Blenheim first-timer impresses the judges to shoot into CCI4*-L dressage lead

There is a new leader in the Blenheim Horse Trials CCI4*-L dressage results at the end of the second day (20 September). Germany’s Jérôme Robiné riding Black Ice scored 22.8, thanks to a beautiful and confident test on this combination’s first visit to the event.

Black Ice, a 14-year-old owned by Dorothea Von Zedwitz, was fifth in the five-star at Luhmühlen and seventh individually at the European Eventing Championships, both in 2023, and more recently finished fifth in the Nations Cup CCI4*-S at Arville last month.

Jérôme and this striking gelding were awarded a smattering of nines from the judges, including for the two flying-changes that carry a coefficient.

“He’s very calm in his mind and there are no surprises when you go into the arena,” explained Jérôme, 26. “He has very good flying-changes and he has a big, forward canter and nice movement and it’s easy for him.

“I had to work on his flying-changes in the past, but he’s good now. It’s not easy for him in his body as he is long, but he moves well and now he’s established.”

New Zealand’s Jesse Campbell briefly shot into the lead before Jérôme stole it from him as the next rider in. Jesse scored 23.3 with his own and Kent Gardner’s Diachello and sits in third going into the cross-country after Gemma Stevens and Jalapeno III slotted into second towards the end of the day.

“He’s always promised to deliver a really good test and for whatever reason, things haven’t quite gone to plan for him – he’s such a big, loose moving horse that it‘s not been easy, but he’s getting better and better with age,” explained Jesse of this 14-year-old Diarado, with whom he was part of the New Zealand team at the Tokyo Olympics.

“It’s fun to bring him here and enjoy it. I was taking it all in and staying focused – he needs a bit of riding because he is so big and loose and needs a bit of putting together, but I’m delighted with him. He has good changes and that really helps with the coefficient marks in those moves and you can make up some ground with that.”

Speaking of tomorrow’s cross-country, Jesse hopes that the rain – which has only made a very brief appearance so far at Blenheim this week – stays away.

“He prefers the top of the ground, but we’ll see what we’ve got.”

Gemma Stevens and Chris Stone’s 16-year-old mare Jalapeno III scored 23 to sit .3 of a penalty ahead of Jesse.

“We can really do it, but she’s a woman of her own mind and if she’s a little bit not in the mood, then we’re on a 27 – if she’s really with me and in the mood, she can get a 22 or 23 and today she decided that she was in the mood.,” explained Gemma, who was sixth at Badminton in 2023, seventh in the CCI4*-L here in 2022 and fourth in the same class in 2021.

“She is a proper lead mare and we have to come to an agreement and we came to a good agreement today and was beautiful to ride.

“She knows what she likes, when she likes it, how she likes it and who she likes.”

Speaking of her test, Gemma said: “I thought the trot was super-consistent for her today, which I then knew I could carry on into the canter and I could enjoy it because she’s got a beautiful canter and changes – she can do tempi-changes at home when she’s with me and she felt like she was really with me.”

Joint Blenheim dressage leaders after day one, Tim Price and Tom Woodward hold fourth on Happy Boy and Low Moor Lucky respectively on 25.4, while Germany’s Calvin Böckmann is sixth on 25.8 with The Phantom Of The Opera.

The USA’s Phillip Dutton and the nine-year-old Denim are seventh on 25.9, Britain’s Fred Powell and Grafiba are eighth on 26 and the top 10 are rounded off with Piggy March and Halo on 26.2 in ninth and Ireland’s Ian Cassells and Kellys Quality in 10th on 26.5.

The CCI4*-L cross-country gets underway tomorrow (Saturday 21 September) at 11.30am.

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