Peter Charles and Pershing headed an Irish one-two in Thursday’s major show jumping class at Royal Windsor.
The Hampshire-based rider knew exactly what he had to do riding from penultimate draw in the grade A jump-off class. Pershing was so fast over the first few fences that Peter could take a pull to the final fence and still defeat compatriot Billy Twomey, riding Sue Davies’s mare Anastasia, by almost 1sec.
“The timing display was behind the last fence, so I checked on that and knew I had time to set her up for it,” said Peter, who has just returned from being part of his country’s fourth-placed Nations Cup team in La Baule.
“This show is ideal to teach Pershing to go against the clock,” he said. “I can try some turns and educate her without the pressure of it being an international competition.”
Walwyn Novice Championship
Experience won the day in the earlier Walwyn Novice Championship when Andy Austin, 45, who last took this title 23 years before, produced a storming jump-off round on the aptly-named Let’s Go to smash David McPherson’s opening standard on the lovely Magic De Sade by more than 4sec.
“He may be a little horse, but he has the heart of a lion,” said Berkshire-based Andy of the Dutch-bred seven-year-old, whom he bought through Keith Doyle a couple of months ago.
