The good news is that the Barbury CIC3* is my favorite Mark Phillips course that I have ever seen. The bad news is that the area and shape of available land creates some tight turns including a very tight “W” early on in the course to add distance. In the course walk with Mark Todd Friday afternoon, Mark said that the key to making time is riding through the turns tightly and aggressively. The risk in doing that is putting a lot of stress on the horses. Barbury is not a course where I would want to have to make the time.
The footing is almost perfect with lush grass and soft but strong soil. You can barely hear the horses galloping on it. There is little doubt in my mind why British horses tend to be more sound than American horses.
As for the jumps, the course is big and technical, but not extreme in either direction. Some of the tables are big enough to keep the riders honest about maintaining a forward pace–you’re going to want some momentum to clear #23 in particular. The one bogey fence is #14, a large wide open corner with a short back rail that I could see one or two horses getting confused about. I also expect a couple of horses to over-jump into the water at #17C.
#3 is right in front of the main arena crowd, so don’t miss
Yes, there is water in those wells
William, watch your head
#10A to B is a nice one stride or an ugly two
Like my prom date, this ditch is enormous
The ground slopes to the left in front of #14
Speaking of my prom date…
The drop at #17C is large and a big jump over the hippo will lead to a big jump into the water
Woodhenge
They are empty–we checked
We were relieved to find a small typed note attached to the saddle pad saying: “this horse and rider will be removed for the CIC3* division“
This is huge, but I think you can almost trot through the space between this and the option on the left
#26 will be moved into place by Sunday afternoon
#27A and B are in the main arena
The finish line is in the main arena, and the cross-country is running in reverse order of placing. So, the crowd will get a really exciting experience of watching the clock as the leading riders cross the line in front of them. But, we have to get through the show jumping Sunday morning before all of this fun Sunday afternoon. Go eventing.
