British reiners give WEG venue the thumbs up

World Equestrian Games 2014

British reiners gave the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games the thumbs up on day one of competition (Monday 25 August).

“This is by far the biggest stage we’ve ever competed on — the scale is something else, it’s what you dream of,” said Josh Collins, who posted a score of 216 this morning with Spook a Little (pictured top).

“The organisation and everything has been fantastic and the ground is as good as any you’ll find. It’s great to be here.

“My horse was fantastic; I couldn’t be happier; this is a perfect start. I’m hoping it’s enough to make the finals.”

Jessica Sternberg rode Sterling Quarter Horses’ Smart Like Valentino this afternoon to score 213.

“It’s been a tough ride to get here; Smart Like Valentino is an old show horse who has been there and done that and he gave me a challenging time in there today. I haven’t shown him since he was a four-year-old so I didn’t really know what to expect,” she said.

“My top horse, Shiners Chic got hurt a few days before we left so I’m just grateful to Francesca [Sternberg] for the chance to show at all. Shiners Chic has been the defining horse of my career — we’ve won over $80,000 together — so it was disappointing to have to leave him at home.

“It’s just been brilliant to ride at WEG though, the atmosphere, the crowd. It’s all been amazing.”

The remaining Brits, Francesca Sternberg (Ten Reasons), Doug Allen (Hangten Shiner) and Shane Borland (Chex N Flashy), will compete tomorrow (Tuesday 26 August).

There were 89 competitors taking part in the reining in Normandy but four were eliminated at the trot up yesterday (Sunday 24 August).

The team competition and individual qualifying rounds take part today and tomorrow (Tuesday 26 August). The second individual qualifying competition takes place Thursday (28 August) while the final is held on Saturday (30 August).