Pippa Funnell leads the CCI4*-L class after the Bramham Horse Trials cross-country action today (10 June). Pippa and Sarah Ross’s MCS Maverick – a new partnership this year – were second after dressage and moved up by virtue of finishing just three seconds over the 10min 20sec optimum time.
“If ever I’ve had one that gives you the feeling that it’s going to run around Burghley or Badminton, he’s one and that’s why I quietly took him on, but he is a project – but it’s fun to be working on that sort of calibre of project,” said Pippa.
MCS Maverick was produced by Helen Wilson, who also rides for the Funnells’ Billy Stud, and Pippa explained she has always followed his career.
Pippa explained: “Sarah bought the horse as a three- or four-year-old and Helen’s always ridden the horse. I saw it actually as a young horse the first time they ever took it cross-country schooling and I said, ‘Gosh, what a lovely quality horse’, and so I always followed it because Helen was in the area.
“Helen said to sit on him out of interest a couple of years ago and I did. I liked it but it’s just quite hot. Anyway, last year Helen had ups and downs and I think found it fairly difficult because the horse was kept at the owners and so she couldn’t ride it really regularly. Between them they mutually decided to see if I would just give it a go.
“The suggestion came from Helen and I made it very clear I would, but that at my age, if I was not happy with it jumping and cross-country wise, then I wasn’t prepared to put in the work. But Helen always said it was a machine the way it galloped and she’s right about that, it does gallop and I’ve really enjoyed every run on him.”
Pippa said she had a super ride and always had it in the back of her mind that she might need to take the long route in the Suregrow kidney ponds complex, where on the direct route riders tackled a drop log, four moving strides to a log into the water and then a turn to two corners.
The rider had seen a video of Maverick’s spectacular jump into the water at Bicton and said the distance between the two logs meant you had to be brave and attacking – “you couldn’t ride it in a way that you created a pop jump”.
She explained: “I didn’t want to wrestle with him to try and get to the corner and I heard Piggy [March] had circled round the tree before going to fence 11 and made the time, so I thought, well, I’m sat on a galloper and I don’t know him very well, so I made that call and I think it was the right call.”
Pippa was held for 10 minutes during her round at fence 14, the Aardvark Safari Kennels, because of Morven Pringle and Dunbog Gypsy Rose’s fall at the bounce into the Womble Bond Dickinson Pond (fence 18abcde). Morven and the mare were both soon up on their feet.
Dressage leader Ros Canter had an early problem on course when Izilot DHI spooked at the decorative ice creams on the inside of the turn at fence three, the Yorkshire Dales Ice Cream Cones, put in a half rear and couldn’t make it to the second element of the combination. They went on to complete with 16.8 time-penalties.
Piggy March now holds the runner-up spot. She was the second out on Ian Stark’s course and showed the optimum time was achievable when she finished bang on target with Brookfield Cavalier Cruise, owned by Alison Swinburn and John and Chloe Perry. This moved them up from sixth after dressage.
New Zealand’s Jesse Campbell had two time-faults with his own and Sarah Moffat’s Gambesie, which let them hold onto third place.
Bramham Horse Trials cross-country course proves influential
Ian Stark’s cross-country track generally rode well, while proving influential. Problems were well spread and there were 27 jumping clears (60%), five inside the time (11%) and 33 finishers (73%), from 45 starters.
Izzy Taylor, fourth after dressage, performed an excellent save – Happy Days nearly dislodged her when he chipped in an extra stride and left a leg at the double of birds out of the Womble Bond Dickinson Pond at fence 18abcde. But the pair’s challenge for a top spot came to an end at the next fence, the Speedi-Beet Double at fence 19ab, where Happy Days ran-out at the skinny off a downhill bending line that forms element b.
Elsewhere in the dressage top 10, time-faults juggled the order.
Matt Heath had a good clear round but racked up 16.4 time-penalties with Askari, which dropped him from seventh to 19th.
Harry Meade’s clear inside the time with Red Kite moved him up from equal ninth to fourth and his three seconds over the time on Cavalier Crystal rocketed him up from 18th to seventh.
Harry Mutch retained fifth with 3.2 time-faults on HD Bronze, while Tom McEwen’s 2.8 time-faults allowed him to move from eighth to sixth on Luna Mist.
On-form rising star Lizzie Baugh hit the time exactly with B Exclusive, moving up from equal 25th after the first phase to eighth, and just 0.8 of a time-penalty was good enough for Nicky Hill and MGH Bingo Boy to rise from 21st to ninth.
Aaron Millar, who was the Bramham Horse Trials cross-country pathfinder, accrued 4.4 time-faults and now sits 10th with KEC Deakon, who was ninth equal after dressage.
You might also be interested in:
A bounce into water and a leap of faith: see the fences Ros Canter and Pippa Funnell tackle at Bramham this week
One ‘phenomenal’ faultless performance and two falls from dressage leaders in Bramham under-25s
Meet the palomino competing at Bramham: ‘He’s very striking with bags of ability’
How to watch Bramham Horse Trials
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