The full field of 70 eight- and nine-year-old contenders have trotted down the centre line in the Blenheim Horse Trials CCI4*-S, which is currently led on 21.3 by Halo, a grey stallion ridden by Piggy March. Another striking horse that caught the eye, his coat matching the butterscotch stone of Blenheim Palace, was the buckskin gelding Grande By Design. He isn’t troubling the leaders after the dressage, but he’s on an upward curve and his rider Emma Manton is looking forward to the cross-country phase.
The nine-year-old gelding completed this event in 2021, unfortunately incurring 15 penalties for a flag across country, so are bidding to improve on that result. They have already stepped up on last year’s dressage mark, scoring 36.3 this time round, which puts them midfield before today’s showjumping phase (Saturday, 17 September).
“Last year wasn’t the best on paper but it was my first four-star and he is my first horse at this level,” said Emma, 22. “This test was much more accurate. He has all the talent, but it’s about building the consistency. He’s a big-moving horse and he loves to show off – he lives for coming to places like this. He likes to do a fancy trot that isn’t necessarily correct, so I’ve been having weekly lessons with Alex Harrison and that was one of our best tests yet.
“I didn’t hold my nerve last year, so I’m really pleased he kept his cool here and stayed with me. He’s such a pro, it’s like he’s done it all before. He loves it when he’s the only horse on the truck – he knows my groom, Alex Jackson, will pander to him.”
Emma Manton: ‘He bucked me off on our first ride’
Emma, who is based in Somerset, knew from the moment she sat on Grande By Design that she would buy him.
“It was one of those moments,” said Emma, who rides full-time. “He’d been on the market for a couple of months and the vendor told me I’d either be bucked off or I’d fall in love. He didn’t buck me off when I tried him, but he did on the first ride when we got him home!”
Grande By Design is by the buckskin stallion Legrande. He has already been placed at CCI4*-S this season, finishing fifth at Millstreet in June with a double clear, and was also fifth at Burnham Market CCI3*-S.
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