Piggy French accepting her medal from Princess Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
There was really never a doubt of this result today, but Piggy French and Topper sealed the deal by jumping clear in the second round of show jumping. All three British riders jumped clear in the second round and Pippa Funnell finished on the bronze podium spot, giving Great Britain the team victory as well as the 1st and 3rd individual placings. I didn’t expect any different result in this test event and, although most of the horses will be different at the Olympics, it’s a bit hard to bet on a different result then.
The top 3 places did not change in the second round of show jumping and 4 of the top 5 horses went clear. Sara Algotsson Ostholt and Mrs. Medicott improved on their first round but had a costly time penalty that dropped them from 4th to 5th and moved Clayton Fredericks up one spot.
London Olympic Test Event Final Results:
1. Piggy French and DHI Topper W +0 +0 34.7.
2. Michael Jung and River of Joy +0 +0 41.8
3. Pippa Funnell and Billy Shannon +0 +0 44.9
4. Clayton Fredericks and Bendigo +4 +0 46.1
5. Sara Algotsson and Mrs. Medicott +4 +1 41.6
I already posted a recap of the first show jumping round, so here are some notes from the second round…
—Waylon Roberts and Blockbuster III had one rail down in the second round, but finished off a great weekend for Canada in 13th place and the highest placed North American pair. Kathryn Robinson and Let It Bee moved steadily throughout the competition (I keep wanting to write ‘weekend’) and they finished in 18th with a clear second round. Canada’s two riders competed against the best in the world and proved themselves riders to watch for the future.
–For the USA, Will Faudree and DHI Colour Candy made up for a couple of rails in the first round by having a better second round and moving up to 21st place for the weekend. Andy is still a bit green, but handled the big atmosphere here this weekend like a champ. Julian Stiller and Gunstone Wallstreet had one rail in the second round but moved up to finish in 24th.
–The second round course was shorter and bigger. William said after the round that the horses actually jumped better the second time and the results agree with fewer rails, especially at the top of the leader board. However, there were more time penalties in the second round than the first.
–All week I have been asking myself–what are the differences between events, riders, and horses in Europe versus the US? I feel that the best 2* and 3* horses in the US can absolutely compare to the horses at the test event in the dressage and cross country, and I could probably say the same for the riders. Today I felt like the quality of the European horses in the show jumping was above what I see from the best horses at 2* and 3* competitions in the US (and Canada). Perhaps the course was soft, and perhaps that is because only the best riders were competing at the event, but I feel like we are behind on the show jumping in North America.
The final individual results:
It has been a great test event and there is no doubt that London will be an absolutely fantastic host for the eventing in the Olympics. I’ll be back later with more from Greenwich Park, and until then go eventing.
