Great Britain’s newly crowned team gold medallist Harry Charles has continued his stunning form with Romeo 88 to produce a clear round in the Paris Olympic showjumping individual qualifier.
Harry and the 15-year-old gelding, who he owns with Ann Thompson, were the first of the Brits to contest course-designer Santiago Varela and Gregory Bodo’s tough track. The pair had a little rattle of fence 11, a 1.65m vertical over a water tray, but it stayed in place and they came home comfortably within the 79sec time allowance, stopping the clock on 75.72sec.
“It doesn’t always happen like this, so it’s nice to keep coming back with a smile on my face,” said Harry.
“He felt incredible. I didn’t think I’d actually say this, but it would probably be a better round than the one we jumped on Friday (2 August). It just felt super easy, and he felt so comfortable. He kind of went round at maybe 70-80% ability, so to do that ahead of tomorrow fills me with confidence, and I’m just enjoying every moment now.
“We did what we came here to do, and anything now is just a bonus so I’m enjoying every minute of it.”
Harry said the time allowance didn’t have too much of a bearing on his round today.
“My first two rounds (in the team competition) were on the faster side, so I thought the most important thing was to be jumping the jumps. If I had had one down, I did have a plan B,” explained Harry.
“I was going to leave a few strides out and turn up a bit tighter, but I didn’t hear any hit the ground. So I thought, ‘Ok, we stick with plan A’. I’d like to think all clears will get the chance to jump in the final, so hopefully that’s the way it plans out.”
Harry and Romeo 88 have had a couple of days’ downtime since Great Britain’s epic gold medal-winning performance on Friday, of which they’ve still to celebrate fully.
“We’ve not celebrated as hard as we wanted to, but we’re going to get home first. We’ve still got a job to do today and tomorrow, so don’t worry, when we get back next weekend, we’ll have a good old party – but I think it’s well deserved,” he said, adding that he’s been doing some light trot work with Romeo on the racetrack over the weekend.
“The two days off have been excellent. I’m really happy the organisers allowed that. It lets our horses refresh and recharge, as well as us. Romeo’s biggest trait is he’s got the hugest engine. He never gets really tired so it was really easy for his batteries to go back up to 100%. You saw at the end [of our round], he let out a bit of a buck in play. I think he’s enjoying it as much as I am.”
Harry added his arm, which he fractured four weeks before the Paris Olympic showjumping, is recovering well.
“I’m only really wrapping it now because the doctor tells me to, but it feels like I could go without it. It’s just a precaution more than anything, I think this would be my last show with it on,” he said.
“I won’t be able to swing a golf club just yet, but hopefully in a few weeks!”
Harry Charles’ superb clear was the sixth of the day in the Olympic showjumping individual qualifier, and good enough to sit in provisional fourth at the end of the first 25 riders, with 48 combinations still to jump. Scott Brash and Jefferson, who delivered the all-important final clear jumping round on Friday (2 August) to secure team gold, are the next of the Brits to go, drawn 44th, with Ben Maher and Dallas Vegas Batilly drawn 66th.
There are 73 combinations in action today, with the top 30 progressing to tomorrow’s (6 August) medal decider.
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