Quirky Concorde flies high

A promising but tricky eight-yearold takes the top class, while there are also wins for a former carriagedriving horse and one who used to dump his rider

- GEMMA REDRUP and ELLIE HUGHES

LIZZIE BAUGH took top honours in the Ideal Financial Management Ltd CCI3*-S aboard the exciting albeit “quirky” eighty-year-old Piltown Concorde. Lizzie and the gelding she owns alongside Janette Shipley added 2.4 cross-country time-faults to a 27.4 dressage to win by almost eight penalties.

“You have to work with him his way – I’ve found that if I can’t get him to settle in the first 10 minutes of the dressage warm-up, we might as well go home,” said Lizzie, referring to the fact that “Roddy” has scored in the 40s in the first phase twice this year.

“Sometimes I’m not quite sure which Roddy I’ll get, but he’s an amazing jumper, and fast and bold across country – there’s no other horse I’d rather be sat on in that phase.”

Lizzie, who has produced this son of Royal Concorde through the grades, says, “He’s weird, but I think he could be a really good one” – and the longer-term aim will be the eight- and nine-year-old class at Blenheim in 2025.

Piggy March and promising nine-year-old Brookfield Future News finished top of the leaderboard in the Heck! Food CCI2*-S, while Burlea Battleship (Stan) was crowned the winner of BE90 regional championship qualifier section N despite a tough season.

“Three months ago ‘Super Stan’ was diagnosed with equine metabolic syndrome and laminitis, and I still can’t quite believe he’s managed to come back to win this,” said Claire Hirst, who owns and rides this 15.2hh 12-year-old. “This was the only qualifier I could make with him as I’m a wedding photographer so most of my weekends are taken up with work.”