Summer definitely departed the UK at Cornbury with torrential rain interspersed with sunshine that saw autumn saunter on in. We can’t complain as it has been a fabulous summer but the event looked totally different from this time last year when we had a rubbish summer and suddenly it was 30 degrees at Cornbury.
Mud, glorious mud greeted horses and riders alike. No national classes at Cornbury this year which forced Tim and Jonelle to run 7 horses in the 3 star class which is generally unheard of! It also meant an overnight stay as Wednesday was dressage day only. Stabling was £210 for one night or four which Jonelle baulked at on behalf of the owners and she found a quaint yard just a couple of miles up the road with a lovely host.
Jonelle had Faerie Usain (Maude) and Grappa Nera (Grape) and its a long hack up to the dressage through the deer park at Cornbury which lights up some horses but Maude thought it all very boring and wasn’t particularly obliging on the flat for a 44.5 which is an MER by just 0.4. Grape was completely the opposite and thought it highly exciting and bounced around for a 38 which isn’t bad for a one day test at all for Grape.
Tim had Chio 20, Jarillo (Milo) Garcon (Tibo) and Brookfield Future News (Matthew) on Wednesday and Thursday and Happy Boy Thursday and Friday. Chio powered through the mud on the flat for a 32, Milo was smooth for a 30.5, Tibo well onside for a 31.3 and Matthew strutting his stuff for a flashy 28.3.
Thursday dawned with yet more downpours and the Cornbury team do an amazing job in most areas, especially hospitality, but I dont think they have had huge experience of running an event in deteriorating ground conditions. A huge queue soon accumulated as every truck needed towing in and there seemed to be one tractor working with two resting at one point! Maude was on a truck that was stuck in the queue but her tack was on the big truck which was already in position so some hefty footwork by the team enabled Jonelle to make it to the showjumping on time.
Maude jumped a good round, just tipping an early rail and jumping some very good oxers whilst Grape was so wild in the warmup that Jonelle abandoned and just went in to jump her round. The main arena is set on 2 levels and allot of the horses throughout the day were slightly struggling to adapt to the holding ground having spent the summer very much on top of it. No problems for Grape who skipped around for 4 faults and you could almost see her begging Jonelle to be allowed to go cross country as she exited the ring and cocked her head towards it.
Both mares hacked around for solid clears and Jonelle was all finished by 11 am. Tim’s day was a day of changing clothes as each horse show jumped and then went cross country. Happy kicked off the morning with a beautiful test to lead his section on a 29.2 and then Tim started jumping.
There are many generous prizes on offer at Cornbury but leading rider prize is much coveted. Tim was pretty determined to hunt Tom McEwen down to the wire for it and his horses all obligingly show jumped clear over a track that required a good rider and a genuinely careful horse. Chio was his first ride cross country and Tim came back positively beaming despite the rain and declared Chio a ‘Burghley horse in the making’ which is a big call and great to hear. Chio then scattered by standers as he isn’t the sweetest to wash off and remove back boots from but he had more than done his job for the day to finish in 4th spot. Milo had slipped on a turn in the showjumping and had done really well to regain his balance and despite losing a front shoe cross country he also went beautifully adding just 6.8 time for 5th. Tibo and Tim have done allot together recently and it was a very polished double clear from him for another 5th and Matthew had the worst of the ground running in the last section but added just 3.2 time for another 4th. All in all pretty impressive to have 4 horses inside the top 5 in all four 3 star sections but I think the leading rider prize maybe slipping away as Tom won 2 sections and was second in a third so I think he may have a hefty lead at this point!
A bright and early start this morning for Happy who show jumped an immaculate round to retain his lead. Plenty was hanging on Happy’s cross country round…he eliminated cross country at Cornbury last year before winning Blenheim and he walked home at Gatcombe a few weeks ago. Tim is pretty sure he is a sloppy ground horse and an Autumn horse as all his big wins have come in the mud later in the season and it was fingers crossed that Happy would ensure his trip to Pau today.
And he did it in style, galloping and jumping as straight as a die and loving every minute of it. He picked up some 8.8 time as Tim was careful to give him good lines into fences but still maintained Tim’s neat record for Cornbury with another 5th spot. Nice to see you back Happy!
Last ride for the weekend was Tim and Cam’s Supplejack in the 5 year old championship. Jack was originally intended for the TB class but once it became known that the first prize was £45,000 the big guns came out and Jack was going to look a little green as a 5 year old in that company! It’s still tough for him to compete with some fancy warmbloods on the flat but he did his best for a 31.5 which is not too shabby when the lead is 24.4.
Jack show jumps tomorrow morning at 9.35 and then doesn’t go cross country until 4.21 which is a bit of a hang around but I am sure Tim will find some more posts to make regarding Hawkstone and the Cornbury Leading Rider competition. Great to see Keyflow get involved as well with the promise of a years worth of feed for the winner of the Racehorse class. Tidy.