Alexander Bragg and Zabreg. Photo by Anna Franklin/Event Rider Masters.
Scores continued to drop lower and lower as day one of competition for the Event Rider Masters CIC3* division was underway at Haras de Jardy when Alexander Bragg (GBR) and Zagreb finally broke the barrier for first place. Sally Ellicot’s 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion (Perion x Renera, by Nagano) sits on a personal best of 23.6.
“Zagreb is feeling great after his summer break. Things didn’t quite go to plan in the Spring but the surface here gave him a great chance to express himself. He’s a really genuine jumper and he’s feeling amazing so I’ll keep pressing the buttons and we’ll see what we can do tomorrow,” he said. Check out their test:
Karim Florent Laghouag (FRA) took second aboard Entebbe de Hus, a 13-year-old Hanoverian (Embassy I x Cita, by Carbid) owned by Agnes Celerier and Karim Laghoug. They earned a score of 23.9, which means Alexander doesn’t have a single second of breathing room in tomorrow’s jumping phases.
Izzy Taylor (GBR) piloted Sophie Dodd’s Be Touchable into third place. The 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood (Untouchable 27 x Ureka, by Indoctro) earned a score of 25.1.
After a three-year hiatus at the level, the late Christina Kundsen’s Wesko, a 15-year-old Dutch Warmblood (Karandasj x Kolien, by Mittens xx) posted a 25.2 for fourth place with New Zealand’s Tim Price.
“It just shows the showman that he is. You wouldn’t normally expect a horse to focus like that on their first time out. It’s like I think it and he does it. He’s a jumping machine and does this bit just to get through to the fun bits. We’re really looking forward to tomorrow,” Tim said. Check out their test:
Germany’s Michael Jung, who won here last year, also earned a spot in the top ten aboard Maria Stein’s Corazon. The 8-year-old Hanoverian, who is in her first season at the level, earned a 26.9 for ninth place.
It wasn’t only the top positions being fought over, there was a battle brewing between Laura Collett and Chris Burton, who are separated by only five points in the ERM cumulative series standings. Chris took over the lead from Laura after finishing third with Polystar I in Leg 3 at Barbury Palace. In today’s standings Laura edged just ahead in 12th place with Keith Scott, Karen Bartlett and her own London 52 on 28.3, and Chris sits in 13th on 28.6 points with Kate Wall’s Cooley Lands.
This competition is far from over. The show jumping here only had an 8% clear rate last year—the lowest in ERM history. With only one rail separating the top 11, clear rounds will prove very influential tomorrow morning.
Don’t forget you can watch all the ERM action at Haras de Jardy for free at this link. Show jumping begins at 9:00 a.m. local time/3:00 a.m. EST, and the cross country will follow at 12:30 p.m. local time/6:30 a.m. EST. You can check out a cross country course preview here.
#ERMeventing at Jardy: Website, Live Stream, Ride Times, Live Scores, Cross Country Preview
