Bramham’s ‘Terrific Thursday’ gets 2023 off the mark
And just like that, this year’s Bramham International Horse Trials is underway! In the international four-star sections, the dressage phase kicked off under a mix of sunshine and cloud, but competitors certainly gave the expectant Bramham crowds – and judges – a great deal of delight on day one.
Taylor makes a late charge for the lead
In the CCI4*-L, it was Izzy Taylor and Happy Days who stormed into the lead. The pair had rerouted to Bramham after a fall in tricky conditions at Badminton last month, but have arrived here ready to be competitive and today showed they mean business. Izzy is, of course, the reigning title-holder of this class, having been victorious last year with Monkeying Around, and the Alex Colquhoun, Caroline Wilson and Lavinia Taylor’s grey gelding has given her a great start in defence of the title. Last into the arena, the 11-year-old by Cevin Z scored an average percentage of 70.07% from the judging panel of President Sue Baxter (GBR) at C, Christina Klingspore (SWE) at E and Robert Stevenson (UA) at M, which put the duo in pole position.
Afterwards, Izzy said: “I’m very pleased with Happy Days, he pretty much did as good as he can do. It was a different test to Badminton – horses are always improving and learning, as are we as athletes, and they change day-to-day. Part of our job is managing that, so there’s a difference from Badminton.”
Izzy had already had a walk around the cross-country course and was feeling good about what she’d seen. “It’s a great place here, a proper track and Ian [Stark] does a great job,” she commented. “The course looks amazing, it’s tough and there’s a lot to do – normal Bramham terrain, normal Ian Stark course design. It’s a great test and place to come to answer questions about a horse’s future – you really know what you’ve got afterwards.”
Second place is held by Bramham regular Piggy March riding John and Chloe Perry and Alison Swinburn’s 10-year-old Brookfield Cavalier Cruise, who’s here on his CCI4*-L debut with a score of 30.8, which held the lead for most of the day.
“He’s a really smart horse and it was a clear round – we didn’t make any mistakes,” said Piggy. “There’s still more to come from him – his development, cadence, strength, that sort of thing. I was pretty pleased – he went how I expected, but I was a little disappointed with mark. It was a mark you’d expect with mistakes, but there were none. However, they’ve continued on that theme and if they stay that way, it’s fine. He’s a lovely horse and very exciting for the future – we all know it’s never a dressage competition here!”
The end-of-day one podium is completed by pathfinder Aaron Millar with Heidi Bates’ Chacoa-sired KEC Deacon, who posted 32.4 for their tour through the white boards.
Canter holds the edge in the DEFENDER section
In the DEFENDER CCI4*-S, it was a similar scene when the lead was snatched from a long-time leader late in the day. Zara Tindall took the early advantage with a relative newcomer to her string, Classicals Euro Star, a nine-year-old owned by herself and Judith Luff. With just one Advanced run under their belts, Bramham will be a tough test, but a consistent performance in the white boards left them with a score of 34.4.
Immediately after, in trotted Stephen Heal with The Super Mario Syndicate and his own Quidam de Lux, who edged in front of Zara when the jury of President Angela Tucker (GBR) at C, Sandy Phillips (GBR) on the side at E and Dr Ernst Topp (GER) at M awarded them an average percentage of 66.94%, equating to 33.1 penalties.
The top two remained unchanged until the final session of the day, when Ros Canter – who coincidentally is the reigning champion in this section, having won last year with Izilot DHI (who runs in the CCI-L 4* tomorrow) – brought forward Lady Milnes Coates and Deirdre Johnston’s MHS Seventeen. The handsome 10-year-old shone bright in the evening sunshine and with his rider, brimming with confidence and enjoying a purple patch, delivered a performance to earn 32.6 penalties to take over the lead.
“I’m really pleased with that test – he’s a really inexperienced horse at this level and this is his first four-star, having done just one Advanced. This weekend is about feeling how we go and seeing how he copes with it. He was very green in parts of the test, but others had real highlights so I’m really happy,” Ros explained.
It’s advantage France in the U25s
This year’s under-25 section may be low on numbers, but it’s high on quality and followed the pattern of the day. First down the centre line was Britain’s Richard Coney with the first of his two rides, Mermus R Diamonds, owned by Wendy Coney and himself, and they set the early pace with great score of 31.3 under the same ground jury as the CCI4*-L. Tom Bird slotted neatly into second on 39 penalities with Rebel Rhyme, who he jointly owns with David Kerry, before the final rider of day one, France’s young talent Morgane Euriat stole the show. She and partner Baccarat D Argonne are no strangers to Bramham, having been sixth here last year, and a score of 29.7 – the only one to go under 30.0 – has given them a great start in their mission to better their 2022 performance.
Dressage for the CCI4*-S resumes at 09:45, while the CCI-L 4* is back in action at 10:30. The U25s completethe day from 16:00.
Results and start times via: Eventing Scores