Townend's triumphant four

All sorts of records are broken as international eventing restarts in Britain, with five packed days of sport in Northumberland

- PIPPA ROOME

Burgham, Northumberland

OLIVER TOWNEND was the dominant force at Britain’s first international horse trials of the restarted season, winning four of the seven international sections – the most ever won by one rider in one weekend.

The AW Jenkinson CCI4*-S sections boasted huge, incredibly high-class fields. Records tumbled as fast as the rain showers started and ceased, with eight of the 10 best four-star dressage scores at Burgham recorded this year. Oliver’s 21.4 for a flawless test on Ballaghmor Class headed section L from the start.

There were two favourites in this section, with 2018 winner Ballaghmor Class joined at the top of the billing by another grey in Kitty King’s 2019 victor Vendredi Biats. But a couple of mistakes in the dressage, among excellent work, put Kitty fourth, and with a rolled pole in the showjumping and three seconds over the cross-country time, she finished fifth.

Meanwhile, Ballaghmor Class cruised to victory, accruing just a couple of penalised seconds in both jumping phases. At 13, Karyn Shuter, Angela Hislop and Val Ryan’s son of Courage continues to improve.

“He’s been ridden on the flat maybe half a dozen times since March, he’s just been hacking about and under no pressure,” said Oliver. “He didn’t come here to win, just to remind him he’s not retired. Between fences one and two, I thought I wouldn’t go any faster and if it was good enough to win, so be it.”