Horse & Hound – 01 August 2019

1 August 2019Horse& Hound 5

Fitting send-off for Olympic winner

THELondon 2012 Olympicteam
goldmedal-winningstallion
TrippleXIIIwasretiredinan
emotionalfarewellinHickstead’s
internationalarena.
The17-year-old,bredand
riddeninLondonbyBenMaher,
hasbeenriddenbyCanada’s
TiffanyFostersince2014.
Overhis11-yearcareer,theson
ofNamelusR alsowonEuropean
teambronzeforBritainwithBen,
Pan-AmericanGamesteamgold
withTiffanyandrepresented
Canadaatthe 2016 Olympics.
Hehaswoncountlessgrands
prix, including the Hickstead King

GeorgeV GoldCupandOlympia,

bothin2013.

Benrodehimintothearena

aheadofthe 2019 KingGeorgeon

Sunday(28July).

HewasflankedbyTiffanyand

hisgroomsfrombothsidesofthe

Atlantic,asa filmshowingclips

fromhisglorydayswasbroadcast

ona bigscreeninthearena.

“Itis reallyimportanttousto

retirehimsoundandhappy,”said

Tiffanythoughtears.“Iridehim

everydayandhegoesoutinthe

fieldeverydayandhopefullyit is

goingtocontinuelikethatfor a

long time to come.”LE

HORSES

IN THE NEWS

ROARINGLION

ThesuperstarFlatracer,

whoretiredtostudin2018,

underwentcolicsurgeryin

NewZealandon 27 July.As

H&Hwenttopress(29July),

hehadmadea “favourable

recoveryinthefirst 24 hours

post surgery”.

ENABLE

Thefive-year-old,trainedby

JohnGosden,wonher11th

consecutiverace,herninth

GradeOne,inhersecond

KingGeorgeVIandQueen

ElizabethStakesatAscot

(report,p84). Sheis thefirst

horse ever to retain the title.

KILVINGTONSCOUNDREL

Thelatestallionsired

fiveofthetopnineinthe

intermediatesmallshow

ridingchampionshipatthe

RoyalInternationalHorse

Show.WhaltonA BitSpecial

andHarrietDennisonwon

the class(report, p38).

THREEup-and-comingriders
anda seasonedinternational
medallistcomprisethefirst
Britishteamtobeannouncedfor
theEuropeanChampionships.
SophieWells,onCharlotte
Hogg’sC FatalAttraction,Mari
Durward-AkhurstonGlesni
Owen’sSkyO’Hara,Nicky
GreenhillonherownandGary
Greenhill’sBettyBooandGeorgia
WilsononherownandGeoff
andJulieWilson’sMidnight
willrepresentGreatBritainin
Rotterdam(19-25August).
Sophie,whoaddedtwogolds
anda silvertohermultiple
medal-winningtallyatthe 2017
EuropeanChampionshipswith
C FatalAttraction,saidit wasa
“massivehonour”tobeselected.
“I’malsoreallypleasedtohave
mypupil,Georgia,onthesquad,”
shesaid.“Thisis anexciting
timeforBritishdressageahead
oftheParalympicsinTokyonext
year,withsucha broadrangeof
talentedhorsesandriders.I’dlike
tothankCharlotte,forhersupport
andmyhometeamfortheirhard
work;withoutthem,thisselection
wouldn’thavebeenpossible.”
Mari,whohasbeenenjoying
successatthree-starlevelwith
the20-year-oldSkyO’Hara,said
“dreamsdocometrue”.
“Iamreallyexcitedabout
competingatmyfirstsenior
championships,” she said. “It’s

TheBritishparadressageteamis thefirsttobeconfirmed

ahead of the Europeans in Rotterdam and Luhmühlen

sonicetoberecognisedbythe

selectorsafterourhardwork

overthepastcoupleofyears.

Thankyoutoeveryonewhohas

supportedme,myamazinghome

teamandmytrainerRobWaine.

“Ihavetothankmywonderful

equinepartner,SkyO’Hara,who

continuestoimprovewithage,

andGlesni,whohasgivenmethe

opportunitytobuildsucha special

partnershipwithhim.I hopethat

SkyandI willdoeveryoneproud.”

Alsoatherfirstchampionships

will be Nicky, who came back from

hermostrecentshowinDeauville

withtwowinsandtwosecond

placesonBettyBoo.

“Iwasshockedbutfeelvery

proudandhonouredtobeableto

representmycountry,”shesaid.

Georgia,whoscoreda win

andtwosecondsatthethree-star

showatBishopBurtonlastweek,

said:“I’mexcitedbutnervous

becausethisis myfirstmajor

championships.ButI’mreally

lookingforwardtoit.”

Theshowjumpingteamwas

duetobeannouncedasH&H

wenttopresson 29 July,withthe

dressageandeventingteamsalso

to be confirmed this week.

ByELEANORJONES

Squad chosen as riders

go for European gold

TrippleX IIIwasretiredin an

emotional ceremony

Experienced pair Sophie Wells and C Fatal Attraction head the team