Eventing Spring Round Up

by Helen Revington

Those aspiring to ride in the 2004 Olympics competed in the Hartpury Young Rider Open Intermediate Trial (YROIT) - again performing advanced dressage and show jumping before tackling the Intermediate Track. The Young Rider series is for riders aged between eighteen and twenty-one, and their season culminates in the European Young Rider Championships, this year being held at Hartpury College in Gloucestershire, England. The British team will be hoping to improve on the Silver Medal they won in Ireland last year.

The Aldon trial was won by Lindsey McDonald, who had three horses entered. She was the trailblazer on The Flying Dutchman who carried her to victory, although later in the day she was to have a less than satisfactory ride on Blondel de Nesle, who jumped so extravagantly into the first water that Lindsey flew out of the saddle and was catapulted into the edge of another fence.

Louise Skelton and Mystery Man - winners of an Open Intermediate Section at Aldon. Louise is due totake part in the London Marathon

Louise Skelton, who won another Open Intermediate section, is ultra fit at the moment as she is taking part in the London Marathon this year. Louise was involved in a serious car crash at the beginning of last year and spent most of the season in plaster after multiple ankle and knee fractures. She hopes to raise money for Spinal Injury research and the Air Ambulance service that transported her to hospital. She said, "I was in a great deal of pain so it was wonderful not to be jolted around in an ordinary ambulance."

On the other side of the country two more Antipodeans, Blyth Tait and Mark Todd, were on winning form. The fellow New Zealanders took two of the three Open Intermediate sections. The grey, Eze, gave Blyth a narrow victory over John Thorton and Thrintoft, whilst Mark and High Street had a more comfortable win ahead of Caroline Pratt and Kinsey Control. Another of Caroline's rides, Primitive Control, finished third behind Blyth and Eze. Michael Owen prevented Mark from having a second win, leading the remaining section from start to finish on Perks Of The Job. Mark finished seven points adrift on Word For Word and Vere Phillipps finished in the money on both Coral Cove and Biras Creek.

The YROIT was won by Sophy Ames riding Bally Tyrone. Last year in the same class Sophie had a less happy time, ending up in hospital after a bad fall. The Junior Open Intermediate Trial (JOIT, for riders aged beween 15 and 18) was won by Melanie Wright and Park Plover.

Mark Todd and Word for Word 7th in the Advanced Intermediate at Gatcombe - a week after their second place at Lincolnshire

In contrast to the Aldon and Lincolnshire Horse Trials, cold winds and showers of rain dominated the Land Rover Gatcombe Horse Trials, hosted the following week by The Princess Royal on her Gloucestershire estate.

Here, the biggest class was, again, an Advanced Intermediate section. The popularity of this course, designed by Pattie Biden and the Princess Royal herself, was illustrated by the fact that sixty-three horses were entered in the section (anything between thirty and fifty is the usual tally).

Competing against such internationally renowned riders as Blyth Tait, Mark Todd, Andrew Nicholson, Andrew Hoy, Matt Ryan and Mary King (a Brit at last!), it was Leslie Law who eventually finished victorious riding Shear H20.

Lesley Law and Shear H20 - winners of the Advanced Intermediate Section at Gatcombe

The grey gelding, owned by Jeremy Lawton of Shearwater Insurance, was in fifteenth place after the dressage phase but he jumped one of only seventeen clear rounds in the show jumping and only three others equalled his speed across country.

French rider Franck Bourny, who had such a wonderful season last year, winning the Burgie, Windsor and Blenheim three day events, finished second on Raymond Carroll's Mallards Treat.

Just to prove that birthday wishes really do come true, Young Rider Helen West won the first Intermediate section at Gatcombe riding Chaos. Helen performed her dressage and show jumping the day before, and lay in third place overnight behind Andrew Hoy and former European Champion Bettina Overesch.

Frenchman Franck Bourney and Mallards Treat - 2nd in the Advanced Intermediate

Helen would have been highly delighted just to have maintained her third place but Bettina had a slow journey around the cross country, and Andrew had two very uncharacteristic refusals, leaving Helen in an unassailable position. There wasn't a happier person on the showground as Helen climbed the steps to receive her numerous prizes from the Princess Royal - except, perhaps, her father.

The Great Witchingham trials, held in Norfolk, enjoyed slightly better weather and here the Advanced Intermediate section was won by Jo Chipperfield and EBGB. A former Grade A show jumper, the seventeen-year-old grey has rarely been out of the money since he was introduced to eventing two years ago but, in view of his age, Jo does not intend to run him in any three day events this year.

Vere Phillipps was out again with Biras Creek and Coral Cove, both of whom achieved double clear rounds, so Vere is now free to run them at Advanced level. The first two advanced competitions of the year are to be held in the first week of April ... watch this space!

Helen West - a delighted birthday girl staggers under the weight of all her prizes

About the Author and Photographer Helen Revington was born in Tennessee, U.S.A "a long time ago". Her passion for horses is life-long and she started riding aged three. Nowadays she lives in Gloucestershire, England and has to juggle her life between being a full time Registered Nurse, working for various equestrian publications and trying to train her young horse. Her work has been published in Horse and Hound, Dressage magazine and Eventing Magazine, indeed it is in the field of eventing that she tends to specialise. Her photographs have not only been published in magazines but also in books such as The Olympic Eventing Masterclass and Cross-Country Masterclass. Helen has competed in many equestrian disciplines and has had successes in ridden and in-hand showing, Carriage Driving, Show Jumping and Eventing. Her young horse "All Systems Go", known to friends as "Buttons" will hopefully begin pre-novice eventing later this year. Stephen Sparkes is also an experienced rider and has competed in Eventing for "...a good few years." His long time equestrian partner, Just For Fun, is now in semi-retirement but he has a young horse by the Thoroughbred stallion Golden Heights who he hopes to event in 2001. Known to his friends as Winston "Sparkes Will Fly" is already 17 hh and looks set to end up with his head in the clouds. Both Helen and Stephen are available for photographic work and can be contacted at photo@revspark.demon.co.uk or at: 15, Kitesnest Lane Lightpill, Stroud Gloucestershire GL5 3PQ or by phone/fax on: 01453 758685