Five-star debutant Farndon came of age to rocket up the Longines Luhmühlen Horse Trials scoreboard with Britain’s Tom Jackson, producing a classy double clear to finish sixth in the final results.
Tom and the 13-year-old KWPN gelding, by Hemmingway, were in 22nd place after dressage on a score of 34.9. Their quick cross-country clear was rewarded with a climb to 12th place ahead of the final phase. The pair then delivered one of just five fault-free showjumping rounds to cap their stellar week.
“He’s always wanted to be a careful horse. The rideability sometimes gets in the way, a little bit like with his cross-country. But I think we’re getting there,” said Tom, riding for Anne and Iain Slater.
“It’s just been a case of time, building the relationship with him and strengthening him up in the way that we wanted to.
“It’s been a progressive path to get to here and I’m over the moon that he has delivered for us and his owners as well.
“We always knew he had the potential to be very good. He’s always super brave, moves well and wants to be careful. But to actually go and do it is always a different thing.”
Farndon adds his five-star result to a CV that already features placings at four-star, plus 11th at Blenheim CCI4*-L last year.
Speaking after cross-country, Tom added the horse is “incredibly” exciting for the future.
“I’m over the moon with him. He hasn’t always been the easiest in this phase, not because he’s not brave or straight, just because of his rideability.
“We’ve been working quite hard on that over the past couple of years since we’ve had him. And it just all came together today. He’s been steadily improving all the time and I feel like today he really showed his class and I’m very excited for the future.
“He didn’t really miss a beat. It’s one of those rare occasions where everything did just go as planned. He cruised around and kept eating up the ground and the jumps. And suddenly you’re home and inside the time.”
“To see how far he’s come in such a short space of time bodes very well.”
Harry Meade and Tenareze played a strong role in the British success story at Luhmühlen this week. The 16-year-old, owned by David Bernstein, Nigella Hall and Sophie Caruth, was a model of consistency in all three phases, finishing on his dressage score of 30.7 for fifth place.
“I came out here not quite knowing what to expect from him,” said Harry.
“He’s got lots of ability, but he wouldn’t necessarily be the world’s bravest horse. I came just to try and do the best job I could and really couldn’t have wished for a better performance from him in all three phases.”
Harry Meade and Tenareze at Luhmühlen Horse Trials.
He added: “I always think that the proof of the pudding of a fit horse is how they feel the next day, not just how they finish across country and he felt like he hadn’t been cross country.
“He’s a very good show jumper. The time was pretty tight in there, so the main target was to just turn inside a couple of places and I was delighted he finished in the time and jumped a nice, clear round.”
Emily King and Valmy Biats were the first combination to produce a clear jumping round inside the time over course-designer Marco Behrens’ track. The pair picked up 20 penalties across country yesterday, meaning they finished down the order in 24th, ending on a high with a foot-perfect showjumping round. Will Rawlin and The Partner, who were also carrying 20 penalties from the cross-country, recorded their first five-star completion, tapping one rail in the showjumping to finish 23rd.
Ireland’s Suzie Berry and Monbeg By Design climbed 17 places after dressage to finish 11th, sitting just ahead of Britain’s Fiona Kashel and Creevagh Silver De Haar in 12th. David Doel and Ferro Point were also big climbers at Luhmühlen Horse Trials, rising 24 places from 37th to 13th.
Last week’s Bramham winner Pippa Funnell, who led the first day of dressage with MGH Grafton Street, enjoyed a steady cross-country and tapped two poles showjumping to finish 16th.
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