Bubby Upton has blasted into third place in the Mars Maryland 5 Star dressage, having been the first rider into the arena on the second day.
The British rider and her mother Rachel’s Cola scored 26.7, which put her 1.3 penalties ahead of Thursday’s leader, Dorset-based US rider Cosby Green with Highly Suspicious. However, her lead was overtaken two horses later by the home side’s Tamie Smith (Mai Baum), who now holds the lead on 25.3, and then again by her compatriot Oliver Townend (Ballaghmor Class), who sits second at this stage on 26.5.
Bubby Upton demonstrated her trademark laser focus in her Maryland 5 Star dressage test and provided the ground jury – Sweden’s Christina Klingspor, the home side’s Valerie Pride and France’s Xavier Le Sauce – with a test which was accurate, energetic and elegant.
She and the 14-year-old Cola, by Catoki, started with punchy, accurate trot-work and then scored the first nines of the competition, from all three judges, for their mid-test halt.
Her marks did drop down with some errors in the first and third flying changes, both from right to left lead, although the rest of her canter work scored well.
“He was such a good boy – I know him inside out, I’ve had him eight or nine years now. He’s a horse I owe everything to, my horse of a lifetime, and it feels beyond special to be here,” said Bubby.
Bubby’s Maryland debut is part of her continuing comeback after suffering serious injury in a fall last August. She underwent major back surgery and initially had a very uncertain prognosis in terms of whether she would even walk again, let alone ride at the top level. She defied the odds to compete at Badminton Horse Trials in May, finishing 10th with Cola.
“We’ve had a turbulent past year and that makes it even more special and I’m so grateful to have a horse like him,” she added.
“After Badminton I created a plan in my head. I thought Cola has done Burghley and Pau – he was incredible at both – so if ever there was an opportunity to go to Maryland I’d do everything possible to make it possible. It was quite a lot of phone calls and hustling and it’s thanks to Howden Insurance Brokers and Brown Advisory that I’m able to be here.”
Bubby and Cola have been partners dating back to young rider days, when they won individual silver and team gold, and have since scored four top-15 placings at five-star together.
“Every time I went to go and see him after my accident, which was what I looked forward to every day when I got out of hospital, he was so gentle with me and would never nudge me or push me or anything like that – he definitely knew I was a bit fragile,” she said.
“I’m just so lucky still to be doing what I love at the top of the sport. I know how how quickly things can change – the line is so thin and I was the lucky one to be the right side of the line. My perspective on life has definitely changed, I just enjoy every minute, particularly with this horse who’s done so much for me – we did young rider teams together and I never thought in a million years we’d get to five-star, let alone be fighting at the top.
“My recovery was long and slow and I definitely wouldn’t be here today without the team around me. I did rehab at the Injured Jockeys Fund centre in Newmarket and that was all supported and take care of by the British Eventing Support Trust Charity, so the only thing I had to focus on was getting better and stronger.
“Day by day it got better, I learnt to move my right leg again, eventually I learnt to walk again. Three months later I got back on a hores but it was a very different type of riding to what I knew. My horses were very tolerant of the not so good rider they had on their backs all of a sudden. We never stopped dreaming, never stopped pushing, It’s beyond special to be back at the top of the sport and I never take it for granted.”
End of day update: Bubby still holds third place at the conclusion of the dressage phase.
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You may also be interested in:
‘It was like learning to ride again, but I never lost faith’: Bubby Upton on her ongoing recovery from serious injury
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