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| Francis Whittington & Easy Target Moved Up Into 2nd Place During Cross Country Day |
Cross Country day at Blenheim kept everyone on their toes. Few of the early combinations out on course made it round without error, and William Fox-Pitt who had 3 horses primed in the top 10 retired two of them after problems. I also saw him spend a good deal of time watching horses go through the ditch combination up in the woods, where Mille Dumas suffered at the hands of a loose dog.
Throughout the day there were run-outs, refusals, and the odd fall dotted around the course. I felt for the young American who was held on course before the main water only to tip up in the drink himself. (not an easy fence to have had a forced hold at)
South African Hayley Parker did well to stay on as her horse scrambled over the big corner, prompting the commentator to compare her riding to William Fox-Pitt, who survived a similar incident earlier.
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| Hayley Parker |
Jock Paget Had a similar problem coming out of the water, over the Kärcher sponsored fence:
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| Jock Paget & Shady Grey Have A Sticky Moment But Survive & Hold 10th Place After Cross Country |
Both of the top two, Andrew Hoy & Emily King, dropped out of contention during today. Emily had another unfortunate fall from Brookleigh, and Andrew Hoy had a run-out on Cheeky Calimbo, which must have been double frustrating having had a tricky ride on the highly strung Lanfranco, who almost refused to start.
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| Phillip Dutton & Fernhill Cubalawn Jumped Their Way From 20th To 9th On Cross Country. |
Phillip Dutton had mixed day. He was second out on course after a short delay and rode a superb round on Fernhill Cubalawn, climbing into the top ten from 20th, but made a mistake at the coffin in the woods and had a run out.
Francis Whittington clearly ate his Weetabix this morning and now sits with two horses in the top 5, and a real pleasure to watch in any phase.
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| Francis Whittington & Fernhill Highlight Add Nothing To Their Dressage Score & Climb To 5th From 13th |
Others adding nothing to their Dressage scores include:
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| Pippa Funnell & Second Supreme |
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| Vittoria Panizzon & Merlots Magic |
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| Tim Price & Ringwood Sky Boy |
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| William Fox-Pitt & Freddy Mac (Leaders After Cross Country) |
It's been a day of huge gains and losses for just about every rider, and a very entertaining day of top class sport. Cross country action continues tomorrow with the 8/9yr old CIC*** class which I personally find more interesting. Until then it's good bye from the comfort of the Aston Martin hospitality sofas and I'll leave you with the imprtant links and a few more photos.
For a comprehensive event details and results see:
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| Danni Evans & Raphael II |
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| Kitty King & Persimmon |
Fiona Breach deserves a special mention after facing her first CCI*** as trail blazer, and coming home clear.
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| Fiona Breach & Cartoon IV |
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