Horse & Hound – 08 August 2019

8 August 2019 Horse&Hound 41

Pictures

by Peter Nixon

eightgrand!”saidBen.

Up-and-comingnamessnuck

aheadasestablishedonesfellby

thewayside,withhorsefallsfor

FrancisWhittingtonandSam

Griffiths,andrun-outsforOliver

Townend(Ulises),TimPrice

(XavierFaer)andPippaFunnell

(BillyWalkOn).

“Thattookthepressureoff,

butI hada planandstuckwithit,

playingit safeatthecornerlateon

thecourse,”saidBen.“Ithoughtit

wasa bitunkindfora tiredhorse.

Youreallyhavetoknowyourhorse

withalltheturnsandchanges.”

NicholasLuceyscoredhis

richest-everpaydaytoo,hisfast

clearhelpinghimtothirdwith

ProudCourage,whowasforsale

fora timelastyear.

“Wedidn’thavemuchinterest

inhimapartfromabroadandhe’s

Mum’sbaby—shewasn’tupfor

that,”saidNick,whowillnowaim

forBlenheim.“Thiswasoneofmy

bestroundsonhim,andI’ve had

himeightornineyears.”

DÉJÀVUONSATURDAY

REMARKABLY,bothSaturday’s

championshipsstayedwith

their 2018 winners.Francis

WhittingtonretainedtheDodson

& Horrellnovicetitle,thistime

onSarahArrowsmith’shandsome

BrotherBertie.

Sarahcompetedthe11-year-

oldseven-eighthsthoroughbred

herselfuntilshehandedhimto

hertrainerFrancisduetoa busy

workagenda.Itwasa thirdwinin

fouryearsforFrancisinthisclass

andthesecondforSarah,who

ownshis 2016 winnerEvento.

Theyclimbedfromseventh

afterdressagebybeingone of just

two inside the time.

Leech,hisusualrider.

BythedressagelegendTotilas,

thispowerfulhorselooksmade

forthatdisciplinebutwassent

eventingwhenhemadeit clear

howmuchhelovestojump.Inthe

topeightforhispasteightevents,

hecopedwellwitha prolonged

stoponthecoursewhilemedics

tendedLouiseHarwood,whotook

a nastyfallfromBrechfaBaruch

andbrokeanarm.

“He’sgota lottosay,buthe’s

verytalented,”saidIzzy.

STEPPINGUP

TOMMCEWENwastheother

titleretainer,leadingtheSmith

andWilliamsonintermediate

championshipfromfirsttolaston

BarbaraCooper’seight-year-old

DreamawayIIwitha verysmooth

andfastround—thoughnoone

madetheoptimum.

“He’sa lovelyhorsewitha huge

gallop,butthiswasa bigstepup

forhim,”saidTom.

Hewithdrewhissecondride,

BraveheartB,lyingfifth,judging

him“justnotfitenough”.

HarryMeadegallopedinto

secondwithAlexandraRobinson

andNigellaHall’sRedKite,an

eight-year-oldOldenburg,bought

fouryearsagoinGermany.

“He’sabsolutelynotbredfor

thesehills,buthe’sanenigma,”

saidHarry.“He’salsoa monkey,

butcanbeincrediblybrave.”

Suffering“third-itis”—this

wastheirfourthonthetrot—was

TomRowlandonNaomiWatkins’

VeryGoodTempo.Theridecame

toTomlastseason.

“Hedoesn’treallyhavea weak

link,”hesaidaboutthehorse,

whoseshowjumpingis especially

consistent. “He’s the best horse

Above:BenHobdayandShadow

ManII securesecondinthe

open, taking the national title

FrancisWhittingtonsuccessfullydefendshisnovicetitlehere, this

time aboard Sarah Arrowsmith’s 11-year-old Brother Bertie

“Sarahtrainedhimup;he’s

verybalancedandgallopslike

nothingelse,”saidFrancis.

Second,byjustthreeseconds,

wasWilliamFox-Pitton17hh

seven-year-oldmareGrafennacht,

byGrafenstolz,ownedandbred

bySusanEggleton.

“She’sa lovely,consistent

mare,andforsale,sadly,”

lamentedWilliam.

Maresfilledthenexttwoplaces

too,withVittoriaPanizzonthird

onMandyMorrison’sDutch-bred

Gebaliaretto.Thison-formeight-

year-oldhaswonthreeofherfour

previousevents.

“She’sgoodinallthreephases

andpretty,whichhelpsinthe

dressage,”saidVittoria.

Rising 12 placesafter

showjumpingtofourthbydintof

theonlyotherroundinsidethe

timewasHaydenHankeyonhis

ownCartownGalaxy.

SixthwasIzzyTayloronJennie

Loriston-Clarke’sstallionTimolin,

substituting for an injured Gubby

‘Heloveshisnewlife’:TinaCookpilotsthe‘laid-back’ex-racehorse

David Cricket to top spot in the retrained racehorse championship