Plenty of slipping and sliding on the track for the 6 year olds as they negotiated their first long format on wet ground. Le Lion is always a visually impressive course with imaginative fences and spectacular decorations at the edges and the damp weather did not deter the huge crowds that flock to the venue every year.
Jonelle and Faerie Good Golly came out at around the 3/4 mark as as Golly left the start box she had her eyes on stalks as she spooked and gawped at the hundreds of people lining the sides of the course. It is quite a thing to deal with when you have spent most of the summer cantering around venues like West Wilts where the odd fence judge is the only human you meet as you weave your way around 4 fields.
Jonelle gave a masterclass in riding a young horse and soon got Golly focusing on the job in hand, riding forwards to the fences and balancing her on the 90 degree turns where it was really slippery. Jonelle described her as “a demon” and as they galloped back down the racecourse heading for home it was good to see a big smile on her face for her last cross country of 2024. And finally some luck as well as just a few minutes after they finished the heavens opened and it began to pour with rain which meant umbrellas shot up all over the venue….Golly had been recovering really well and then her heart rate shot up as she freaked at all the umbrellas mushrooming around the cool down so the vets sent them back to the stables!
We always defend the fact that nearly all of the 6 year olds at Lion gallop round clear in time by saying they are the best in the world and they should not be over faced at that age but this year was different….just 13 out of 44 went clear in time and, Golly being one of that select band, they moved from 25th to lie 10th going into the showjumping. It’s very reminiscent of Classic Moet’s climb up the leaderboard and damn cool that Jonelle and Trisha bred Golly as well.
Due to the time difference it was some hours later that Tim headed out cross county at Fairhill 5 star. Ian Stark’s final flourish as a course designer was as strong as ever and out of 22 starters just 8 came home which sounds like carnage but as Tim put it so well, it’s ultimately down to the calibre of riders and horses. That Falco is one of the best in the world is no longer in any doubt and Tim consolidated that with a phenomenal performance round the toughest track Falco has ever faced and by far the biggest test in terms of stamina. Falco has spent much of his time focusing on Championships and his one and only other foray into 5 star was at Pau in 2022 which he duly won, but Pau is more on a par with Luhmuhlen as in its a technical flat track as opposed to the terrain at Fairhill. Add into the mix the fact that Falco has just 29% thoroughbred blood and potentially it is a big ask. But they have a unique partnership and, as always, Tim had a plan. He described his ride as “we start out a little quiet, I am giving him good distances, a good ride and we build on that so he stays confident, stays focused and stays comfortable and the jumps just glide by and we come home real strong and we have done that a few times now so he knows he can do it”. It was spine tingling to watch and Tim added just 7.2 time to sit in third place on 34.6 with Ollie Townend and Ballaghmor Class leading on 31.3 and David Doel just 0.1 ahead of Tim.
All to play for in the showjumping but having a jumper like Falco breathing down your neck adds that extra bit of pressure!
Photo credit https://shannonbrinkman.zenfolio.com