Horse & Hound – 01 August 2019

1 August 2019 Horse&Hound 35

Pictures by Peter Nixon

ByMARGARETSHAW

LonginesFEIJumpingNations

CupofGreatBritainatthe

LonginesRoyalInternational,

AllEnglandJumpingCourse,

Hickstead,WestSussex

THEultimateshowmanthatheis,

AllisterHoodpulledoffhiseighth

RoyalInternationalsupreme

horsetitletolayclaimtothe

covetedWinstonChurchillTrophy

onceagain.

Aidedandabettedeveryinch

ofthewaybyLadyCaroline

Tyrrell’scharismaticchampion

cobOurCashelBlue,Allister

notonlywowedthejudgeswith

thewayheshowedoffthebest

mannersandpacesofhiswinning

partner,buthisentertainingand

mesmerisingdisplaywowedthe

crowd,too,thepairearninga

scoreof29/30.

“Thatshowwasbloody

marvellous,”saidAllister.“Ican’t

describewhatBluehas,orthe

feelinghegivesme,butwhenthat

crowdapplauds,heprickshisears

evenmoreandsays,‘Let’sdothis.’”

It’sincredibletorealisethat

bothhorseandriderhavemade

anamazingcomebackthisseason

afterbattlingillnesslastyear.

Bluenevermisseda beat,or

faltered anywhere through his

freewalk,ground-coveringtrot,

balancedcanterorsuperbgallop,

muchofthiswhilehisriderwas

doffinghishatintypicalstyleto

whipupcrowdsupport,thepair

concludingwitha squarehaltto

salutethejudgesAnnBrickell,

BobEllisandHollySmith.

WithTeamHoodandTeam

Rossfieldingallfiveofthe

supremecontenders,thiswasnot

thetimetoblinkasbothJayne

Ross,OliHood,Sofia Scottand

Allisterpulledoutallthestops.

AllisterhadalsoqualifiedLady

Caroline’schampionridinghorse

Chainmail(Dancer),buthanded

thereinsforthesupremeoverto

sonOliandtheytookfourthplace

on 20 marks.

Theeye-catchingpalomino

six-year-oldsonofChagallwas

boughtjustbrokenintwoyears

agoand,despiteremaining

lightlyshown,hehasanenviable

winningtallyfollowinghisnovice

BritishShowHorseAssociation

championshipwinsasa four-and

five-year-old.

“Hefindseverythingeasy,and

thisis thebestringintheworldto

show a horse off ,” said Allister.

EditedbyAlexRobinson

[email protected]

@AlexRRob

WINNINGRETURN

FOLLOWINGthebirthofhertwochildrenBeatrice,six,andEdward,

eightmonths,GreerTavernermadea winningreturntoshowing

whensherodeClareLevy’sThePolitician(Smithy,pictured)towin

thesmallhunterfinal.

“It’sgreattobeback,”saidGreer,whois anintegralpartof

producerJohnHarvey’steam.“It’stwoyearssinceI havebeenin

theringandaround 10 yearssinceI lastwonhereridingPennal

CalonMaiin2008.

“This isthefirsttimeI haveriddenSmithyinthering,butheis

soeasy-goingandneverputa footwrong.”

ThePoliticianwasmaintaininggoodformhere,

astheOBOSQuality11-year-oldfinishedthirdin

theamateursmallhunter final for Clare’s daughter

Hannah Green.

TALKING

POINT

JaneCollins’AtlanticSlimtopsthelightweightsectionbefore

standing working hunter champion with Rory Gilsenan

VickySmithridesTwinshockWarriortoclaimthehuntertitleas

producerJayneRossoptsto ridetheeventualreserve,TempleOgue

Withtworidesinthe

supremechampionship,Jayne

Rossgaveherall.Shetookthe

reserveridingJillMarsden’s

championhunterTwinshock

Warrior,whoearned 25 marks

aftergallopinghissocksoff.

Jaynealsotookthirdplace

withtheWallacefamily’s

championhackForgelandsHyde

Park(23marks),andSofia Scott

finishedfifthridingLouenna

Hood’schampioncoloured

SpringpondOn The Razzle

(19marks).

CHANCERIDEON

A CHAMPION

THISmeetingwasoneof

themostmemorableand,once

again,theextremesofweather

provedoneofthebiggest

talkingpoints.

Ononeofthehottestmornings

oftheyear,threemarathonhunter

weightdivisionsattractedgreat

spectatorinterest.

Themainringchampionship

providedanintriguingclimaxas

the three ride judges Guy Landau

(lightweights),NickCollins

(middleweights)andJenny

Banks(heavyweights)allrode

eachother’stoptwohorses

beforethefinaldecisioncouldbe

madewithconformationjudge

DavidWalters.

Itwasa close-runthing,and

noonecouldhavepredictedthat

thechampionriderhadnoteven

riddeninanyoftheclasses.

StepforwardVickySmith,who

madethemostofherinvitation

torideJillMarsden’sheavyweight

winnerandchampion,seven-

year-oldTwinshockWarrior

(Bernard).

AsproducerJayneRossalso

rodethelightweightwinner

TempleOgueandelectedtostay

onboardKayCampbell’sVerdi

seven-year-old,Vickywasgiven

preciousfewminutestochange

intoherridingclothesafter

receivinga callfromJill.

“IaskedJayneif hegalloped

andshesaidyes,justgivehimhis

head,”saidVicky.

Well,galloptheydidonthe

initial go-round and Bernard just