1 August 2019 Horse&Hound
49Picture
by
Peter
Nixon
DavidWillbecomesthe fi rst German
towininmorethan10 years, while
eliminationshakesuptheplacings
ByLUCYELDER
LonginesFEIJumpingNations
CupofGreatBritainatthe
LonginesRoyalInternational,
AllEnglandJumpingCourse,
Hickstead,WestSussexDAVIDWILLhadn’teven
plannedtorideNeverWalkAlone
intheLonginesBHSKingGeorge
V GoldCup—thenameonthe
startlistis ofthemareSpring
Dark.Butthelast-minutechange
provedtherightdecision,withthe
Germanrideraddinghisnameto
theprestigiouslistetchedintothe
baseofthesolidgoldtrophy.
“SpringDarkhada
temperatureonthefirstday,”
explainedDavid,thefirst
Germanridertowintheclass
sinceHolgerWulschnerlifted
thetrophyin2008.
“Sherecovered,butour
teamvetsaidit wouldbebetter
nottojumpher,sowethoughtwe
wouldgiveit a shotwithNever
WalkAlone.”
Suchwasthequalityofthe
fivecombinationswhomadeit
throughtothejump-offthatnota
singlerailfell.
MultipleOlympic,world
andEuropeanmedallistPeder
Fredricsonwasfirsttogo.Riding
Zacramento,withwhomhe
helpedtheSwedishteamtoa win
intheNationsCup,hisroundwas
assmoothassilk—stoppingthe
clockon45.28sec.
NextinwasDavid.The
Germanriderwasneck-and-neck
withPeder’stimeashelanded
overthenewjump-offfenceat15,
butmadeupvaluablesecondsin
thelatterpartofthecourse.
“IthoughtI wasprettytightto
thesecondfenceandthenafter
3abI tookfence 15 ontheangle.
Myhorsewasreallybravetodo
that,”saidDavid,whoalsotooka
strideouttothelast,crossingthe
linein43.73sec.
“Itis a veryspecialringanda
horsehastobereallybrave—the
wateris spookyasis thedouble
ofLiverpools,soI’mverypleased
withhowhewent.Inthejump-off
I felthewasjumpingevenbetter;
hehadmaybegotcomfortable
withtheheight,buthecouldn’t
havedoneit better.”SECOND-PLACE
ELIMINATION
WITHnoBritsinthejump-off,
thehomecrowd’shopeswere
pinnedonWestSussex-based
Irishrider,MichaelDuffy. TheEdited by Jennifer Donald
[email protected]
@ donaldjdonald
‘He couldn’t have done
it better’: a last-minute
decision to ride Never
Walk Alone pays off
for David Will, as the
combination claim the
King George V Gold Cup24-year-old partnered Jessie
Drea and Lynn Humphries’
Mullaghdrin Touch The Stars to
a phenomenal fi rst-round clear,
which they followed up with a
storming jump-off , stopping the
clock 0.37sec behind David.
Sadly, their second place
was short-lived as they were
eliminated after stewards spotted
blood on the horse’s fl ank. Ground
jury president Jon Doney said
they felt there was “absolutely no
intention” from Michael to harm
his horse, but blood on the fl ank is
an automatic elimination.
This bumped Peder into the
runner-up position, with his
Nations Cup team-mate Fredrik
Jonsson and Cold Play moving up
to third.
Peder said he was delighted
with the 14-year-old gelding.
“We had a great week here and
of course I’m not complaining,
but I would have liked my name
to be on the trophy,” he smiled. “I
was really pleased with how the
horse jumped in the Nations Cup
as he had had a bit of a rest. I’dbroughthimbackanddidsome
slow rounds —he never really feels
good when you jump the slow
classes and low classes, so I was
really happy with the Nations Cup
rounds. Today he felt even better,
but I’m a bit annoyed with myself
that I wasn’t quicker!”
Paul Connor’s course proved
a true grand prix test. The white
horse upright at fence two claimed
several early scalps, while the
dog-leg turn from Hickstead’s
yawning water to the light upright
double of gates at fence six was
particularly tricky.
Guy Williams and Rouge De
Ravel were agonisingly close to
reaching the jump-off , rolling a
pole on the fi rst of the Liverpool
ditches. Their quick time put
them best of the British
combinations in sixth, while Jodie
Hall-McAteer and Salt’N Peppa
had a cracking fi rst round, with
four faults from the oxer at 10
keeping them out of the jump-off
to fi nish eighth.‘It is a very
special ring and
a horse has to be
really brave’
DAVID WILL ON JUMPING ON
HICKSTEAD’S HALLOWED TURF