Bennie was beginning the competition in a positive frame of mind, having won at his first advanced event only four weeks previously. On his next outing he had finished fourth as a result of errors on the cone section. He said, "You have to be very accurate in the cone section because knocking just one ball off the cones is like losing 20 seconds in an obstacle in the marathon. The important thing is to drive a good dressage test on the first day, have a steady clear through the obstacles and then you go into the final section with a chance…"

So much for the theory, but what of the practice? After his dressage test on Friday Bennie felt that he may have driven better in the past but overall his test was 'OK' - however, one of the judges was not sufficiently 'appreciative' and put Bennie in ninth position. Taking the other judges' marks into consideration the result was that Bennie had 57 points, which was rather disappointing. Although he had brought his third horse - his marathon specialist - with him, in the end Ewaild spent Saturday afternoon in his stable! During the winter the horse had an accident in a gateway, which left him with a severe cut - so severe, in fact, that he had to be box-rested for four months. He had only been back in work for nine weeks and whilst his condition was good, Bennie felt that he would be wise not to risk him unnecessarily. Since he was in a modest ninth place, Bennie felt that he had nothing to lose by using his dressage horse instead, so with his original pairing for the dressage, he set out on the marathon.

A relaxed looking Bennie behind the scenes

To his amazement they went extremely well and Bennie finished second in his section of the marathon, leaving him in third place overall in the Horse Pairs - an excellent placing!

Bennie cheerfully announced that he had had "no problems at all. The obstacles were better this year. When my father drove here there were not so many alternative routes. A lot of drivers go into the obstacles too fast and then have to pull up hard in order to negotiate the turns, but I like to keep a very steady rhythm and pace. Taking all the obstacles at the same speed saves energy and doesn't work out slower - nor is the shortest route necessarily the quickest!"

Before tackling the obstacles, all the competitors have to complete sections A, B, C and D. Section A comprises 6 km, which must be covered in trot at 15 km an hour; Section B is just 1 km at walk at 7 km an hour; Section C is a fast trot of 4 km at 18 km an hour, and Section D is another walk section the same as B. The horses have two 'long' rests of 12 minutes before C and E when they are vetted. Section E, the hazard section, is almost 9 km and covered at 14 km an hour.

Bennie at the prizegiving

Just as with three day eventing, horses are tested for their obedience, speed, stamina and the accuracy of the driver is crucial to the outcome. They do need to be very fit - especially for competition at the highest level such as at Windsor, and Bennie said his horses were quite tired afterward. Although the going had dried out somewhat on Saturday in the hot sunshine, the heavy rain of the first couple of days meant that it was not fast. Looking bronzed and relaxed, Bennie and Sieith took part in the presentation of awards after the marathon in the main ring in the evening and then stayed behind to watch some of the events. If he felt nervous about what fate had in store for him the following day during the cone driving, he certainly did not show it! In fact Bennie had a double clear in the cone section and finished in overall third place in his section behind the Australian, Boyd Exell - just under 10 points behind the winner.

Maybe Bennie didn't win the cup, but he certainly justified his place in the competition and had a wonderful week. He will certainly be hoping for an invitation to return next year and one thing seems certain - it won't be long before Bennie Gosschalk repeats his father's victories of a decade ago and becomes a champion at Royal Windsor. So make a note of the name!

Photos © Sue Wingate