With most of the two horse riders already completing their tests this morning the riders this afternoon had their work cut out for them to impress the judges and luckily a few of them delivered. (All the scores are here.) Noticeably British rider Flora Harris who was perhaps something of a dark horse but couldn’t have been prouder of her grey mare, Amazing VIII and at the end of the first day of the dressage here they are the highest placed British pair in fourth.
“I’ve had her since she was five, she started eventing when she was six and she’s been really tricky the whole way through. She’s a real character, she’s got absolute personality, she’s not very friendly but she’s the sort of mare who commands your respect and she is fantastic, absolutely brilliant, she’s one of those horses that you just dream about. She’s strong in all three phases and I absolutely adore her, I’m really excited to be here with her.
I was really pleased that she kept her cool because she’s not easy to ride. I’ve very much been working on keeping her connected and straight which I felt has given me a much better connection back to front to the contact so that then we have control of every side of the horse; she’s not a horse that you would work into the ground or pin down or dominate at all, it would certainly just be about correct, through training and having her very straight and then she’s easier to have on a connection.
I’ve been working with Andrew Fletcher for three years which has literally changed my life. He would be without a doubt the most inspirational person to work with, he’s given me skills to train horses not just to ride dressage tests, and much better empathy with horses and how to train them in a more positive way but still be really competitive as well.
I haven’t actually walked the course yet — if I’m on a Thursday I try and think dressage until Thursday afternoon and then I’ll go and walk it but I’m really excited, I can’t wait.”
Olivia Wilmot and Cool Dancer. Scottish and trained by Ian Stark, Olivia described last year as a year off as she only did four competitions and had a baby! Photo by Nico Morgan Photography.
The top two remained unchanged from this morning — no one could best Andrew Nicholson on Nereo or Jock Paget on Clifton Promise, especially when they’re on form which they clearly were. New Zealand High Performance Manager Erik Duvander MUST be feeling rather pleased with himself but you’d never know it — he is possibly the loveliest man to talk to; thoughtful, generous, insightful and humble even though New Zealand currently sits in 1st, 2nd and 5th places.
Trying to respect his busy schedule I resisted the urge to keep him talking endlessly but instead asked him briefly for his thoughts on the dressage today, and Saturday’s course, “We’re really fortunate to have such great team of riders and they’re working really hard and we’ve got great support people around them to back them up so I think all the hard work and determination is paying off I thought all three of them — Mark, Jonathan and Andrew — went as well as I’ve seen their horses go, they were doing really good tests and Andrew really rode to win, he was decisive and the judges liked that. I think Jonathan and Mark rode with beautiful feel and showed balance and elasticity in their ride and I thought they were all three good tests.
Andrew Nicholson admitted that if he’d been able to choose he would have ridden Nereo second of his two rides but the draw puts Calico Joe tomorrow afternoon; he also talked about his and Nereo’s relationship together, he’s ridden him now for eleven years — “I think from start to finish it’s probably the smoothest test that he’s done. Nereo’s very good in the way he lets me ride him, I can be quite bold on him in there and press him for maximum in most of the extended or medium things, and today it felt as though it flowed more than it has in other times and it was good to see the judges agree.
“Obviously it’s a major thing to come to these sorts of places on a horse you’ve been riding so long, I’ve got a relationship with him, I fully understand him, he’s a horse who likes to work. I know him very well, I know that he’ll go in the arena and he’ll give me 100% and he’s very focussed on what he has to do in there, he doesn’t notice the people or the noise and that’s just a relationship you build up over time and I get a great feeling of achievement to come out with a result like this.”
Sally Robertson. Photo by Samantha Clark.
Jock Paget also felt as though today was almost as good as it gets with Clifton Promise, ‘I really liked this test today, I thought it was better than the test I did last year, more supple, more relaxed, I had a great time on him here today, he was fun all day. He’s such a professional now, he enjoys it too. He goes in there and stays straight and does his best. I quite like the xc course; it’s big but it’s fair, it looks like if you ride it well the horses will understand it and I think Gieseppe’s been quite kind in the beginning by giving us lots of galloping fences off soft bends so you can keep up the pace and although he slows us down for the quarry and the Lake, to me it looks quite nice.”
Youngest rider in the field and contesting his & his horse’s first 4*: Niklas Bschorer and Tom Tom Go 3. Photo by Samantha Clark.
Niklas Bschorer is a guest on the Eventing Radio Show this week, and despite being only 20 years old and contesting his and Tom Tom Go 3’s first 4* he seemed remarkably calm about the prospect. This translated into a smooth, correct and relaxed test which was good enough to move into the top 3 this evening. Niklas has been in England for five years, and is now based at Maizey Manor after originally spending a couple of years in Yorkshire, combining going to school and training with Chris Bartle — he now trains on the flat with his father and jumps with Mark Todd; he’ll walk the course this weekend with both Chris and Mark and has had the ride on Tom Tom Go 3 for three years.
“It’s so impressive being here, it’s everyone’s goal to compete at Badminton, I’m a bit overwhelmed to be honest. It’s just great, Badminton is Badminton! I’m very pleased — he put in a brilliant test; it could have been a bit better maybe but he was very good so I’m very pleased.
I think the cross country is doable, it looks more inviting than last year but it’s a proper four star track. I’m looking forward to Saturday, Tom Tom Go 3 is a great jumper, he’s got loads of scope and he should be fine.”
Mary King joked that she was hoping for both her mare, Tess to do well and also William Fox Pitt’s ride the stallion Chilli Morning as she has two foals by them both and hoped that this would make their value skyrocket! “I was quite happy with King’s Temptress; she stayed relatively quiet but she seemed a bit fragile so I had to be a bit careful with how much I rode her out but generally she’s a good girl, she’s very obedient and she doesn’t get too excited, instead she’ll go a little bit quiet and tense.
“She was just a little bit nervous which she shows by being sensitive to ride rather than exploding – she doesn’t show excitability, it’s all inside her but she tried her hardest and I was really happy. I’m a little bit disappointed with my mark but then again, aren’t we always?!
I’m thrilled to be here — I had my first ride at Badminton 30 years ago! Aren’t I lucky! I do feel really honoured to be at this prestigious event again. I’m looking forward to Saturday, there’s a fantastic course out there for us to ride, not as difficult technically or boldly as last year but it’s still very much a four star track. It gives me the impression that the riders that ride well will be rewarded with great rounds.”
Another great British talent Laura Collett rode the test we’ve come to expect from her — cool and mature beyond her years she squeezed out all the marks possible on a relatively new ride which promises exciting things to come. Grand Manouevre is a lovely, elegant mover and except for jogging in the walk which belied his nerves Laura Collett rode an accurate and pleasing test to score in the mid-forties.
Laura trains all three phases with GB team trainer Yogi Briesner and was pleased with her test on the whole, but also optimistic that there’ll be plenty more, “It’s so exciting to be back here at Badminton, it’s what we all aim for so to actually have a horse here is brilliant.
He did some really nice stuff, he just got a little bit tense in the atmosphere so he threw a lot of marks away with those mistakes but I was really pleased with his overall way of going; we’re still new to each other so hopefully one day we’ll be up there with a 36! He doesn’t have the greatest walk at the best of times let alone when he gets tense so it’s just about trying to keep him relaxed in an atmosphere like that. He’ll get there one day, he’s improving.
It’s never a dressage competition because it’s Badminton. I think the cross country is a course that requires a lot of power, there’s a lot of big jumps out there so I think they’ll get a bit tired just from that, it’s definitely exciting to have a crack at it. I don’t know the horse that well but I’d like to say a big, bold galloping track with big bold fences would suit him, he doesn’t like the twists and turns which he had to put up with in Boekelo so I’m hopeful.
I couldn’t really be happier with his preparation, I’d like to hope that it’s all in place. I’ve taken him out show-jumping quite a lot just because we needed to get out and jump around and obviously it’s quite expensive to do a combined training at an event so it was a good way to go out and jump a couple of rounds on a surface; it’s just getting the partnership with him. I’m obviously completely different to [former rider] Nick [Gauntlett] and he’s been used to Nick since he was a four year old so it’s a big change for him as well as me.
He’s an absolute darling to be around, he’s lovely, so easy to do everything with; he tries, he’s an absolute trier, he’s got a heart of gold and he’d bend over backwards for you so hopefully that will help on Saturday.”
Jonelle Price couldn’t join the kiwi boys in the top five on Classic Moet this morning, but says her jumping will likely redeem her, “She’s not blessed in [the dressage] department, you certainly have to earn the marks, they’re not going to gift the marks so the early draw, maybe the judges are a little bit cold…it was always going to be a bit of an uphill struggle. She’s hot, I feel like all I’ve done since I’ve arrived here is ride her which basically I have . She’s not stupid but she’s hot, life is one big race for her whether she’s walking or galloping she likes to go as fast as she possibly can and it’s not particularly conducive to dressage.
“My other horse, The Deputy, will obviously deliver a much better test but on the last day I’d much rather be sitting on this one. They both have a weakness and it’s sort of a manner of managing that weakness and we’re sort of at the mercy of the competition and how it unfolds. She got fourth at the WEG last year because the cross country was bloody near unjumpable and she was the only one to smoke around. I certainly went into the cross country at WEG very much mid-field and will probably do the same here but I don’t think we’ll have quite the same conditions to rely on!”
Camilla Speirs and Portersize Just A Jiff. Photo by Samantha Clark.
It’s hard to believe that Camilla Speirs is only 25 years old as she brings her WEG and Olympic partner Portersize Just A Jiff back to Badminton; now a graduate of University College, Dublin (Literature) she’s riding full time and told me she’s loving it, “I was really happy with my test. He’s such an old campaigner at this stage, he’s fifteen, this is his third time here, he knows where he is, he knows the occasion and sometimes it’s difficult to rein that in because he is a little show-off but he’s a cross country machine.
He’s half Connemara half thoroughbred so it’s not always easy to stand up against the big-moving german horses but he’s such a trier, he’s got such a big heart and we’ve got such a great partnership so I’m really happy with him. I walked the course yesterday, it’s a great course, I think Guiseppe has used the terrain very cleverly and I don’t think the fences are to be underestimated, the going is perfect and I’m really looking forward to Saturday.”
Last year’s winners Sam Griffiths and Paulank Brockagh went Thursday morning and are still in touch lying 13th overnight, although Sam admitted that his preparation hasn’t been textbook due to the arrival of his and wife Lucy’s daughter Eliza just over a week ago, “I’ve really enjoyed the preparation but obviously that took up quite a bit of my attention and I wasn’t totally focused on the horses the whole time, but I feel the two horses here had a really good prep and hopefully I can get the results. I always get quite nervous in the week leading up to Badminton because it’s such a big event for us and there’s a lot of work that goes into this, we started our preparation around Christmas time.
“I cantered down the centre line and absolutely nailed my first halt and thought fantastic and then just put a stride of canter in as I went to move off, and then a change at the end so the odd bit here and there. Because she’s not naturally an extravagant mover I can’t really afford to give away any marks but I was really pleased with the rest of her work and she tried really hard.”
The weather has been steadily improving all day with no rain and still the slightly lesser wind drying out the ground, which at the moment couldn’t be more perfect. Coupled with the slightly cool temperatures it’s ideal eventing weather for horses and we’re all hoping that the wind might blow away Saturday’s forecast rain showers.
Dressage starts again Friday morning at 9:20 GB time and wi-fi permitting we hope to bring you that Ben Hobday video before then! Don’t forget to tune into Radio Badminton or the Horse and Hound live stream for live expert commentary, no holds barred, proper English style! Many thanks to Nico Morgan for all his beautiful photos, and thank you for reading. It’s a great weekend to be eventing, here at Badminton or Stateside at Jersey and we’re thrilled to be able to bring you so much coverage. Go Eventing!
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