‘A very special result’: Oliver Townend becomes new British national champion at Gatcombe

Oliver Townend was crowned British national champion, as he was the highest-placed Brit, finishing second on Mark and Angela Chamberlayne’s Dreamliner in the Gatcombe Horse Trials British open championship at the Magic Millions Festival of British Eventing.

Oliver was in fifth going into the final cross-country phase aboard the 12-year-old, who was bred by his current owners, but a super-speedy clear inside the usually elusive optimum time at Gatcombe propelled them into overall runner-up spot in the Magic Millions-sponsored British open championship. In fact, Oliver and Dreamliner were the first combination to achieve the optimum time here since 2011.

“This is a very special result for his breeders and and for my new job with Caunton Stud. There have only been 11 riders in history who have made the time here and you wouldn’t think of him as a quick horse, but at the same time he is by Jumbo, who had stamina, and he is out of a full thoroughbred mare, so I knew he‘d get the trip,” said Oliver, who has been national champion here twice before. “But he is a big horse who is about two ribs too long, but the most important thing is he is very genuine.”

Thirteen of the 16 cross-country starters jumped clear across country around the Captain Mark Phillips-designed track.

“I thought the course was very fair – it’s not a five-star and it’s not meant to be a five-star, but when you put the undulations and that fact that you’re always on a camber into the equation, it ends up being very tough.”

Gatcombe Horse Trials British open championship: placings

Oliver also finished fourth overall with Sir John Peace’s Lukas in the Gatcombe Horse Trials British open championship, adding six cross-country time-faults to their 30.7 dressage.

Pippa Funnell, who was in the lead going into the final cross-country phase aboard Barbara and Nicholas Walkinshaw’s Billy Walk On, finished in overall third after incurring 8.4 cross-country time-faults.

“He was never going to be the quickest round this course as he’s a very big horse, but I had a really good ride and he was perfect,” said Pippa after her round.

Pippa was in third after the showjumping with her own and Marek Sebestak’s Majas Hope, but she fell off at a corner at fence 6b.

“My first round on Majas Hope didn’t go to plan! I wanted it to be a good warm-up ride for Billy Walk On, who went later on – then I would know all of the lines,” said Pippa, 30 years after her win in this class aboard Sir Barnaby. “So it’s annoying. It was a rider error. I usually always want to add strides and for once I had a good shot over the hedge and I thought I was going to get up on the four strides, but I ended up too far off and he just couldn’t get one knee out of the way and tipped me off.“

The 2019 British open champions Jonelle Price and Classic Moet finished fifth, clocking the second fastest cross-country round of the day, stopping the clock just two seconds over the optimum time.

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