Francis Whittington and Easy Target Lead at Badminton Lunch Break on 36.2

Mark Todd and NZB Campino. Photo by Jenni Autry. Mark Todd and NZB Campino. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Francis Whittington and Easy Target snuck in to absolutely steal the show this morning at Badminton Horse Trials, and they lead at the lunch break on the first day of dressage on a score of 36.2. It’s a remarkable improvement from the test we saw from this pair at this event last year, when Francis and Easy Target scored 51.8 — talk about peaking at just the right time. It’s safe to say no one expected them to pull off such an impressive test. In fact, most of the photographers were busy editing photos from the morning in the media center during the test. Way to show them, Francis!

Pippa Funnell and Billy Beware. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Pippa Funnell and Billy Beware. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Mark Todd and NZB Campino could have challenged that score if not for a few bobbles toward the end of an otherwise lovely test. Things were going along beautifully until the extended canter, when the horse swapped leads at the very end of the long side. He then swapped leads again before the second to last change, unfortunately marring what would have been an outstanding score. But the final mark of 40.5 still puts them in a very good position in the early going. Pippa Funnell and Billy Beware set the tone in the first group out this morning, score 42.3 for third place provisionally in the horse’s first four-star. She scored a 9 in both her halts, showing the importance of starting and ending on a positive note.

Pippa Funnell and Annie Clover. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Nicola Wilson and Annie Clover. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Andrew Nicholson and Quimbo also put in a very consistent performance to score 44.7 for fourth place, and Pascal Leroy and Minos De Petra round out the top five on a score of 47.3. We’re just halfway into the first day of dressage here at Badminton, and already we’re seeing incredibly competitive scores, including one in the 30s and five in the 40s. Clark Montgomery and Universe did their test in the first morning group, and you can click over to my post from earlier this morning for a full recap of their test; they posted a 50.8 for their best ever score in a CCI4*.

Andrew Nicholson and Quimbo. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Andrew Nicholson and Quimbo. Photo by Jenni Autry.

William Fox-Pitt and Cool Mountain were second out this morning, and everyone expected them to turn in a very good score. But the horse was fussy throughout the test and not as settled as he usually us, which affected their score for 53.8, well down the leaderboard already in the early going. William still has Parklane Hawk to go tomorrow, so he has another chance to hit the top placings. Peter Atkins and Henry Jota Hampton also didn’t have the test they were looking for, scoring 62.2 for 19th place provisionally. They most notably had a miscommunication in a flying change, and Henny halted instead of changing, bringing 2s and 3s from the judges.

Peter Atkins and Henry Jota Hampton. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Peter Atkins and Henry Jota Hampton. Photo by Jenni Autry.

As I said in my first report this morning, the weather is a far cry from the lovely sunshine and warm temperatures we enjoyed last year at Badminton. A steady rain has been falling all morning, and the wind is starting to blow harder, much like yesterday. So far the horses have been handling the conditions well, and it’s likely helping some of the ones who struggle in this phase, as the rain encourages them to put their heads down and get the job done. We still have some exciting tests to come today; Lucinda Fredericks and Flying Finish could easily post a score that will land then in this afternoon’s press conference with the top three. Stay tuned for much more from Badminton.

Badminton Horse Trials: [Website] [Times] [Scores]

Screen Shot 2014-05-08 at 1.11.07 PMclick to enlarge

 

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments