Bubby Upton once again becomes the British under-25 national champion after a sterling week with Magic Roundabout IV. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
The Under-25 CCI4*-L had scarcely started, and then it was all over — and there was little in the way of surprise when Bubby Upton took the win with Magic Roundabout IV, having led from the front on a score that would have earned her the lead in the main CCI4*-L on any of the days of competition. While her rail down today stopped her from nailing down the leading score of the whole competition, she still wound up finishing on the exact same score that won the main class — a particularly impressive feat when this under-25 section sees a much higher rate of attrition across the board.
“He jumped fantastically, but being the competitive person I am, I was annoyed to have had a rail,” says Bubby with a grin. But, she concedes, “I didn’t particularly feel like we could have done much differently — it was just one of those things, and he jumped fantastically around the rest of the course and tried so hard.”
Bubby came into the competition with significantly more experience at the top levels than her peers: she’s been a top ten finisher with different horses at Pau and Badminton, and though this was her own and Magic Roundabout’s first trip to Bramham, she always knew it would suit him well as a stepping stone en route to a five-star debut.
“I’m absolutely thrilled with him, and to be honest, I can’t fault him — he’s given me his all this whole week. And yeah, to win is obviously fantastic, but more importantly, the feeling he gave me in preparation for Burghley at the end of the year is really exciting for us all. There’s no better set-up for that than here,” says Bubby.
Bubby Upton and Magic Roundabout IV. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
This isn’t the first time the University of Edinburgh graduate has won the British under-25 title — she did so two years ago, when the competition was temporarily relocated during the pandemic, with her longtime partner Cannavaro. This week’s circumstances, though, feel very different to that week — not least because she’d earned herself an extraordinary margin of over 13 penalties coming into the final phase.
“It was a funny one, because I’ve obviously always known the under-25s class to be at Bramham, and then that year, it was at Bicton,” says Bubby. “But I think back then it was such a big win for me because it was my first at that level, and it was on a horse that I never thought would ever win a class like that. I never thought he’d even get to that level, so that victory was probably the most special of my career.”
Here, though, “there was quite a bit of chat about, you know, ‘Magic should win’, and this and that, and I heard the commentary when I went in to the dressage saying that everyone’s got their money on Magic winning. I did feel a bit of pressure then. Maybe, then, people kind of expected it as opposed to it being a shock, which it was back in 2021. But of course, it’s still unbelievably sweet to win any class, especially because the horse deserved it so much. The way he performed all week — he did the best test of his life; cross country yesterday was just the biggest buzz; and the feeling around this track was pretty special, too, so I was just pleased to be able to get the job done for him.”
Tom Bird and Rebel Rhyme. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Tom Bird and Rebel Rhyme also had a significant margin in hand as they came into the final phase, but they didn’t use any of the 13.2 penalties of wiggle room they’d been afforded. Despite the gelding’s record in this phase, which would have the 13-year-old down as arguably the most statistically unreliable jumper in the field, the pair rallied to deliver the goods and take second place in this prestigious class.
“He was just super — he’s a big horse, and he struggles a bit showjumping, particularly on the third day, but I just came in feeling calm. I thought this might be the day it all came together,” beams 21-year-old Tom, who splits his time between producing competition horses and assisting with his parents’ livery yard and riding school in Warwickshire.
Not only did the pair pull off a good enough performance to secure second place in the class, they also delivered the only fault-free round of the division. This marks their first clear round at a four-star — and, in fact, only their second-ever FEI showjumping clear. Their last came in a Junior CCI2*-L in 2019, and in this class last year, they toppled five rails and picked up a further 6.8 time penalties. Though an FOD result eluded them, it wasn’t by much: yesterday, they’d zoomed up the rankings from seventh to second after adding just 0.8 time penalties.
“He just ate it up,” says Tom. “I mean, Bramham’s massive, and it never feels easy, but he just he just cruised around and was so on his lines.”
Tom Bird and Rebel Rhyme. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
That quick clear across the country is also a major improvement on last year, where they picked up 20 penalties and added 7.6 time penalties, too — but the sea change, Tom explains, is in learning from where they went wrong in their preparation last spring.
“In hindsight, he wasn’t quite fit enough last year, so I knew I needed him fitter. He just feels a completely different horse this year; he finished really well and then came out and jumped the round of his life today. I’m over the moon, and absolutely delighted with him.”
That improved fitness comes through “lots of interval training” on the hills around Tom’s yard, and has been helped along this year by a trip to Ballindenisk in Ireland to run in the four-star in April, which gave him rather more match practice than many of his peers in this tough spring.
In any case, it’s a career-affirming result for the young professional and a horse that was never bought with lofty expectations in mind: “We’ve had him since I was 17. He was my first horse when I came out of ponies, and we bought him see if he could go Novice to teach me the ropes coming onto a horse,” says Tom with a smile. “He might not be your typical event horse to look at, but he just keeps proving himself and I can’t thank him enough for everything he’s done.”
That gratitude extends in many directions: Tom rattles off a laundry list of names who have helped him pull off this result, including Chris Bartle — “it’s not always gone our way, but he’s stuck with us through thick and thin” — dressage trainer Pammy Hutton, and his home team, helmed by head girl Daisy.
Sasha Hargreaves and Woodlands Be Daring. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Third place went the way of Sasha Hargreaves, who remained in that spot despite tipping two rails with Woodlands Be Daring, thanks to the significant 13.5 penalty margin afforded to her when previously fourth-placed Felicity Collins and Shadow Minnie Moon took three rails to slip to fifth, and Richard Coney and Poetry In Motion II, who stepped up one slot to fourth, had one fence down too.
For the young professional, who runs a string of young horses alongside this, her sole top horse, it’s a heartening result — and an educational one, too, as she learned how her partner copes with a test of this intensity, particularly on the final day.
“I think the hills yesterday took it out oh him a bit today,” she says of her partner of six years, who she describes as ‘one that’s been ticking along in the background’. “It’s always interesting — I know him really well, but not at long format. He was a bit flatter than he normally would be, but he tried his absolute hardest for me and I couldn’t have asked anything more from this result.”
While their first-phase result, a 34.2, put them a touch off the pace, their clear round with 10.8 time penalties yesterday propelled them up the leaderboard into podium position — but Sasha didn’t necessarily relish the idea of getting out onto the tough Ian Stark track yesterday until it was actually done.
“Cross-country day was quite terrifying,” laughs Sasha. “Like everyone, I haven’t had the best preparation this spring, so I was very nervous, but he was unbelievable out there.”
This is just the pair’s second CCI4*-L — they completed Blenheim last autumn, though as Sasha explains, “it didn’t quite go to plan – so it was nice to put those demons to bed this week.”
Just as Tom ahead of them had learned plenty from his tricky Bramham run last year, though, Sasha took that Blenheim and used it to reshape how she rides and supports her horse in bigger ticket competitions.
“We had a couple of runouts at Blenheim that were green mistakes on my part, and it was the first time he’d seen crowds, so he just went a bit green. I wasn’t there to support him, and so it meant that when I walked the course here, I did so knowing that I’d need to help him out a bit more than normal. He’s normally a complete and utter cross-country machine, but when they haven’t seen crowds this big or courses this long, you have to do a bit more than you’re used to. That’s been the main thing this week: I’ve just held his hand more than I usually would. We worked together for it.”
The final standings in Bramham’s 2023 under-25 CCI4*-L.
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