Saturday, September 10
Cross Country Day
Date 10/09/2011
Piggy French reigns supreme after cross-country at the Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials and is lying first and second in the CCI*** on Lemington Lett Dance and DHI Topper.
Piggy, who won the inaugural young horse CIC*** here in 2009, is now on course to score a unique double and become the first rider since William Fox-Pitt in 2000 to score a one-two here.
She has a fence in hand over record four-time Blenheim winner Pippa Funnell on the mare Billy Shannon, with American first-timer Tiana Coudray fourth on Ringwood Magister.
Bettina Hoy, the dressage leader, is now fifth having incurred 7.6 time faults on Lanfranco TSF.
Judy Bradwell’s Lemington Lett Dance (the leader) has missed quite a bit of work over the last year and, according to his rider, was in fighting form. “I’ve never jumped the first five fences so fast in my life – he is a very feisty horse.”
DHI Topper (in second place), owned by Piggy’s father Wally and Michael Underwood, is the horse that so impressed when winning the Olympic Test Event at Greenwich in July.
“I’m really proud of him – it was a beautiful round, as good as he’s ever done,” said Piggy.
Course-designer Eric Winter is absent at the Junior European Championships in Portugal, but he will no doubt be delighted to hear that his track has ridden beautifully, producing 65 clear rounds from the 93 starters. There were 79 completions from 93 starters in the cross country.
British Eventing’s Chief Executive Mike Etherington-Smith, who is acting course-designer in Eric’s absence, commented: “There will be a lot of happy horses who have had confidence-giving rounds. The ground was perfect – David Evans’s course-building team have done a brilliant job.”
There was a surprise elimination for Andrew Nicholson, lying sixth after dressage on Quimbo, when he took the wrong route at an alternative, and William Fox-Pitt, equal 10th on Bay My Hero, incurred 20 penalties at a coffin fence, the Shires Equestrian Wooded Hollow at fence 9.
Sarah Cohen, fourth after dressage, incurred 20 penalties when Irish Jester took a dislike to David Evans’s carved Wooden Tops at fence 12.
There were two casualties. Tom Crisp sustained a broken leg in a fall from Master At Arms at the fourth fence and Lucy Wiegersma has a suspected fractured ankle after a fall from Jumbo’s Girl at fence 7.
In the concurrent CIC***8/9 year old British Championship, William Fox-Pitt maintains his dressage lead going into cross-country on Oslo.
“I certainly am delighted with today. Oslo is a superb horse and a lovely showjumper. Tomorrow is a big course and there is plenty to jump so it should be right to the wire,” commented William.
Eight of the top ten finishers after Cross Country ran double clears. Some of these perfect rides, or lack of same, made huge changes in the standings. Germany's Bettina Hoy
dropped from first to fifth on 7.6 time faults and South Africa's Alexander Peternell dropped two spots from fifth to seventh on 6.0 time faults. Alternatively the USA's Tiana Coudray came from thirteenth to fourth (nine places) on her double clear with Ringwood Magister. Italy's Vittoria Panizzon and Borough Penny Z also improved standing nine slots on her double clear. The three biggest jumps belonged to New Zealand's Clarke Johnstone -15 places; Pippa Funnell and Billy Shannon - 15 places; and Paul Sims - 17 places.
In total tweve double clears were run by the seventy-nine finishers from ninety-seven starters.
The double clears not listed below were run by: Charlotte Agnew (GBR) - 13th, Willa Newton (GBR) - 23rd, Hannah Bate (GBR) - 25th, and Andrew Nicholson (NZL) - 26th.
1. Piggy French (GBR), Lemington Lett Dance (2) - 42.7
(DCXC)
2. Piggy French (GBR), DHJ Topper W (3) - 43.1 (DCXC)
3. Pippa Funnell (GBR), Billy Landretti (10) - 47.7 (DCXC)
4. Tiana Coudray (USA) - Ringwood Magister (13) - 49.4 (DCXC)
5. Bettina Hoy (GER), Lanfranco TSF (1) - 49.7
(7.6 time XC)
6. Vittoria Panizzon (ITA) - Borough Penny Z (15) - 50.4 (DCXC)
7. Alexander Peternell (S. Africa), AP Uprising (5) - 50.8 (6.0 time XC)
8. Clarke Johnstone (NZL), Orient Express VI (23)- 51.9 (DCXC)
9. Pippa Funnell (GBR), Billy Shannon (24) - 52.1 (DCXC)
10. Paul Sims (GBR), French Polish (27) - 53.3 (DCXC)
(The numbers in parentheses after the horses names indicate their placings after Dressage and before Cross Country.)
Scores for other American Finishers
11. Phillip Dutton (USA), Mighty Nice - 53.3 (2.0 time XC)
12. Clark Montgomery (USA), Loughan Goran - 53.4 (8.0 time XC)
14. Will Faudree (USA), Pawlow - 56.1 (2.8 time XC)
64. Julian Stiller (USA), Enjoy Me - 88.2 (22 time XC, 20 jumping XC)
Friday, September 9th
Bettina Hoy (GER) Leads The Fidelity Blenheim International CCI*** After Two Days of Dressage
Clark Montgomery (USA) in 7th Place
Is The Highest Placed American
The Top Six After Dressage
1. Bettina Hoy (GER), Lanfranco TSF- 42.1
2. Piggy French (GBR), Lemington Lett Dance - 42.7
3. Piggy French (GBR), DHI Topper W
- 43.1
4. Sarah Cohen (GBR), Irish Jester - 44.0
5. Alexander Peternell (S. Africa), AP Uprising - 44.8*
6. Andrew Nicholson (NZL), Quimbo - 45.0
American Placings:
7. Clark Montgomery (USA), Loughan Glen - 45.4
8. Julian Stiller (USA), Enjoy Me - 46.2
13. Tiana
Coudray (USA), Ringwood Magister - 49.4
18. Phillip Dutton (USA), Mighty Moe - 51.3
26. Aimee Chambers (USA), After Eight - 53.1
27. Will Faudree (USA), Pawlow - 53.3
(97 entries)
Good fortune in the dressage ring continued for the 2011 Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team at the 2011 Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials. The final two U.S. riders drew Friday times and both of them produced very competitive efforts.
Clark Montgomery led the day for the USA with a score of 45.4 for seventh place. He rode Holly Becker, Kathleen Kraft and Carole Montgomery's Loughan Glen to a score of 45.4. The CCI3* winners at the Bromont International Horse Trials in June, Loughan Glen and Montgomery received a Land Rover Competition and Training Grant to test their form in the U.K.
Montgomery and the 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse had two mistakes, keeping them from an even better score, and there was more than a 20-point differential in the judges' marks. They sit in seventh place heading into the cross-country.
"I was very happy with Glen today," said Montgomery. "Overall, I felt the quality of work has improved from Bromont. Unfortunately, I made a mistake in the extended trot and then forgot my halt so I am a couple of points higher than I should be. I am really looking forward to the cross-country tomorrow. The course is beautiful and the ground is perfect."
They are less than two points and two places ahead of teammate Julian Stiller who rode a stellar test on Thursday on Headley Stud Eventing's Enjoy Me. They head to the cross-country on a score of 46.2 for eighth place, just three plus marks ahead of California Rider Tiana Coudray and Jaital, Inc.'s Ringwood Magister in thirteenth place on a 49.4.
Two-time Olympic Gold medalist Phillip Dutton was impressed with how well Mighty Nice handled his first CCI3*. Bruce Duchossois' 7-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding scored 51.3 (eighteenth place) in his first try at the level. Mighty Nice, a very promising young horse for the veteran rider, was a recipient of a Land Rover Competition and Training Grant and Dutton took full advantage of the opportunity to get Mighty Nice some international experience early in his career.
"I was really pleased with 'Happy,'" said Dutton. "In particular, the way he handled kept his composure with the atmosphere today. Now the focus in on the cross-country."
They will tackle the cross-country in 18th place, but less than 15 points separate the top 40 horses so it is likely to be an incredibly close competition. German dressage specialist Bettina Hoy leads the field on a score of 42.1 with Lanfranco TSF and Piggy French sits second and third for Great Britain on Lemington Lett Dance and DHI Topper W, respectively.
Thursday, September 8th
Piggy French LeadsThe Dressage
After Day One at Fidelity Blenheim International Horse Trials
Julian Stiller
(USA) Is the Highest Placed American
