The first day of competition commenced today at Bicton, Devon for the May International Horse Trials (23 – 26 May) with dressage in the Western Counties main arena where the first group of competitors from all four classes headed down the centre line.
In the Mitchell & Webber CCI2*-L, FEI ranked World number two Ros Canter, and the chestnut mare Silvesters Finesse took the lead in the dressage with a 26.8. Owned by Deborah and Fergus Langstaff, Nessie, as she is fondly known at home, has had a good season so far with three top ten finishes out of three starts, including a win at Oasby in the Novice and second at the same level at Lincolnshire Horse Trials.
The lead was taken from last year’s winner Finn Healy late in the day in the Western Counties Equine Hospital CCI3*YR-L by Anna Price, by the tightest of margins – 0.1 penalties! Riding Tim and Tricia Price’s 9-year-old mare Keep Happy, the pair’s debut at this level saw them finish in the top ten at Osberton earlier this season.
The dressage action in the Symonds & Sampson CCI3*-L saw Gemma Stevens take the lead on Chilli King by 1.6 points, ahead of second placed Tom Jackson and Midnight Endeavour. Sired by Chilli Morning out of Kings Gem, this 9-year-old gelding is owned by breeder Christopher Stone as well as Chris and Clare Mathias.
It’s another overnight lead for Ros Canter in the TopSpec CCI4*-S on MHS Seventeen. With a score of 25.4, the 11-year-old Irish gelding out of MHS Dancing Queen impressed enough to be ahead of second placed Tim Price on Falco IV on 26. The pair are no strangers to success at this level with four top ten finishes at 4* in 2023, including third at Boekelo and fourth at Blair Castle.
Ros was delighted with her horses, “I’m really happy with both horses today. MHS Seventeen produced a personal best, which we are delighted with. Silvesters Finess is a lovely young horse and really kept her cool. We are looking forward to more tests tomorrow and the cross-country is looking like a really great challenge!”
Tomorrow sees the final dressage sessions take place for all four classes with some exciting combinations still to come – it’s still all to play for ahead of showjumping and cross-country on Saturday and Sunday!
YOUNG HORSES IMPRESS IN THE DBYEH QUALIFIERS AT BICTON
In the Southfield Arena at Bicton, the Dubarry Burghley Young Event Horse (DBYEH) four and five-year-old qualifiers got underway mid-morning, showcasing the eventing stars of the future.
In the four-year-old class, Anna Johannson took the win on her own and the horse’s breeder, Clare Crocker’s Camira De Madford. With the highest scores in the class for the showjumping (31) and gallop (4.5), Plum as the mare is affectionately known at home, took a clear lead, three points ahead of second placed Torie Sleep and Clever.
Anna commented, “It was the perfect introduction to eventing for Plum, made even more special as she is a homebred. It’s always a bit of the unknown how they will respond to something new, but she seriously impressed us all, and thankfully impressed the judges too. The course and the whole day was just perfect for the babies, so inviting and forgiving. I am so excited to see what the future holds for Plum after a well-deserved long holiday!”
The five-year-old class followed which saw 23 partnerships compete for the win, which was eventually taken by Tom Rowland and Odynn De Jeu. The 17.2hh gelding is owned by well-known International Dressage rider and trainer Pammy Hutton, and was bred, as the name might suggest, by Emmy de Jeu, breeder of top quality KWPN dressage horses.
This horse has quite the dressage pedigree being out of Idonnee De Jeu by Escamillo, the silver and bronze medallist at the World Championships for young dressage horses. It would seem that Odynn De Jeu has left his dressage roots behind in favour of eventing with some early success at Bicton today.
“Pammy is my next door neighbour at the Talland School of Equitation and I often help by jumping her four-year-olds. Brought unbroken as a three-year-old from Mark Bosanko, he seems a natural over a fence and really enjoys it, so it was an easy transfer to make from dressage. He’s going to be doing his first BE100 in a couple of weeks, which we are excited about,” said Tom.
Visit Bicton for all the action with tickets available to purchase here.
Release supplied by event. Images courtesy of ESP Photographic
