re experienced enough to cope with it. Thanks to the World Class Programme I wasn’t out long – Ash [Wallace, Athlete Health Lead for the British Equestrian World Class Programme] and her team were phenomenal in managing me so I could do a few events with less horses and build me back up so I was fully fit for Badminton, and I haven’t looked back since.”
Ros Canter is just 1.1 penalties adrift with MHS Seventeen, while the penultimate pairing of Harry Meade and Annaghmore Valoner, owned by Dinah Posford, Jules Carter and Stephen Posford, parachuted onto the podium with a 31.3.
World Class Podium Potential Pathway rider Max Warburton shone to go fourth with The Paske Syndicate’s Deerpairc Revelry, while Selina Miles and Cooley Snapchat, who won the CCI4*-S here last year, hold fifth.
The Defender CCI4*-L section open the day in the park, when they tackle Ian Stark’s swansong cross-country test from 09:00.
Defender CCI4*S-S
We end day two of dressage in the short-format section with a completely new podium that has a distinctly Anglo-Asian feel.
The leaderboard had an early change when second-to-go Kazuma Tomoto for Japan, riding By Design JRA, a former ride of France’s Astier Nicholas, powered into the lead. The pairing know each other well, having represented the home side at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games where they finished fourth, and that partnership – plus the expertise of long-term coach ‘Mr. Bramham’ himself, William Fox-Pitt – proved fruitful for a score of 24.5, to overtake compatriot and Thursday leader Ryuzo Kitajima and Be My Daisy.
Just before midday in the Defender Arena, the crowds began to swell with an air of anticipation due to the imminent arrival of eventing royalty. They weren’t disappointed because reigning European champions Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo, owned by Archie and Michele Saul, took to the arena and proceeded to take the lead. The duo are, of course, in search of that all-important call up to the British team for Paris 2024, and today’s display will have certainly bolstered their chances.
Ros and ‘Walter’ looked silky smooth, with every move seemingly going to plan, and the Ground Jury rewarded them with percentages just over 78%, 76% and 77% from Robert Stevenson at E, Andrew Bennie at C and Anne-Marie Taylor at M respectively, which gave a final penalty score of 22.5 to take a decisive hold of the competition.
Ros was clearly pleased with their performance; “I’m delighted with him – I thought he was super all the way through, actually. In his test at Bicton, he was great, but just occasionally I felt like he was a bit in front of me, a little bit bright and sparky – he squealed a bit in the warm-up,” she explained.
“I’ve done a little bit more work with him here because I wanted to gauge how much I could afford to do. He’s always been quite a quiet horse, but he’s 12 now and really hitting maturity, so he feels the bee’s knees. We’ve just got to keep making sure we’ve got the right balance of calmness and expression at the same time, but I thought that today was a good balance.
“I’m working quite hard – I suppose you always do in dressage – but he’s a good lad. He likes to have his own little fun at times, but if you’ve got the brain in the right place, he’s really reliable. I was sitting in the lorry earlier, going through my test and thinking how I’d warm up, and I was thinking that if I’d got the warm-up right, I’d know because he is like that,” the Lincolnshire rider summed up.
China’s Alex Hua Tian went just a few horses later with his own Jilsonne van Bareelhof. The duo cut quite the dash as they navigated the arena, with many movements akin to what you’d expect to see from a pure dressage performance. There was much to like, despite a few small but expensive blips, and a final score of 23.8 neatly put them second, relegating Kazuma Tomoto to third and Ryuzo Kitajima to fourth.
The top five is completed by 2019 Bramham victors Kitty King and Vendredi Biats, owned Diana Bown, Samantha Wilson, Sally Lloyd-Baker and John Eyre. This duo is the epitome of partnership and know each other so well, which really resonated today with a sterling effort, only marred by an over-exuberant flying change to give 25.2.
The short-format section is in action in the Defender Arena over the coloured poles, expertly laid out by showjumping course designer Jason Abbs, from 08:30. This will be followed by their final cross-country phase from 12:30. Come 17:30, we should know who our Defender CCI4*-S champions are.
CCI4*-L U25
The lead in the U25 section is held by Ireland’s Molly Evans and Wellan Graffiti, known as Lulu. Molly has made her first ever trip to Bramham and the Yorkshire weather, spectacular surroundings and warm welcome has certainly made an impact on the rider from Ballynahinch in Northern Ireland. Her final tune-up with Pammy Hutton FBHS certainly reaped rewards when she and Lulu lit up the arena for 33.1
“It didn’t start the way I planned,” said Molly. “She actually warmed up extremely really well. I was a bit worried I’d done too long because we used to just go pretty much straight in in the early days, but she went in and did a beautiful test. It’s a big atmosphere in there – the biggest she’s ever been in before, and me – but she took it all in her stride. My first halt, I knew it was square – a pleasant surprise – I just thought I just need to remember where I was going. There were a few bits that didn’t quite go to plan that I thought would cost us, but everything between was foot-perfect.
“This is the biggest competition we’ve ever done – it’d be our pinnacle just now. I’d hoped to have been here a few years earlier, but I got sick and she had to take a back seat. Five-star is her aim and it’s exciting to be here in this atmosphere. We get crowds in Ireland, but not like here. It was a real educational experience today for her and me – we got such a cheer coming out, which was lovely.
“People told me it was like a mini-Badminton and I didn’t believe them. They said I’d need to pull my socks up! When I got here I was like wow, this cross-country is huge! The place, the set-up, the tradestands, the members’ tent, the main arena, everything is just done so well.”
And her thoughts on the test ahead of her tomorrow across the country? “I love it! It’s fantastic, big, bold jumping and we can let the handbrake off – we’re looking forward to it!”
French athletes have a fantastic track record in this class and Johann Reim riding Chronos Dujo have kept up the trend for his countrymen. They scored 35.6 to go second, while Pony European Championship medalist Saffron Cresswell riding Barratt Eventing’s Vivendi Hero took third spot ahead of tomorrow’s all-important cross-country phase.
Coming up
The showjumping for the Defender CCI4*-S in the main arena kicks off Super Saturday’s packed timetable at 08:30, while the first competitor in the CCI4*-L sets off on Ian Stark’s cross-country track in the park at 09:00.
For full start times and results, head over to Eventing Scores.You can livestream all the action with a subscription to Horse & Country TV.
