Phillip Dutton jumped three flawless rounds in the CIC*** at The Fork this afternoon but the one that really mattered was on Mystery Whisper for the win, with less than a rail separating the top 3. ( he also jumped clear on Atlas and Mighty Nice) Just one sticky moment at the second fence which was very brightly coloured, when he came in “slightly underpowered and the horse exploded and I nearly fell off, it was a bit embarrassing!” He exaggerates slightly, but for the spectators it was an Oooh-aah moment to see Mystery Whisper really open up and almost hit Phillip in the back of the head with his hind end! Anyway, Mystery Whisper and Phillip have now won their second CIC*** in a month, and his plan this weekend was just to give the horse a nice schooling run – the man can’t help but win! In what we all agreed was a stupid question I asked Phillip if this would be his preferred ride for London…not my finest moment, yes, he most definitely is!
Rebecca Howard jumped clear on Riddle Master to move up a place and take 2nd. Rebecca said she was so pleased Rupert all weekend, that he’s a stronger horse than last year, and also more adaptable. She’s been working on his dressage a lot, and was happy with her test but said in the stadium she just didn’t ride according to her plan and was really pleased with how well Rupert handled switching to Plan B, adding strides and staying soft whereas last year he might have become a bit strong or rigid. From here, like Mystery Whisper, they head to Jersey but Riddle Master will contest the CIC***, and may do some schooling jumper and dressage shows locally and in Southern Pines in the meantime.
You had to feel for Marilyn Little-Meredith, the show-jumper turned eventer who was the exception rather than the norm to have aa fence down in the top 20 this afternoon and drop down a place to 3rd. Nonetheless she said she was pleased with her round, and felt as if she rode better, and the horse was straighter than at Red Hills despite the four faults. Like Phillip and Mystery Whisper, Marilyn reminded us, Demeter is a new ride for her and they’re still getting to know each other, as are Karen and Mr Medicott, below, who jumped clean to finish fourth.
I still have lots of pictures to go up and some rider reports, but a long drive ahead of me first so they will have to wait. The Fork has been fantastic – a whirlwind of top class action and I can’t wait to process it all in my head during the journey home. Thanks for keeping me company, Eventing Nation; thanks for continuing to visit as always, and for the lovely remarks, and Go Eventing!
