Horse & Hound – 08 August 2019

36 Horse& Hound8 August 2019

SHOWJUMPING

‘A WORLDAWAYFROMOUR

NATIONALCHAMPIONSHIPS’

WHILEmanyaspiretocompeteata LGCTshow,theheftyprice

tagfortwo-starentrycanbea barrier.Butfirst-timerJayHalim

(pictured)foundthelureis aboutmorethanjustthecompetition.

“Theprizemoneyforthetwo-starclassesisn’tremotelyrelative

towhatit shouldbeconsideringwhatpeoplepaytobehere,butit

hasbeenamazing—theyreallyknowhowtolookafterpeoplefrom

a hospitalityperspective,”saidJay,whowasinthemoneyinallbar

oneofhisclasses.“Whileit’shardfornationalshowstomatchthis

becauseoftheexpense,it doeshighlighthowfareventslikethe

nationalchampionshipsarefromwheretheyneedtobe.”

AccordingtoJay,theslicklyrunLGCTshowsgethospitality

“right”,makingthema goodplaceforentertainingowners,making

contactsand“platforminghorsestoa differentclientele”.

“Goodhospitalitygetspeopletalkingina waythata lukewarm

burger doesn’t,”saidJay.“Forowners,it’sthekindofplacethat

givesthemthebug.I don’tbringmyownersto

nationalshows—onlytoBolesworth,Hicksteadand

WindsorwhereI knowtheywillbelookedafter.We

mustremembershowjumpingis supposedtobean

entertainment sport and the Globals do it very well.”

FIRST

TIMER

LGCTLONDON

CSI2* classes

ImogenBeecroftandChablis ET setanunbeatablepaceinthe1.15m

class,”Flosaid.

Sheboughtnine-year-old

KadanceVan’tLozerhofin

Octoberandsolidifiedtheir

partnershipjumpinginFlorida

overthewinter.

“I’vewona few1.40msinthe

USandmyotherhorsehereis

jumpingthebiggerclasses,soI

thoughtI wouldgivehera nice

easyshow,”saidFlo.

Itwasfellow17-year-oldLily

AttwoodwhotoppledFloin

Saturday’s1.40m/1.45mriding

KaribouHorta,aneight-year-

old“naturallyquickandcareful”

geldingwithwhomshehasgelled

quicklysincebuyinghimatthe

endof2018.

Sheis anotherriderdelivering

strongresultsaftercomingunder

thewingofaninternationalrider,

havingbeenbasedinFrance

withGuyWilliamsforthepast

eightmonths.

“Ithinkit’sreallygoodtobe

abletojumphereandgetyour

nameoutthere,especiallyif you’re

hopingtostepuptofive-starin

a fewyears,”saidLily.“You’re

jumpingtracksbuiltbya five-star

course-builderandit’ssomething

othershowscan’toffer.”

SiennaCharlesreturnedfrom

a breakwhiletakingherGCSEs

tomakeherGCTdebut,heading

a 16-strongjump-offinSunday’s

1.30mwithherjuniorEuropeans

rideChintaVanGeluutZ.

“We’rejustgettinggoingagain,

buthopefullywe’llstarttaking

ona fewmorerankingsclasses

fortherestofthesummer,”said

Sienna,whohasnowleftschoolto

concentrateonshowjumping.

TIGHTATTHETOP

THEREwassomeparticularly

precociousactionina veryquick

1.15mclassonSaturdaywhentwo

13-year-olds tussled to stand top

oftheleaderboard.

ItwasAlenaHughesand

herbrilliantchildren-on-horses

partnerRainbowwhotoppedthe

line-up,0.16secaheadofEllie

Burrell-SquibbandJordanGirlZ.

AlenamadeherGCTdebut

inLondonlastyearandhas

continueda greattrackrecord

withRainbowthisseason,taking

doublewinsinchildren-on-horses

classesatAddingtonbefore

headingtoSentower,wherethey

alsonetteda class.

“He’sbeena fabuloushorsefor

me,”saidAlena.“He’s 15 now,so

gettingona bit,andthoughwedo

jump1.40mswithhim,I thought

we’ddosomethingsmaller.Itwas

a reallynicetrack—they build

lovely courses here.

“TheGCTsarefantastic

showsandI wouldliketodo

more,”sheadded.“Iwillhaveto

wina fewmoreclassessoI can

saveupandgo!”

Alenaalsofinishedthirdin

Friday’s1.15mcurtain-raiser,

whichresultedina Britishtop

three.ImogenBeecroft’sflying

earlyroundonChablisETproved

unbeatable,despitea great

challengefromBlytheMasters

withtherocketingDamnSmooth

just0.04secadrift.

ChablisETis a formerrideof

RobertBevis,andImogenonly

boughtthe11-year-oldLordZ x

Kingstongelding 10 daysbefore

theshow.

“I’veonlyriddenhimfour

or five times — we started at

WestonLawnsandjumped

90cmtomakesureI couldget

roundandhewasreallygood,”

said27-year-oldImogen,who

alsofinishedfifthwitha double

clearonhersuperstar18-year-old

Untouchable.

“Weweren’tthinkingabout

havinga crackatthisclass

becausehewassonew,buthewas

sogood—hehasa bigstrideand

is naturallyfastsowassuitedtoit.”

Imogenworksinnearby

Victoriaandkeepsherhorses

withsisterClaireBeecroftandher

partnerGeoffLuckett,squeezing

inridingon“afternoonshereand

thereandweekends”.

“Itwasa goodfeelingtowin

here,especiallyashistorically

I’vehadsucha goodtimeatthis

showandmydadandfriendsare

here—andit’sgreattobeableto

rolloutofbedandcometoa show

likethis!”

Justa whiskerseparatedthe

toptwoinFriday’s1.30mtwo-

phase,theonlyclassnottogo

thewayofa Britishrider.Itwas

IsabellaRussekofffortheUSand

the15-year-oldCalveroIVwho

collectedthewinner’srugwitha

blazing24.49secround.

“Itwasa lotoffun,hehas

sucha bigstrideandhewasable

todoalltheleave-outs—hewas

reallyonit today,”said19-year-

oldIsabella,whohailsfromNew

Yorkandis a studentatMiami

University,Florida,buthasbeen

basedinEuropetocompetesince

June.“Hewasoneofmytop

horses,butsincehe’solderwe

movedhimdownandhe’sperfect

atthisheight.”

Sunday’s1.15mwenttoUS-

basedBritBlytheMastersand

DamnSmooth,whotrumped

policewomanandGCTLondon

regularCharlotteLeeandthe

highly consistent Zarina.H&H