Nothing but praise from riders and connections out at Royal Jump where the sun is shining and the Kiwis are on fire in the 4*L dressage section. In total they occupy 6 out of the top 7 places with our own Tim Price and Chio 20 in the lead on 25.1 All that power that can make Chio so tricky to stay on when he lets rip in the winter is such a bonus in the dressage arena and it was an elegant and smooth picture that the duo presented.
In second place on a great score of 26.4 is Jonelle and Capitaine de Hus Z (Alvin). It’s quite the breakthrough score at 4 star for Alvin as he hasn’t broken 30 before so testament to the relatively new partnership he and Jonelle have been steadily making this spring during their short acquaintance. Jonelle was delighted with him as well she should be.
Chilli’s Midnight Star (Ollie) was much more professional in France than he was in the wilds of Northumberland at Belsay a couple of weekends ago. He broke on the turn off the centre line which was a shame as it scuppered the marks for the first two movements but then he settled for a lovely test and a score of 30.9 puts them into 5th spot behind Jesse Campbell and Sam Lissington.
In the 3*Short class Tim and The Highlander (Ivar) would have broken 30 had they not had a couple of errors in the medium trot and a half pass but it was good effort for Ivar’s first stab at the level for sure. They are another very elegant combination and a dapple grey is also very attractive in the French sunshine! Ivar is 8 this year and he has done well to hold onto his fancy dapples for as long as he has done. The 3*S class is huge compared to the 4*L but sitting near the bottom of the class are Jonelle and Faerie Good Golly on a score of 40.4. The term ‘previously of good character’ springs to mind as Golly has been nothing but the professional her entire career and generally puts her best foot forward with pleasure but she decided to try out the brat moves with unfortunate timing at her first international of the year! There was no ‘utter meltdown’ moment, there were a smattering of 7’s and thanks to Golly deciding to assert her rights as in the first amendment there were plenty of 3’s and 4’s too. Her ‘harmony of horse and rider’ marks were 6 and 6.5 which was undeniably fair for the performance but, crucially, it is still within the MER (Minimum Eligibility Score) range.
Never underestimate the power of putting wily old foxes like Alvin and Ollie in a truck for hours with the soak it up like a sponge brain of a keen and bright 7 year old. I have no doubt that whilst they themselves put their dancing shoes on they persuaded Golly on the way over that clogs were definitely the tools she required for her card.
Gloire de Marchenval (Louis) is far too much of the school head boy type to be taken in by any suggestions from Alvin and Ollie and he got his go in the 3*S arena this afternoon. Tim and Louis have quite the bond and Louis repaid Tim’s faith in him with a 25.5 to sit third with the two above him on 24.1 and 24.4.
The tracks have widespread acclaim so far so everyone is very much looking forward to a busy day tomorrow. The 4L starts at 12.45 CET and live scoring on https://results.worldsporttiming.com/event/258
