NEWs

Day three – Defender Blair Castle International Horse Trials

After this morning’s showjumping, the top three places in the CCI4*S were occupied by four 5*-winning riders as Piggy March (GBR) joined overnight leaders Olympic Gold medal teammates Ros Canter (GBR) with her own and Alex Moody’s Izilot DHI and Tom McEwen (GBR) and Mrs Alison Swinburn, John and Chloe Perry’s Brookfield Quality. Along with current Badminton title-holders, Caroline Powell and the Chris Mann-owned Greenacres Special Cavalier, Piggy slotted into joint third place on Mrs Alison Swinburn and John & Chloe Perry’s Brookfield Future News.

With the cross country time not achieved by anyone, Caroline and her 2024 Badminton-winning, Burghley-bound mare, Greenacres Special Cavalier snatched the honours with a finishing score of 41. World and European Team Gold Medallist Piggy March and Brookfield Future News rose to 2nd place overall, finishing on a score of 41.4 after a clear cross country round in a time of 7.26. Finishing in 3rd was current world number two Ros Canter and Izilot DHI who heads back to Lincolnshire ready for their local 5* at Burghley next and Ros also repeated last years’ 4th place result with MHS Seventeen owned by Lady Milnes Coates and Mrs Deirdre Johnston.

Of her win Caroline said: ‘What great timing huh? I’ve been coming to Blair for about 30 years now so to be here for the final one is quite sad. Finishing all the individual phases and realising that those are your last ones is quite something. It has just been the most amazing event. It’s grown arms and legs and hairy bits and the team have done the most amazing job of building it into what it is today. Blair has always produced cross-country riders courses and your good jumping horses that do well here usually go on to do really well at the big events like Burghley and Badminton, fingers crossed Cav doesn’t buck that trend in two weeks time.”

It was all change at the top of the leaderboard following a somewhat soggy spin around the cross country for our CCI2*L competitors first thing this morning. Adding nothing to their first phase score of 27.6, Wills Oakden (GBR) and Mr Daniel Ockenden & Mrs Stephanie Oakden’s Mile Beach head the charge. Matthew Heath (GBR) and Sugar Rush TH owned by the rider and Mrs Clare Davis, AND Emily Lawson (GBR) and Mrs Julie Lawson’s Faerlie Similar sit in equal 3rd a mere 0.4 points behind the leaders.

An eventful second phase for the CCI-S 2*P riders meant not a single clear round was banked meaning all change for the leading riders heading into tomorrow’s cross country.

Chloe Chan (GBR) and her own Blennerville Rua had just a single pole down in the show jumping adding the least penalties to their dressage score to sit in the lead on 34.2 overnight. Less than 2 points behind them are Florence Baron (GBR) and her own Muckrim Evan on 36, with first-phase leaders Florence Drewitt (GBR) and Mrs Helen Drewitt’s Battlestown Delight on 36.1 just 0.1 points behind in 3rd.

Piggy March (GBR) and Mrs Susie Wood’s Cooley Goodwood cruised around the cross country adding just 1.2 time penalties to their dressage score of 27.9 to sit in the lead in the CCI3* L going into the final day. Piggy also occupies second place on the Andrew Nicholson owned Filipo who flew round for an immaculate clear inside the time to climb from 4th overnight. Adding just 0.8 time faults to remain in 3rd are Nadja Minder (SUI) and her own Top Job’s Jalisco with Jalisco’s stablemate Jezebelle GS sitting just behind in 4th place.

Competitors in the CCI4*L headed out on cross country this afternoon and with the time seemingly impossible to make, it was all change at the top when the fastest round of the day went to Wills Oakden and Geoff and Elspeth Adam’s Keep It Cooley. Posting 10.8 time faults to take their two-phase score to 45.6, Wills sits just in front of world number one Tom McEwen and Mr Fred and Mrs Penny Barker’s MHS Brown Jack who stopped the clock at 10.43. Daisy Berkeley retains her overnight third place with Diese Du Figuier after a clear cross-country round in a time of 10.42.

An eventful showjumping wrote the second phase story for the CCI1* competitors as Max Warburton and Monbeg Condor rose to the top of section E after completing one of only 8 clear rounds in a section of over 90 competitors. Best of the CCI 1* F,  Daisy Cross (GBR) and her own DHI Nielson, jumped a clear round to rise to the top of the leaderboard going into the Cross Country tomorrow.

Full eventing results can be found on www.eventingscores.co.uk

What will the very last day of the very last Defender Blair Castle International Horse Trials have in store tomorrow?

Release supplied by event.

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