Britain’s rising star Lily Attwood claimed her first ever 5* victory when she partnered Cor-Leon Van Der Vlierbeek Z to an impressive win in a tough 1.55m jump off class at Royal Windsor Horse Show.
The 13-year-old gelding was at only his second major show since undergoing colic surgery in October last year.
“It feels great to take a 5* win, and even more so on home soil. I’ve had a lot of seconds,” said Lily, whose previous successes with the horse on home turf include the under 25s class at Royal Windsor two years ago and the runner up spot in a CSI5* class at the London Global Champions Tour last summer.
“It’s even better to have him back after such a big set back,” she added. “I didn’t care how long it took — as long as he came out the other side. He’s exactly the horse he was before, he’s such a trier.”
Twenty-one-year-old Lily was the only rider in the first half of the 31-strong field to jump clear round Bernado Costa Cabral’s twisty Pearl Stakes track, where a tight optimum time presented a significant challenge.
Only eight riders did not collect time faults, of which five also left the rails intact, with most of the clears bunched towards the end of the field.
“The time was tight but I tried not to overthink it,” Lily said. “Once we have a good rhythm my horse is naturally fast but I did have to take one out to the first double.”
Jana Wargers [GER] elected not to come forward for the jump off with Limbridge, leaving Olivier Perreau [FRA], Duarte Seabra [POR] and Koen Vereecke [BEL] joining Lily in the second phase.
Riding in the difficult position of pathfinder, she delivered a quick and flowing clear, gaining advantage with a very well-judged shot to the final line that left her 0.39sec out in front.
“When I came out I didn’t think we’d done enough. I knew there were really fast combinations to come,” she said. “He’s a very good jump off horse and turns well and when he’s lit up he concentrates more.
“The turn to the final line came nicely. I didn’t know how many strides to take to the last [a new oxer introduced in the jump off, off a long run], so I just kept going.”
Lily’s win came just two weeks after she moved to a new base at the Van Paesschen’s in Belgium, having been training with Stanny Van Paesschen for just over a year.
You can read the full report from Royal Windsor Horse Show in next week’s Horse & Hound, in the shops Thursday 18 May.
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