West Yorkshire, England–June 14
A field of 50 combinations headed into the final phase of the Equi-Trek Bramham International Horse Trials CCI***, with Land Rover Eventing competition grant recipients Lauren Kieffer and Veronica placing near the top of the leaderboard.
A double clear show jumping round over Di Boddy’s track vaulted the pair from their overnight position in 12th place to finish seventh place on a score of 49.1. Team Rebecca, LLC’s 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare additionally received the Angela Cotton Memorial Trophy as the highest-placed mare in the Equi-Trek CCI***.
The pair started off the competition in a tie for 10th place after scoring 44.7 in the dressage phase and collected 4.4 time penalties in the cross-country phase, finishing strongly today by adding nothing more to their score of 49.1
“I’m so pleased with how Veronica came out today,” Kieffer said. “She was very fresh and certainly wasn’t feeling anything from yesterday. Clear rounds were hard to come by and she jumped great. It was a very competitive and educational weekend and I’m hugely grateful for the opportunity.”
British rider Flora Harris and Bayano won the CCI***, finishing on her dressage score of 36.8. In the Bishop Burton College Under-25 CCI*** division, U.S. combination Caroline Martin and Quantum Solace had one of only two double clear show jumping rounds to finish in 10th place with a score of 75.5, while Holly Woodhead of Great Britain and DHI Lupison won on their dressage score of 33.0.
Wiltshire rider Harris made it a day of start-to-finish maiden victories when she won the Equi-Trek CCI*** with Bayano. The 9-year-old gelding, owned by Caroline Harris and Rebecca Salt, finished on his dressage score of 36.8 under Flora’s expert guidance.
William Fox-Pitt, who had been on Flora’s tail in pursuit of a record eighth win, sadly fell foul of Di Boddy’s technical show jumping course with two rails to finish in fifth with Fernhill Pimms. Kitty King took full advantage with a clear with Mr. and Mrs. Frank Inns’ Persimmon to put the pressure on Harris who could afford a single fence down but nothing else for victory. It was clear all the way and Harris’s first ever three day event victory.
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Flora Harris on Bayano, the winners of the Equi-Trek Bramham CCI***. Photo by Kit Houghton for Bramham
France’s Gwendolen Fer and Romantic Love pulled themselves up the leaderboard with an all-important clear to secure third place on the podium. Fourth went to Sarah Ennis for Ireland with Horseware Stellor Rebound who put in a gutsy performance to rise from 15th after dressage to eighth after a faultless cross country and a clear show jumping round promoted them a further four places.
“It’s just amazing to reach this first milestone in my career!” beamed Harris. “We’re a young partnership; he’s just 9 so you never know quite what to expect. We had a blip last week at Tattersalls [three day event in Ireland] as he was quite ‘cheeky’ so we re-routed and formulated a new plan to manage him differently here and it’s all paid off. I’m so lucky to have such an amazing team to help me. All this is quite overwhelming really!”
Flora travelled to five countries before she settled on buying the Dutch-bred horse that had been show jumping with an amateur as a 5 year old. “He’s gone from BE90 [equivalent to U.S. novice level] to winning a CCI*** in three seasons so I couldn’t be more proud; I just love him!” exclaimed Harris.
Yorkshire born and bred Holly Woodhead made it a second win for a “native” at this year’s Equi-Trek Bramham Horse Trials when she won the Bishop Burton Under-25 CCI*** title. Riding DHI Lupison, the Wiltshire-based rider lead from start to finish; adding nothing to a spectacular dressage score of 33.0, a winning margin of over 11 penalties.
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The win is Woodhead’s first ever three day victory and Bramham is now confirmed as her favorite venue which will always hold a special place in her heart having been a visitor since the age of 9. Victory is also poignant as the horse was owned by her grandfather who sadly passed away last week.
A stunning performance in the dressage set her up well but the rider has a strong grounding in the discipline having represented Britain at the Pony European Championships in pure dressage. A faultless cross-country round extended her advantage.
When nearest rival Dani Evans riding Smart Time lowered a pole, Woodhead was given the luxury of a two-fence cushion; “I cantered in and just knew I wanted to jump clear,” Holly said. And that’s indeed what she did. DHI Lupison jumped an immaculate round, giving every fence plenty of room. As the young rider cantered to the finish, the crowd erupted to signal the victory. Evans also secured third place with her 2013 runner-up, Raphael II. Millie Dumas and Artistiek pulled up to fourth spot went to Emily King and Brookleigh.
A surprised Woodhead said; “Yesterday I admitted that I’d never felt so nervous but today I was surprisingly calmer today. I was really pleased with him; he jumped exceptionally and felt like he wasn’t going to touch a thing. He tried his hardest and now we have our first three-day win; I still can’t quite believe it and I think it will take a long while to sink in. It’s my grandad’s funeral on Monday and I can go there with a smile on my face. He was certainly looking down on me today.”
Evans was proud of her two rides having had a tough start to the season when her yard was essentially locked down due to an outbreak of the highly contagious equine virus strangles and the 23-year-old thought her season was at an end before it had even begun. Even when she was cleared, she found herself struggling for form at the big occasions so to have two horses in the top three shows her resilience.
Evans commented; “Both the horses have been ‘on it’ all week which makes my job easier and I couldn’t be happier with them. I walked the [show jumping] course and it was big, square and technical…which didn’t suit me! But they both jumped really well; I’m cross with the 2 time penalties on Raphael and the fence down on Smart Time was totally my fault. If it was going to be anyone to beat me, I couldn’t be happier that it was Holly!”
