A feisty 15.1hh out-jumped his rivals to land the Gatcombe Horse Trials Corinthian Cup at the Magic Millions Festival of British Eventing, on his dressage mark. Iwan, ridden by Amy Barlow, scored 29.8 to lie close-up in fourth after dressage. When the trio ahead, led by Holly Allan and Ray Of Light W on 26.6, lowered rails, the eventual winners took the lead before the final-phase cross-country in this TopSpec national restricted novice championship for grassroots riders.
Amy, who events full-time, had hoped to get into the Dodson & Horrell British novice championship, but when hard ground curtailed her intermediate outings, she diverted to this class. She hopes that Iwan will be the horse to take her up the levels, but it was a rocky start.
“I bought him as an unbroken four-year-old for £2,000, and all I did was fall off,” she says. “He would spin and buck and everyone said, ‘why are you persevering when he’s so naughty? All you do is get concussion’. But I loved him – he’s my pet.
“He is so talented, he has all the jump in the world and he’s just a really cool little horse. I’m hoping he’ll now go up the grades easily. I just have to keep my weight down – he never grew into his big knees and feet!”
Gatcombe Horse Trials: Corinthian Cup placings
Ellie Healy, who rode at the European Pony Championships in 2018, filled both second and sixth spots in the Corinthian Cup. Her runner-up, Balladeer Just For Kicks, produced super jumping rounds to move up from 11th after dressage to finish on a clean sheet of 31.6.
It was tight at the top, with the third and fourth just 0.8 adrift. Will Crawley (Nadiva E) and Holly Allan both finished on 31.8, with Will sneaking into third by virtue of his faster cross-country time. Holly added a rail and 1.2 time-faults to her leading dressage, but was ecstatic about her result having not competed since the Badminton grassroots championship in May.
“I keep saying I’m too old for this!” said Holly, 49, who is a full-time “Pony Club mum with two kids and lots of ponies”. “I’ve been really busy this summer but with the kids’ ponies not my own. So I thought she would be really spooky, but as I was leading after the dressage I had to go for it.”
Holly bought Ray Of Light at the Verden auction and the mare has an embryo transfer foal, with Holly thinking of breeding her 12-year-old son’s future event horse.
“I thought if I don’t do it now, they won’t be ready – my son is already doing 90s,” she said.
Just 0.1 of a penalty behind in fifth was Victoria Gregg. She was second after dressage on the 18hh Langson Governor on 27.9, finishing eventual fifth after adding just four faults for a rail to their first-phase score.
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