52 Horse&Hound1 August 2019
Pictures by
Peter
Nixon
SHOWJUMPING
LONGINES ROYAL
INTERNATIONAL
CSI5* classes
AmandaDerbyshireandher‘game’marescoopa braceofwins,whilecareful
planningpaysoffforGuyWilliamsandEllenWhitakerimpressesthecrowd
Britain dominates
the placings
BRITISHriderswereonfirewith
a one-two-threeintheopening
twofive-starclasses,a brilliant
doubleforAmandaDerbyshire
andOasisSpirit,plusa majorwin
forEllenWhitaker.
Amandaandherlittlenine-
year-oldmare,byCobra,opened
theiraccountwithvictoryinthe
73-strongBunnLeisurevase.
Nobodycouldcatchthespeedy
pair,whoweredrawnthirdtogo
andstoppedtheclockina timeof
65.86secwithmorethana second
inhandoversecond-placed
JessicaMendozaandDollar
Girl46.JodieHall-McAteerand
FantomcompletedtheBritish
topthree.
This was the first time Amanda
hadcompetedthemareon
grassandthepaircompleted
theirHicksteaddoublebytaking
tophonoursinFriday’sBunn
Leisureinternationalstakes,
withJessicaandDollarGirl 46 in
secondagain.
Germaneventinglegend
MichaelJungtookanearlylead
withtheeight-year-oldDante
RZ,beforeCatherineTyreeand
BecLorenzospedahead.The
US rider’s lead was short-lived
however,asAmandawasnextinto
thering.
“She’sa fighterandhasa
massiveheart;shedoesn’tlook
assmallassheactuallyis,”added
Amanda.“Onalltheroll-backsI
endedupdoinga stridelessthan
everyoneelse,sowithoutgoing
crazyI couldfeelgoinground
thatI wasprettyquickas
everythingkeptcomingupon
therightstride.
“Fortunately she’s always
lookingforthenextjump—if the
horseisn’tlookingwherethey’re
goingyouoftenhavetodoan
extrastridehereandthere.She’s
sogame,whichmakesmyjoba
loteasier!”
Amandaalsofinishedthird
inThursday’sBunnLeisure
trophyaboardher 2018 World
EquestrianGamesrideLuibanta
BH.ThisclasswaswonbyGuy
WilliamsandRougeDeRavel.
TheestablishedFrench-based
combinationcontinuedtheir
phenomenalrunofformtograsp
theirninthmajorinternational
winsinceWindsorinMay.
EllenWhitakerandthe
powerfulstallionArenaUK
Winston nudged an early lead for
AmandaDerbyshirerides
OasisSpirittofendoffa
73-strongfieldtoclaim
theBunnLeisurevase
beforegoingontowin
the international stakes
‘Shehasa massiveheartand
doesn’tlookassmallasshe is’
AMANDA DERBYSHIRE ON OASIS SPIRIT