Ladies-In-waiting Prove Their Worth

Two British hopefuls make their mark for European selection, while the Antipodeans make it a one-two-three and a rider redeems herself with a win

- Sue Polley

DESPITE the array of eventing talent on display at Wash brook Farm, it was organisers Nigel and Ann Taylor and their ultra efficient team who were the real stars of the show over three days of competition that saw the maximum of 300 entries accommodated each day. This, despite an absolute deluge of rain on Saturday night.

The advanced and intermediate sections were split over the weekend to allow room for riders who had been on Nations Cup duty in Aachen. The event also included one special advanced section on Sunday evening which comprised the same FEI three-star B dressage test ridden in Aachen and acted as the final trial for British riders for the European Championships.

Two female riders who did their chances of selection no harm were Nicola Wilson and Tina Cook. Nicola won with Gerry and Mary Kemp and Janine Shewan’s experienced One Two Many and finished third with the Lamberts’ ever-improving Bulana, the former looking impressively powerful and accurate in all three phases. Tina rode Elizabeth Murdoch’s Billy The Red, reserve horse at the Rio Olympics, into fourth and Calvino II, the last horse across country at just after 8pm, into fifth. Lydia Hannon and My Royal Touch, who are not on the Europeans long-list, posted the fastest cross-country round of the section to finish second.

“I’m thrilled with both horses,” said Nicola. “It was never my intention to go fast across country with One Two Many but he just gets faster and faster without pulling. I ride him in a snaffle and he simply gets into a rhythm and I don’t have to waste time setting him up. As for Bulana, she just gets better and better — she was a bit excited in the show jumping, but she’s in a really good place in her head at the moment and totally on side.”