William Fox-Pitt steering Chilli Morning to a clear round bang on the optimum time to retain, and indeed increase his overnight lead going into Sunday’s Show-jumping.
Ian Stark’s 2012 Bramham CCI*** course rode tough, but fair. Out of 71 starters, 40 jumped clear, but only six were within the time. 10 combinations had 1 stop/runout for 20, 1 person had two for 40, 13 combinations were eliminated, and 6 retired.
Two horses collapsed and died; Clea Phillipps’ Lead the Way, a 14 year old very experienced horse with 1231 BE points to his name collapsed after he jumped the ditch at the Hollow at Fence 14, and Michael Jackson’s ride Jagganath, owned by Mrs Carole Mortimer collapsed after completing the course. FEI Veterinary Delegate David Green called it “incredibly bad luck”, but wanted to stress that neither incidents were fence related. As part of FEI normal protocol, a full post-mortem will be performed on both horses but it is suspected that heart attacks are to blame. David added, “Generally speaking the course has ridden very well today, there have been no patterns of injuries and the stables team have been really quite quiet with the minor knocks and things, just the normal scrapes and bumps that you’d expect when you get over a hundred horses (including the U25 division) over a CCI*** course.”
William Fox-Pitt on Avoca Alibi who went early in the day, and accrued 8.8time penalties to finish 7th overnight. William said, “he gave me a lovely ride, he just got a bit tired at the end which is a shame. I thought he’d whizz round inside the time but the ground took a little bit more out of him than I thought and I lost my time in the last minute and a half from the second water which is uphill all the way. He kept on jumping though, and he pulled up ok.”
William was very complimentary about the going, and the hard work that went into making it so good for the horses today,as well as the effort to fit in all the extra entries after the string of cancellations, “The ground is remarkably good, they’ve done an amazing job.” William told us that on Friday morning he was sure the event would have to cancel, “I got on the ‘phone and entered Lionheart for Luhmuhlen! We all feel very lucky that Bramham is going ahead, it was really important that horses got to run here, to have lost Bramham would have been devastating. The organisers have been incredible to fit everyone in, the whole system has been stretched beyond normality”
Cross country course designer Ian Stark agreed that it was due to the hard work of so many that they were able to run at all today after such a deluge of rain, “The ground is incredible. It’s limestone so it does dry up incredibly quickly, and also I think David Evans and Richard Taylor and the Estate team helped tremendously by watering so early when it was hard, it let the ground be more open so that the rain we got was able to soak in and didn’t just run over the top and make a mess.”
Talking about Chilli Morning William was typically modest and downplayed it as only he could, being as he’s leading such a hot CCI*** section overnight! He gave the stallion’s former rider Nick Gauntlett a lot of credit, “Nick’s done a superb job on him, he’s very well trained, all the donkey work has been done and I’m the lucky one who’s got him at the age of 12 when he’s grown-up and established. It’s just a question of trying to form a partnership but it’s still very early days. Whatever you say, I think horses do form partnerships with riders, and I think particularly stallions do, and he and Nick did have a good partnership, and they had a lot of success. I didn’t know what to expect today, I’ve only ridden him around Aston le Walls, and luckily Houghton, which was a three day event, albeit a two-star, so it gave me a feeling for him over a distance. It was a risk (Houghton) to go there before coming here, but one his owner Chris Stone and I thought we should take because there was nothing else to do with him, there have been no other events to go to.”
Nick Gauntlett retired Willows Accent after a stop at Fence 11, and later announced the horse has been sold
Although William is still getting to know Chilli, he said he gave him a great feel today, “He ate up the course. He’s quite strong, he’s an interesting mixture in that he’s very relaxed while he gallops and not strong, but then if he sees a jump and decides that he knows what he’s doing, then he can go off at it a bit like a rocket. He can argue a bit, but I think he prefers that to being dominated. I had him in a snaffle and once or twice he was a bit keen.”
William was held on course on Chilli for quite a long time, and got off and sponged him down. As he pointed out, he was about seven minutes in by then, which is roughly as far as a normal one day event cross country. William admitted that the break and a chance to recover might have given his horse an advantage on such a tough, hilly course and perhaps was a factor in making the time, but also that it is always unsettling to be stopped in the middle of a round and due to him being stronger afterwards, he spent more time in front of the fences setting him up, “He was running pretty well and wasn’t far off his minute markers, but having had the hold he then felt very fresh, I was a little anxious for a little while that I wouldn’t have that control. He shot down into the gulley there like a rocket and I sat back and nearly shut my eyes but he did come back quite well! He finished full of running, he was very good through the last water which I thought was a demanding fence.” William also shared his thoughts on the course in general, “I thought it was a top class track. It was definitely a big question of stamina, Bramham is always that way, even on quick ground but to have it on yielding ground with the last minute and a half uphill was a decent three star test.”
The Hollow at fence 13 and 14, regarded as an ‘old-fashioned coffin type combination’, rode suprisingly well which William addressed, “I thought the hollow was a fairly ugly fence when I walked it, but it’s amazing how well the horses are jumping it. All these rails into coffins are coming back in which is all well and good but they’re not necessarily coming back in at one and two star level, so the horses are meeting these fences slightly blind, and I think they’ll ride better when we get more of these fences back into the sport at lower levels.”
Some of the rides through the Hollow at Fence 13 & 14, and then a couple at Fence 17
Course Designer Ian Stark agreed with William, “I think most people rode that really well because they were slightly intimidated, or even frightened! There’s been a lot of criticism of the current trend or riders not being able to produce a ‘coffin canter’ and actually I should think 95% of the riders I saw there did actually produce the right canter because the fence was difficult enough that they had to. I thought they rode it really well and they jumped it really well, and I don’t think the pins broke once. The riders said they would break every five minutes but that just shows that they did ride it well and the pins didn’t break.”
William was reluctant to speculate on whether today, or indeed tomorrow had improved his chances of an Olympic ticket, and said he certainly doesn’t consider himself a shoe-in,”On the British Team the places are currently being hard-fought. It’s been difficult for new or less-experienced combinations to prove themselves because they’ve had nowhere to go so that’s why they’re here. I think the selectors have got a very difficult job, I would not want to be a selector. I think this year because it’s the London Olympics it probably means more to a lot of us, I think the pressure is on this year, it would mean a lot to a lot of riders.”
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Looking forward to the future, William said he was considering Pau for Chilli Morning, but of course he hasn’t decided yet, so much would depend on his Olympic hopeful horses, and then who goes to Burghley. In the near future, Seacookie goes to Luhmuhlen next week, and perhaps even Neuf Des Couers also, “it depends on what the selectors say”.
First horse and rider out on course: Angus Smales on It’s A Jackpot. Clear with 12.8 time to finish in 31st place after two days.
“It’s always a relief when the first horse goes round well, and Angus did a brilliant job which helped take the pressure off. The trouble has been spread everywhere, so from a designer point of view that’s good.” Ian Stark is grateful to Angus who also rode two clear rounds in the U25 section to lie 3rd and 11th overnight. When asked if he was already considering next year’s course, Ian replied, “I’ll have to change the water because they all made it look so easy this year! It was fascinating because they got all sorts of speeds and strides but they still jumped it really well, which was great to see but I will have to have a re-think and give them something different next year.”
Rosie Thomas and the fabulous cross country machine Barry’s Best who stood off every single element of the water and didn’t break his stride.
Tina Cook broke a frangible pin at Fence 21, the open oxer before this water, and was awarded 21 penalties. Ian told us that fence would not be making a reappearance next year, “It’s going. I think we need a different question there.”
Tina Cook and De Novo News at the second water
South African rider Alex Peternell on Asih at the Owl Hole Fence 8
Tim Cheffings and Colby II, a steady clear
Rodney Powell on Conair who had two stops on course but looked good
Tom Crisp and Coolys Luxury were very lucky through the last water
Tom looked to have a much smoother round on his second horse, Liberal. Clear with 25 time penalties.
Craig Nicolai is one of three Kiwis in the top 20 after two days, lying 19th on Just Ironic
Lucy Jackson jumped a lovely clear on Willy Do with time to sit in 14th place overnight
Once again Andrew Nicholson cruised around, making it all look effortless but galloping and jumping out a relentless rhythm he picked up just two time penalties to move up from 15th after the dressage to 9th place going into tomorrow’s show-jumping.
Sam Griffiths is making sure the Australian selectors don’t overlook him by putting a bow on his strong form this spring; he rode two class rounds adding only 1.6 time penalties to Happy Times’ dressage score to end the day in 3rd and 4th places on Paulank Brockagh and Happy Times respectively.
Granntevka Prince makes amends for his mistake in Kentucky, galloping around clear for 3.2 time and leaving Lucy Wiegersma in 5th place.
The French as a nation did not have a good showing; only two of them completed but Sylvain Davesne saved the day by galloping clear around the course within the time like a pony club hunter trial and now fills the runner up spot going into show-jumping tomorrow
Izzy Taylor had three rides today, but it was her last and more experienced, Briarlands Matilda who ended up the highest placed. Riding stylishly and effectively on all three, this mare jumped round clean and fast to move up to 6th place (from 17th) overnight.
Izzy on Dax Van Ternieuwbeke
Harbour Pilot, who frankly looked enormous and slightly ungainly at the trot-up, flew round with Joy Dawes; his was definitely one of the smoothest, most athletic and flowing rounds all day, a real pleasure to watch. He finished clear with some time, and then Joy rode her second horse, the experienced Finistierre, later, for another clear with just 6.4 time penalties.
Alex Postolowsky and Islanmore Ginger
Didier Dhenin (France) and Encore Une Medaille
Hannah Bate and Finbury Hill
Louisa Lockwood and Ballyfarris Flight
Mark Kyle and Durlas Aris
Oloa and Emma Humphrey
Sebastien Chemin (France) and Olympe D’Eos
Nicky Roncoroni and Trig Point, held on course but clear with 12 time
Julia Dungworth and Untouchable
Nicola Wilson’s horse Inde fell at the last, was winded but then got up and walked away. According to Nicola he was going really well, and he did look great when I saw him just past the half-way mark, but she said he just got very tired very quickly.
I didn’t get to see any of the show-jumping for the CIC*** unfortunately, and tomorrow will have to choose again between the two divisions, show-jumping or cross country. However, William Fox-Pitt, who has won Bramham five times continues to dominate the event by leading the CIC*** section also on Neuf Des Coeurs after jumping two clean rounds, one on him and one on Lionheart who moved up to 6th place. Dressage leader Laura Collett had two down to drop to ninth place although she explained that she wasn’t too upset as cross country is her main focus this weekend; she’s been schooling several times since Saumur and said he finally feels like his old self, and that with the show-jumping warm-up right next door to the cross country, and with that being on his brain lately she couldn’t really blame him for being “a bit buzzy” and didn’t want to quell it ahead of tomorrow either. Andrew Nicholson’s clear on Nereo moved him up into second place and Zara Phillipps continues to impress with her beautiful High Kingdom and sits in 3rd place after a clear round. The show-jumping caused lots of trouble, and William attributed this to the going, which he described as sticky in the ring and bottomless in the warm-up. Tomorrow the warm up will be moved. All scores are available online here. When asked if Zara’s performance so far has put the cat amongst the pigeons as far as picking the Olympic team goes, Ian Stark, who is also a Team GB selector argued that on the contrary, she has always been in their sights, “She jumped a brilliant clear round today, but she’s never been out of the picture and it’s incredibly open. She’s one we’ve been watching because she went so well in Saumur last year, and then she had a great Burghley, and for me the horse is getting stronger and stronger but we’ll wait and see what happens tomorrow. There’s quite a handful out there that probably people haven’t been aware we’ve been watching that have showed real potential and we want to see how they perform tomorrow.” The selectors have a meeting on Sunday night, and will probably announce their decision on Monday. Bramham is important, but not decisive, “It’s the horses’ form over the last couple of years and their consistency, and the potential that we can fine tune in getting ready for the Olympics a few weeks away. We’re looking for them to be convincing here that they’re on form and building up to the Games so it is important.”
It wasn’t Olivia Loiacono’s day either – she was riding beautifully and Subway looked fantastic up to an awkward moment at the owl hole which she managed to salvage, then a stop at the Hollow at fence 13, followed by a second stop later on course at which point she elected to retire. I will maybe try and catch up with her tomorrow and see what she thinks happened.
Laura Collett jumped a solid clear on Noble Bestman, and depending on the mood of the internet I may be able to get some video of her up tonight. The U25 Division trots up bright and early at 7:30 tomorrow morning and then show-jump at 9am so it’s another long, busy but incredibly exciting day. There have been moments, there are always moments, just fleeting brief moments (!) during the week when I wonder why on earth I do this – the torrential rain, the long, long hours – although I’m delighted to have the splendid ninja/James Bond gal/ kiwi photographer Libby Law to keep me company here, we are without fail the last to leave the press tent every night, but then waiting for the start this morning and watching the horses warm up, sprinting up the hill and looking so fantastic, fit, strong and brave I knew exactly why! I still get goosebumps, I have so much admiration and awe for all the horses, and their riders. I feel very lucky and privileged to be able to be a little part of the journey, but Libby and I are now being politely asked to leave the press tent so must go! Massive props to all the volunteers, organisers, sponsors but especially to the grooms this weekend. I’ll be back with lots more Bramham action tomorrow, and I am loving all the Bromont reports from EN John in Canada. Go Eventing around the world!
