The wrong way
Charlotte Dujardin was among the riders who fell victim to the tack check at Somerford Premier League (26-28 May). H&H reported in April that a number of combinations had been eliminated at Hartpury for having their horses’ bits on incorrectly. There were similar issues at Somerford; Charlotte was eliminated on Times Kismet on the first day, and Anne-Marie Cowan the next. “We started with a slight error on the first day, when the bit on Kismet’s bridle was unfortunately on the wrong way, with the arrow on the wrong side which caused a elimination for us,” Charlotte said. “Disappointing, but we are all human first and foremost, so together as a team, we looked forward to the following day.”
Trailer issue
A rider who believes she was minutes from catastrophe when a horse came over the breast bar of her trailer wants to raise awareness – and prevent such a situation happening again. Jennie Thorn told H&H she had one horse in her two-horse trailer and was near the A40 dual carriageway when the pin holding the breast bar came out of position.
John Whitaker wins again
Legendary showjumper John Whitaker was the joint winner of the six-bar challenge at the CSIO Rome Piazza di Siena, clearing 1.95m on a horse he “borrows sometimes”. John and Paul Barker’s Green Grass, and Emilio Biocchi and Testa Carlo’s Flinton, were the only combinations to leave the fences up in the third round of Friday’s final class (26 May). The riders opted not to battle it out over a fourth round, which would have gone up to 2.05m, and instead agreed to share the win.
You might also be interested in:
‘We’re all human’: Charlotte Dujardin among latest eliminations for bits on the wrong way
Rider’s call for action after ‘terrifying’ incident as horse got into wrong side of trailer
John Whitaker clears 1.95m to win on ‘game’ horse ‘he borrows sometimes’
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