Wrong castle.
Barbury Castle International will take top billing when it goes off on Sunday, July 1. The world’s best riders will travel to Wiltshire, England to compete in the last event before they migrate to Greenwich for the 2012 London Olympics.
When I hear ‘Barbury Castle,’ I’m immediately transported onto the set of The Young Victoria. I’m thinking manicured gardens, halls of mirrors, turrets and tapestries. Burghley has a castle and Badminton has a Duke. What does Barbury have? Apparently, an “iron age fort.” Where were you during Iron Age Fort class?
In 556 AD (yeah, that’s a long time ago), a group of German ex-pats known as the Saxons defeated the Romans at Barbury Castle at the Battle of Beran Byrig. What exactly were the Romans doing holed up in England? Well, back then the Romans pretty much ruled everything, and kept Barbury Castle as it was strategically placed on the Ridgeway, Britain’s oldest and most traveled road.
After the Saxons won the battle, like most men they up and forgot what they were fighting for, and left. The ‘Castle’ fell into disuse, and today all that remains are the original stones of the fortress, buried beneath the ground.
Barbury Castle, the event, has only been around since 2005. In 2008 it served as one of the mandatory outings for the United States Olympic Eventing Team. Eventual individual silver medalist Gina Miles was the highest placed American rider, placing 22nd with longtime partner McKinlaigh. Following “highest placed” with “22nd” obviously didn’t bode well for the remaining American riders. Amy Tryon placed 30th with Poggio II and 49th with Leyland, Karen O’Connor and Mandiba followed in 32nd, and Clark Montgomery rounded out the team in 59th with Up Spirit. The dismal finishes at Barbury were followed by a disappointing seventh placed team finish at the Olympics.
There are quite a few battles that will be fought at Barbury this weekend. Lets hope they lack bloodshed, and Laura Collett is the only one wearing war paint.
The British vs. Everyone Else
Barbury will be the chance for the Brits to showcase their strength and depth as a team. Zara Phillips has experience around this course with High Kingdom, and will be looking to prove that the paparazzi and tabloids can’t throw her off her game. For the others, including Tina Cook with Miners Frolic, William Fox-Pitt and Lionheart, and Piggy French and DHI Topper, they’ll look to have a nice run before defending home turf for real at Greenwich.
Americans vs. Expectations
Everyone has an opinion on how the team should shape up, but opinions won’t matter if the results don’t hold up. The big hitters like Karen O’Connor, Boyd Martin, and Phillip Dutton all need to cement their place in the team by making few mistakes in dressage and more importantly, running a clean cross country round. Riders on the fringe like Will Coleman, Will Faudree and Clark Montgomery need to make a big impact in order to be considered. Allison Springer needs to prove that their Rolex performance wasn’t a fluke, and that poise can travel across seas.
New Zealand vs. New Zealand
Any team would be lucky to have the nine riders vying for a spot on the New Zealand team, and they should make it a competitive event. Andrew Nicholson has Avebury, with whom he finished 12th here last year and Quimbo, Jonathan Paget is riding Clifton Lush, Mark Todd is riding NZB Campino, who was 3rd in the Boekelo CCI*** in 2011, Clarke Johnstone has WEG partner Orient Express, and Lucy Jackson rides 2 mounts; Kilcoltrim Ambassador and Animator II.
Barbury Fast Facts:
-Course designer Captain Mark Phillips went to school down the road at Marlborough College.
-William Fox Pitt won the inaugural event in 2005 with Balincoola. That year the pair also won the Burghley Horse Trials CCI4*.
-One American competed in that year’s event: Heidi White and Northern Spy. They finished 14th.
-In 2011, 35 riders failed to complete Mark Phillips’ difficult cross-country course at Barbury.
-Barbury runs 3 divisions – Novice, CIC** and the CIC***.
-A record number of entries were received for this year’s event. 110 riders will start the CIC***, with an additional 261 in the CIC**, and 166 Novice (American Preliminary level) entries.
-Pre-Olympic hype not enough? Other attractions at Barbury will be the Pro Bull Rider Challenge, which will pit jockeys versus event riders on a mechanical bull, and the Wiltshire County Show and Festival of Food.
Go Barbury.
