Laura Collett and London 52. Photo by Peter Nixon.
Laura Collett and London 52 have three Olympic medals and three CCI5* wins to their credit, but gained another crown this weekend by becoming the first winners of The Malcolm Group CCI4*-S class at the inaugural Scone Palace International Horse Trials.
Laura and London 52, who is owned by Karen Bartlett and Keith Scott, had been breathing down the necks of dressage and showjumping leaders Ros Canter and Izilot DHI throughout the event, sitting 0.2 penalties behind them in second. When Ros – Laura’s Paris Olympics gold medal-winning team-mate – picked up 0.4 of a showjumping time-fault for being just one second over the time allowed across country – Laura seized her chance. In a faultless cross-country performance round event director and course-designer Alec Lochore’s imaginative track, she and 16-year-old London cruised round to cross the finish line six seconds inside the time. They therefore leapfrogged ahead of Ros and Izilot and collected their 14th international victory.
Laura said: “I’ve been blown away by the event here at Scone Palace; everything has been phenomenal, which is a huge relief as this is “Dan’s” last run before the European Championships. It’s been the best preparation for him, and he loved performing in front of the enormous crowd.
“Dan felt great this week. He gets better and better with age. A couple of years ago, the water would have been a bogey fence for him, but he jumped in and out the best of my four horses. I’ll definitely be back here; it’s already on the calendar for next year.”
Ros said: “Izilot DHI has been an absolute pleasure this week. He’s been on form all year, so consistent and secure in all his work during every phase at every event. I feel like I’ve really found my way with him and he’s really matured.
“We’ve had a great but busy week at Scone. They’ve done a fantastic job for a first-time event, especially considering the infrastructure and the amount of people they’ve had through the door. The ground has been great, too. I take my hat off to the organisers. I was walking around and I thought ‘goodness me, how do they remember to organise absolutely everything’ – if I was an organiser I’d definitely forget to order the loos or something!”
Behind Laura and Ros in third place was another of Britain’s stars, Emily King, with Valmy Biats.
Jonelle Price and Capitaine De Hus Z. Photo by Peter Nixon.
Jonelle Price and David and Katherine Thomson’s Capitaine De Hus Z maintained their lead in The Malcolm Group CCI4*-L, despite finishing their showjumping round 0.4sec outside of the time. Their final score of 31.2, though, was enough to keep Tom Jackson and Hambro Sport Horses’ HH Moonwalk in second on 33.3.
“I was delighted with him across country, despite being a few seconds over,” Jonelle said. “He jumped super all the way around, though he got a little strong coming home, but that’s the nature of the beast. I was able to manage him and stay better on the clock. He’s a good jumper and coming into the showjumping ring on something like him is a nice feeling. Scone Palace has very much been the focus for him, but we’ll probably look for a five-star next. Myself, I’m heading to Wellington [in Hampshire] at 7.30am tomorrow morning!”
Emma Carmichael receiving her prize from Andrew Malcolm of sponsors The Malcolm Group. Photo by Peter Nixon.
An influential showjumping phase shuck up the results of The Malcolm Group CCI3*-L. Emma Carmichael and Joanna Craigs and Fiona Bell’s 14-year-old Tax Break, second after cross-country, produced a textbook jumping round inside the time, while section leaders, Alex Turnbull and Harelaw Wizard, rolled four, pushing them well down the leaderboard. This marked Emma’s first international victory.
“It’s a bit unexpected, to be honest, as we weren’t even sure if we were going to make it to Scone Palace,” Emma said. “I dislocated the C-joint in my shoulder three weeks ago and I probably shouldn’t be onboard as quickly as this. I’m all taped up at the minute, but it’s held together well this week.
“It was always the plan to get him [Tax Break] here, though. He’s done a few four-stars with me but we needed a CCI3*-L to get a CCI4*L qualification, and he’s knocked it out of the park.”
Tax Break was formerly ridden by Alice Picton-Jones, who competed him up to intermediate, and Emma bought him when Alice went to university.
Emma explained: “I thought he might be quite a nice horse to get going quickly because he’s a bit older. We got him in February and he’s gone from doing a couple of intermediates to jumping around three-and-four-star shorts – then winning here today.
“The cross-country is probably his best phase. He’s a real galloper; he’s so brave and is incredibly bold, straight and genuine. He fills me with confidence which allows me to ride positively. He’s a bigger, stronger horse than what I would normally go for, but he wants to do it and is very adjustable.”
Ros Canter aced the CCI2*-L aboard Kate James and Jo Needler’s eight-year-old Broadstone Lion Man, who was making his debut at this level. The pair stayed on their dressage score of 26 throughout.
“Leo” is a son of Billy Tudor bred by Amy Hawley.
“I really rate him,” said Ros. “Amy evented him until he was a six-year-old. I spotted him at a clinic and asked her if she would ever sell him as I really liked him. Funnily enough, he was for sale and I had two lovely owners who wanted to come in on a horse with me, so it all worked out well.
“He’s quite lazy, but once he’s going he’s off. He’s not idle all the way through his work, but he’s a bit of a teenage boy; he’s a bit hard to get out of bed!”
Scotland’s leading event rider Wills Oakden ensured the Perthshire locals were represented on the winner’s podium as he headed the CCI1* with David Kenwright’s Greystone Midnight Harmony.
Wills said: “I’ve had a fantastic weekend; I can’t thank the organising team and the Mansfield family enough for their hospitality. To have an event of this stature in our area is terrific. The volume of people who have come through the gates has been incredible. I hope everyone comes back next year.”
Riders from across the water dominated in the CCI2*P-S, with Ireland occupying three of the four top spots, only sandwiched by third-placed British rider Eva Bryant and Coolnaleen Rebel (36.7).
Molly Egan and Divine Fernando, fifth after the dressage on 35.1, were the only combination to finish inside the showjumping time. They bumped up a placing after the cross-country and a flawless clear later in the day advanced them into first place on a final score of 35.7. In second was Ireland’s Susan O’Brien and Ballinagore Aaron, just 0.2 of a penalty behind on 35.9.
The first Scone Palace International Horse Trials was acclaimed a huge success, with 27,500 spectators coming through the gates throughout the week and enjoying top-class sport in glorious sunshine.
Event director Alec Lochore said: “We’ve had a lot of very positive feedback. We’ve learnt an enormous amount about the venue, and there are many positives and, of course, some tweaks that will be made. It takes time to understand a new event site, and I’m immensely proud of what the whole team has delivered. We’ll learn, and hopefully we’ll do it bigger and better next year. The Mansfield family [who own Scone Palace] have taken a massive leap of faith in taking on the mantle of what was an enormously popular event [Blair Castle] and by investing in producing something really special here at Scone Palace.”
Scone Palace International (Scotland): [Website] [Scores] [Live Stream Replays]
