Andrew Nicholson and Avebury over the triple brush. Photo courtesy of Barbury's Facebook page.
Andrew Nicholson and Avebury led wire to wire in Section A of the CIC3* at Barbury Castle, adding just .8 time penalties across the country to win on a 35.2. Izzy Taylor and KBIS Starchaser moved up from sixth place overnight to finish in second after jumping clear and adding just 1.2 time penalties to their dressage score. Lucy Wiegersman and Simon Porloe jumped clear with 3.6 time penalties to move up from fifth overnight to finish in third place. Izzy Taylor also took fourth place in Section B with Dax Van Ternieuwbeke, while Michael Owen finished in fifth place on The Highland Prince.
Piggy French and Tinkas Time held their overnight lead in Section B of the CIC3*, adding just .8 time penalties to win on a 37.2. Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen also added .8 time to finish in second place on 39. It’s unfortunate that Clark and Glen dropped a rail in show jumping yesterday — as they would have won had it not been for that unlucky pole — but this is still a fantastic showing for Glen’s first major competition since his tie-forward surgery earlier this year. Rebecca Howard and Riddle Master moved up from eighth to finish in third place thanks to a quick trip across the country and just 3.2 time penalties. Kitty King and Persimmon finished in fourth place, while Andrew Nicholson and Nereo finished in fifth.
In Section A, six riders withdrew before the start of cross country, including EN guest blogger Charlotte Agnew and her mount Out of Africa Two. Laura Collett and Rayef — who were in second place overnight going into cross country — were the only pair to retire on course, while seven riders were eliminated. Barbury reported via Twitter that fence 5b, a triple brush following the owl hole, was causing problems in both sections of the CIC3*. While I don’t have a fence-by-fence analysis to see exactly what happened, I imagine this fence surprised quite a few riders.
In Section B, six riders withdrew before the start of cross country, while three retired on course and eight were eliminated. Laura Collett and Noble Bestman, who were sitting in sixth after show jumping, were the most notable pair to retire on course. Multiple top combinations were eliminated on course, including Mary King and Imperial Cavalier, who were second overnight going into cross country; Vittoria Panizzon and Borough Pennyz; and Andrew Nicholson and Viscount George. Barbury did tweet earlier in the day that the course was riding very well overall.
