After yesterday’s first horse inspection, the eventing teams and drawn order were announced. Equestrian Australia announced that Shane Rose would be on the Australian team but with his reserve horse, Taurus as his first horse, the lovely grey CP Qualified has developed a minor foot problem and will now be re-routed to Burghley instead. So Taurus, who missed out on the London 2012 Olympic Games at the last moment, will finally get a chance to compete for Australia.
The Australian team comprises Sam Griffiths riding Paulank Brockagh, Chris Burton riding TS Jamaimo, Shane Rose riding Taurus and Paul Tapner with Kilronan. Competing as individuals are Stuart Tinney on Pluto Mio and Bill Levett riding Shannondale Titan
Badminton winner Sam Griffiths and Paulank Brockagh were the first out for Australia this morning after another very wet start had added to the sloppy conditions. Sam wasn’t overly happy with his score of 53.5 – the leader at that stage was the USA’s Buck Davidson with 48.7 – but with all the rain, he is looking forward to more Badminton-like conditions as he explained
Buck and Ballynoe Castle held the lead for most of the morning session and the consensus of opinion among the riders was not only the old saying ‘it isn’t going to be a dressage test’ but also the fact that being early in the draw may prove to be an advantage on Saturday. Although the cross country course seems to be draining well now, no-one knows how it will hold up for the nearly 100 riders if the weather continues this way
The last rider before the morning break, Ireland’s Sam Watson and his 15 year old Irish Sport Horse, Horseware Bushman scored 59.8. Sam says that this home bred horse, that he ‘loves to bits’ is exactly the sort of horse he wants to be sitting on during Saturday’s cross country
“When the going gets tough and it’s a bit of a battle zone like this, you want to be on a horse you know inside out and that you believe in’
Aimi Clark and Debbie Higgs talk to Sam Watson after his test
The three big guns to ride as their country’s trailblazers before lunch were Britain’s Zara Phillips, Sir Mark Todd for New Zealand and Michael Jung on Fischerrocana FST. Zara was dripping with rain as she was interviewed by Eleanor Kelly and later provided the quote of the morning when asked which horse she thought that the rain soaked cross country would suit – ‘Mine!’ she quipped.
High Kingdom scored 54.5 which Zara was disappointed with, feeling that her test was better than that at Aachen but had been given a worse score. With the cross country to come however she is pleased that she will be sitting on High Kingdom for the coming cross country “It’s a tough track” she said “I felt that I’d walked Burghley. It’s very twisty and you need your horse to be with you all the way and really good on its feet. I’m glad I’m going to be sitting on a thoroughbred”
The prospect of watching the two legendary riders Mark Todd and Michael Jung kept spectators stoically in their seats despite the rain. The arena certainly wasn’t full but it had a certain atmosphere with plenty of movement, especially on the side overlooked by the Chateau where people are also walking the cross country course.
“It is a fabulous venue” said Mark “It’s a shame for everybody that it has turned out so wet but it is part of our sport. It’s probably worse for the spectators than it is for us, the riders”
Mark admits that on paper the New Zealand team look very strong, adding however that with these weather conditions “You can pretty much throw the rule book out of the window, as Badminton showed us this Spring. Anything is possible and everybody is in with a chance’
One man who certainly has a very good chance is Michael Jung who finished the day in second place on a score of 40.7. Michael was very happy with the nine year old mare that was brought in at the last minute to replace his top horse La Biosthetique Sam
‘She is very easy to ride and today she was very calm and concentrating on me’ said Michael. He too thinks that it is a very tough 4* track which ‘requires the riders to concentrate from the very beginning to the very end, especially with the last water’
Lunchtime finally brought a break not only in the weather but also for the organisers who seem not to have anticipated these weather conditions. Temporary barriers were constantly being erected to try and help spectators avoid the worst of the conditions underfoot but by midday the mud was pretty much everywhere. Sudden blue skies raised spirits and hopefully the organising committee have some contingency plans for the weekend, with 50,000 expected on Saturday. On the other hand, one company that is revelling in the conditions is Dubarry Boots with record sales in one day on their trade stand.
Straight after the lunch break Phillip Dutton and Trading Aces performed a good test for the USA to score 43.8 while Cedric Lyard also provided the home crowd with a strong test scoring 47.3 before Chris Burton and TS Jamaimo entered the arena. Chris and Jamaimo scored 52.8 to finish in 17th place at the end of the day with Sam Griffiths just behind him in 18th.
The very elegant young rider, Elaine Pen of the Netherlands riding Vira gave her country a strong start with a very polished test but it was William Fox-Pitt who finally took the top spot from Michael Jung, riding a very lovely test on Chilli Morning to score 37.5; the smile on his face said it all. Afterwards even Ingrid Klimke could not break the 40 barrier and finished third riding FRH Escada on 41.30.
Bill Levett riding Shannondale Titan as an individual competitor was the last to go for Australia but finished as the best placed in seventh with a score of 44.7. Bill admitted he was a little disappointed not to be named on the team but that he could understand the reasons why
“It’s only the horse’s second 4* and he had four rails at Badminton although I think he’s a very good jumper. At Badminton I purposely went slowly and he finished full of running so I could have gone quicker but I can understand the reasons why I’m not on the team”
Unlike many others, Bill is happy to go later in the day on cross country saying “The track here will suit him as he is a big striding horse and he is very genuine; the distances between the related fences will be right up his street. I’ll be in the fortunate position of seeing quite a few go before me so I’ll know what’s achievable before I set out and whether people have to start out a bit steadier to have enough horse at the end. I don’t envy the guys who are going out first because obviously at a World Championship you want to be competitive and come in as fast as you can but you have that thought in the back of your mind saying ‘But I still need enough horse to jump the end of the course’. There’s a lot of talk in the stables about how much it’s going to take out of the horses”
It isn’t only the talk in the stables as there is also talk that the Ground Jury will be reviewing the cross country course. William Fox-Pitt hascommented that the time on the cross country as it currently stands may be impossible to achieve even for the best riders and horses which must be food for thought. But first we have another day of dressage, hopefully some sunshine and a little less mud
