Yasmin Ingham has set herself up for a second national under-25 title as she leads the young riders’ CCI4*-L u25 at Bicton International Horse Trials, supported by Chedington, after the completion of the dressage phase on Janette Chinn and Sue Davies’s Banzai du Loir.
Cheshire-based Yasmin, 24, who is originally from the Isle of Man, took the British accolade in 2019 when she finished second behind Ireland’s Cathal Daniels at Bramham. At Bicton, she was awarded a mark of 26.9 by judges Les Smith, Angela Tucker and Anne-Marie Taylor and holds a slender advantage over Bubby Upton, who is second and third after dressage on Cola lll and Cannavaro.
Both Bubby and Yasmin will have a busy cross-country day with three rides apiece: Yasmin is also lying 10th on Rehy DJ and 24th on Night Line, and Bubby has a ride in the CCI4*-S, Magic Roundabout IV.
Banzai du Loir won the CCI4*-S for eight- and nine-year-old horses at Burnham Market in 2020. “We’re still not 100% glued together,” Yasmin said of the 10-year-old chestnut that came to her from France in May 2019, “but there’s so much more we can do. He’s got the wow factor so I just need to nail a few areas, like the flying changes, but he has only done a handful of 4-star competitions. The cross-country will be a big ask for him, but he is the sort of horse that will jump where I ask him.”
The order at the top of the two senior CCI4* leaderboards remains unchanged, with Nicola Wilson heading the CCI4*-L on JL Dublin and Laura Collett and London 52 who not been headed in the CCI4*-S, which contains several potential Olympic combinations.
Tomorrow’s eagerly awaited cross-country phase begins at 9am with Tom McEwen and Braveheart first out on course in the 83-strong CCI4*-L.
“There have been some truly outstanding performances in the dressage arena, but now I am so excited to see how my cross-country track will jump and very much hope that the competitors will enjoy the opportunity to gallop through our beautiful Grade-1 listed parkland,” said organiser and course-designer Helen West.
Horse & Country will be livestreaming all the action; to tune in or subscribe, visit www.horseandcountry.tv
Chinese rider Alex Hua-Tian, who currently holds second and third places in the CCI4*-S at Bicton International Horse Trials, supported by Chedington, looks to have rich prospects for next month’s Tokyo Olympic Games.
With just the final afternoon session of dressage to come, Laura Collett has retained her overnight lead on London 52 on a mark of 21.0, but Alex is now in second place with Jilsonne Van Bareelhof (21.4), third on his likely Tokyo mount, Don Geniro (21.6), and 10th on PSH Convivial, also an Olympic contender, with a score of 24.5.
The 12-year-old Jilsonne Van Barrelhof – stable name “Chocs” because “he is big, brown and Belgian” – is the least experienced of the trio. “I am really pleased with him – he’s a lovely animal,” said Alex, who, at 31, is a veteran of three Olympics.
“We’ve had our ups and downs with ‘The Don’, but Rio in 2016 [where they were eighth, a Chinese Olympic record] was pretty special because he was only nine. It was a gamble but he thrived. He is probably my first choice for Tokyo, but I wouldn’t be unhappy if I ended up taking PSH Convivial [bronze medallist at the 2018 Asian Games], who has just done his best ever test.”
Still to come are seasoned 5* combinations Sammi Birch and Hunter Valley for Australia plus Britain’s Kristina Cook with Billy the Red and Pippa Funnell on the 2019 Burghley winner MGH Grafton Street.
Nicola Wilson, who is longlisted for the British Tokyo squad with Bulana, has taken the lead in the CCI4*-L on Mr and Mrs Lambert and Mrs Johnston’s 10-year-old JL Dublin with a mark of 28.7. The in-form Laura Collett is currently second on Mr Bass (29.2) and overnight leader Pippa Funnell is now third with Billy Walk On (29.4).
The final quarter of the CCI4*-L field includes potential challengers Ros Canter with her Aston-le-Walls CCI4*-S winner Lordships Graffalo, William Fox-Pitt on Graffenacht, Kitty King with Cristal Fontaine and Gemma Tattersall on Santiago Bay.
Follow the action on Horse & Country (www.horseandcountry.tv) and through live results on www.eventingscores.co.uk
It’s not often that the FEI stewards are put in the spotlight, but this entirely voluntary, unpaid role is crucial to the safe, efficient running of any international event. At the Bicton International Horse Trials, supported by Chedington, the trio of Nicky Salmon, Jan Cottam and Ro Audley will be working 14-hour days, monitoring the stables, the arenas and the cross-country. They have to pass an exam every year and be fully conversant with intricate FEI rules – and rule changes: there has already been a change since they were published in March.
Nicky Salmon has been a British Eventing (BE) steward for some 40 years and an FEI one for around 20, officiating at European and world championships and Badminton, as well as an owner of five-star horses ridden by Andrew Nicholson. With Fiona Muirhead, she is the only British steward qualified to officiate at championships. “We wouldn’t do this unless we were absolutely passionate about the sport, but it is very exacting – if you don’t get 80% plus in the annual exams, you’re out,” she points out.
“It’s a long day – we are patrolling the stables at around 6am, and I particularly like to see that the grooms are OK – but we do this because we love being part of a team and the wonderful cameraderie that is part of this sport.”
Jan Cottam, who is also an organiser and BE official, officiated at the London Olympic Games. “I love the big events, of course, but I enjoy all levels from the grass roots up because I love the horses, the people and, above all, the sport. We have become a close-knit group of friends and all support each other, especially on the inevitable occasions when things go wrong. During lockdown we formed a WhatsApp group and had a Zoom meeting every 10 days, talking about everything from our gardens to our failed attempts at cooking!”
Ro Audley, who was an assistant district commissioner of the Puckeridge branch of the Pony Club, was recruited by Nicky, whom she bumped into at the ballet in London. She became a BE steward and was then put on the FEI’s Global Education Programme, which involved attending overseas events. This is her first visit to Bicton: “Helen West and her team have done an amazing job. She is so smiley and helpful and so well-organised,” she said.
All three reiterated that more – and younger – recruits are needed. Jan says: “We need to encourage more people to get involved. They can be assured that we will nurture them – and we’ll have a laugh.”
British Olympic longlisted riders Pippa Funnell and Laura Collett have made a flying start at the Bicton International Horse Trials, supported by Chedington, and are leading the CCI*4-L and CCI4*-S competitions respectively after the first day of dressage.
Pippa scored 29.4 on Nick and Barbara Walkinshaw’s upstanding Billy Walk On, just 0.3 ahead of early leaders Laura Collett and Dacapo. The 2019 Badminton winners Piggy March and Vanir Kamira are in close contention, in third, on 29.9.
“It wasn’t his absolute best, but it was definitely a ‘clear round’,” said Pippa, alluding to their mistake-free test judged by Christian Landolt (ground jury president), Annabel Scrimgeour and Tim Downes. “He finds the dressage phase difficult and is quite a shy horse, so I am very pleased with him.”
Pippa described the brand-new cross-country track, designed by Helen West with Captain Mark Phillips as Course Advisor, as: “The course we really need. We haven’t seen anything of this standard for a while [due to the pandemic]. It’s big and hilly – proper stuff – and I hope riders and horses will find it educational.”
Laura Collett riding Karen Bartlett and Keith Scott’s London 52 earned the outstanding mark of 21.0 in the CCI4*-S, in which most of the Olympic long-listed horses are running. The ground jury, Andrew Bennie (president), Jane Tolley and Anne Keen, placed Alex Hua-Tin second for China on 21.6 with Don Geniro, ahead of British Olympic hopefuls Tom McEwen (Toledo de Kerser) and the world champions Ros Canter and Allstar B, who are in joint third on 23 penalties.
That Laura could achieve such a brilliant score despite a minor mistake when London 52 briefly broke into canter in the half-passes speaks volumes for the superb quality of their performance. “That was entirely rider error, but otherwise I am really pleased,” said Laura of her 2020 Pau CCI5*-L winner, who looks in magnificent condition.
She added: “However, it’s not going to be a dressage competition! The course is seriously beefy, but I am sitting on a good jumper.”
World number one Oliver Townend, who is in sixth place on his dual Kentucky winner Cooley Master Class, agrees: “There are some unusual questions, some old-fashioned questions, and then there are the hills. But I am, so far, in a competitive position and will definitely be giving it a crack.”
Bubby Upton, a former Junior European champion, leads the under-25 CCI4*-L on Rachel Upton’s 14-year-old Dutch-bred Cannavaro from French rider Barbara Sayous on Opposition Filmstar.
“What a fabulous start to our inaugural four-star competition here at Bicton,” said organiser and course-designer Helen West. “It is such an honour to host this calibre of horse and rider, especially in preparation for the Olympic Games in Tokyo.”
Spectator tickets are available for the cross-country on Saturday and Sunday (www.bicton-arena.co.uk) and the competition is livestreamed on Horse & Country (www.horseandcountry.tv). For live scoring and start times, visit www.eventingscores.co.uk
The scene is set for a fantastic weekend of competition at the Bicton International Horse Trials, supported by Chedington, in East Devon where the park is looking at its summer best with organiser and course-designer Helen West’s noticeably upgraded and beautifully presented CCI4* track.
“I am so excited,” said Helen. “I have always wanted the opportunity to showcase Bicton to a wider, international audience. From a designer’s point of view, there is so much different terrain to play with, but I have been mindful of keeping the flow. It has been a joy being able to focus on one track [instead of several national classes] and being able to appreciate how beautiful the park is.”
Captain Mark Phillips has been acting as Course Advisor and Helen explains: “I was really chuffed because he hasn’t made many changes to my ideas – only subtle tweaks. He has so much experience as a designer and there is nothing he hasn’t tried, so his advice and support has been absolutely invaluable.”
Leading riders have been assessing Helen’s work and are full of respect. “The quality of the fences is fantastic,” said reigning world champion Ros Canter, who is competing her Olympic longlisted horse Allstar B in the CCI4*-S.
Tom McEwen, who also has his Olympic prospect, Toledo de Kerser, in the CCI4*-S, described it as “a proper track”. He added: “You would never underestimate the course here anyway, and you always know that they will do the work on the going [the track is being watered]. To come here and find ‘Bramham at Bicton’ is exciting and inspiring. They’ve done a super job.”
At this early stage of proceedings, Laura Collett holds the lead in both the CCI4*-L (on Dacapo) and the CCI4*-S on her Olympic longlisted horse London 52, and competitors in the under-25 CCI4* are starting their dressage phase this afternoon (results and start times on www.eventingscores.co.uk).
Tickets are still available for spectators on Saturday and Sunday (www.bicton-arena.co.uk) and live action is being streamed by Horse & Country (www.horseandcountry.tv)
The beautiful Devon countryside is to play host, for the first time, to three important CCI4* competitions when the Bicton International Horse Trials, supported by Chedington, take place on June 10-13 at one of the UK’s leading equestrian venues.
Twelve nations with multiple nominated Olympic combinations will be represented across the three competitive sections — CCI4*-L, CCI4*-S and CCI4*-L-u25 — tackling the cross-country tracks designed by Bicton Arena’s manager Helen West under the watchful eye of Captain Mark Phillips who is acting as Course Advisor.
The CCI4*-L will feature such exciting prospects as Ros Canter’s Lordships Gruffalo, a recent international winner at Aston-le-Walls, Laura Collett’s Dacapo and Mr Bass, Alexander Bragg’s King of the Mill plus Gemma Tattersall’s trio of Santiago Bay, Jalapeño lll and Chilli Knight. Among the horses that hit the headlines in 2019 are Piggy March’s Badminton winner Vanir Kamira, Ben Hobday’s National Champion Shadow Man ll and Tom McEwen’s British Intermediate Champion, the grey Dreamaway ll.
An illustrious CCI4*-S entry includes Olympic longlisted combinations Ros Canter and Allstar B, the world champions in 2018, plus Piggy March and Brookfield Inocent, Pippa Funnell and Majas Hope, Kitty King with Vendredi Biats, Tom McEwen and his 2019 Pau winner Toledo de Kerser, Laura Collett with the in-form London 52, also a 4* winner at Aston-le-Walls last month, and world number one Oliver Townend with his dual Kentucky winner Cooley Master Class.
Seven of the world’s top 10 are represented, including Tim and Jonelle Price from New Zealand and Australia’s Christopher Burton and Andrew Hoy. Ireland’s 2019 European bronze medallist Cathal Daniels rides Sammy Davis Junior in a competitive under-25 CCI4*-L.
Nations represented are: Great Britain, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden and USA.
“We are delighted that Bicton will, for four days, be the centre of the eventing world, with such a star-studded line-up of horses and riders making their way down to this lovely part of the country,” said Helen West. “It is going to be a first-class weekend of competition and we are enormously grateful to everyone who has pulled together to make this happen, especially Chedington, whose support has enabled us to put on a competition of this stature.”
A limited number of general public tickets will be on sale from 6.00pm Wednesday 2 June, in line with the latest Government guidelines; please visit www.bicton-arena.co.uk for further information.
Bicton Arena is delighted to welcome Chedington as title sponsor at the Bicton International Horse Trials 10 – 13 June 2021 that replaces Bramham International Horse Trials for this year. This fixture includes the CCI4*-L, U25 & CCI4*-S classes previously scheduled for Bramham and will see Bicton running its first ever four star level of competition.
The Chedington Estate is home to Chedington Equestrian, a World Class equestrian facility providing competition training for elite horses and riders in the heart of Dorset. Bicton Arena Manager, Helen West commented “We are thrilled to welcome Chedington as title sponsor for the event which is now just a month away. Chedington are passionate about horses and providing the very best facilities, as are we here at Bicton which makes them the ideal partner. The course building is well underway here and we can’t wait to share the exciting new track taking in some of Bicton Park Gardens for the very first time, it will be very special.”
“Kate and I are delighted to establish this collaboration with Bicton to run top class events in the West Country,” commented Dr Geoffrey Guy the owner of Chedington.
Although the Horse Trials is set to take place behind closed doors, due to Covid-19 restrictions, the whole weekend is due to be live streamed on Horse & Country so there is no need to miss any of the action.
Bicton International Horse Trials supported by Chedington is thought to be for many UK based riders the last chance to impress the Olympic selectors ahead of the Tokyo Olympics taking place later this summer.
We are excited to announce that Bicton Arena will host the replacement fixture for the Bramham International Horse Trials 2021, running the same classes as originally scheduled for Bramham. The replacement fixture will take place at the leading equestrian venue in Devon, 10 – 13 June 2021.
Helen West, Bicton Arena’s Manager commented, “We feel for the whole team at Bramham but will do our absolute best to put on a much needed alternative in these challenging times. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to run an event of this level and profile at Bicton.
We will be running the classes that were scheduled to run at Bramham which include the CCI4*-L, CCI4*-L U25 & CCI4*-S. I have fond memories of competing in what was the Young Rider National Championship (now the Under 25 Championship) at Bramham in 1999 – 2001. I am delighted to now be able to host this prestigious Championship class and also design the cross-country tracks.
We will be utilising additional land owned by Bicton Park Gardens which for the CCI4*-L course which means we can comfortably get the additional distance without compromising on the flow of the track. Captain Mark Phillips will be acting as course advisor for me, so I am very excited to have this opportunity to work with him to produce a stunning track within the Grade One Listed Parkland. Competitors will also benefit from riding the dressage and showjumping phases in one of our all-weather arenas on a Martin Collins surface.
Whilst this event is set to be run behind close doors, so sadly no spectators will be able to attend due to COVID-19 restrictions, it is our intention to livestream the whole event.”
British and overseas riders based in the UK are highly likely to use this event as a final preparation run before Olympic selection, with its placement in the eventing calendar, and subsequent pathway to the Tokyo. This prestigious fixture offers several unique commercial opportunities for businesses looking to target the equestrian market and Bicton Arena welcomes any sponsorship proposals.
To find out more about Bicton Arena, its Horse Trials and sponsorship opportunities visit the website www.bicton-arena.co.uk
Following the latest Government announcement, in line with National lockdown restrictions which apply in England, Bicton Arena is now closed until further notice.
All arena hire bookings up until February 22nd will be refunded. Once we have a clearer “post-lockdown” picture, we will look to reschedule some of the cancelled events. In the meantime we will
continue with our exciting plans for the Summer season, including the inaugural Bicton Summer Tour.
Once again, we thank you for your continued support.
Please stay safe everyone.
The Bicton Team
Following a tender process Bicton Arena is pleased to be awarded the rights to host a BE90 3 Day Event. The BE90 level competition will run alongside the very popular BE100 3 Day competition that Bicton has been hosting at its October Horse Trials since 2018.
Helen West, Bicton Arena’s Manager commented, “We are delighted to have been awarded the BE90 3 Day Event pilot class to run alongside our extremely popular BE100 3 Day Event class. We plan to develop this into a Grassroots Festival in the future and are excited about working with British Eventing to establish this fixture, which provides direct qualification to the Science Supplements Cup at Badminton Horse Trials, as a destination event for the Grassroots membership.”
The class will give riders the chance to compete as they would at an international three day event as the competition takes place over multiple days with the showjumping phase being held on the last day, in reverse order of merit. They will also undertake the Road & Tracks and Steeplechase phases as well as a trot up in front of a Ground Jury on the final morning of the competition. The unique format of this event is always popular amongst the grassroots riders finishing the season on a high.
“It is more than just a class,” added Helen West, who is also Cross-Country Course Designer at the venue, “It is about the whole experience. We want to ensure those competitors coming to the glorious Grade One Listed Park at Bicton have the most wonderful few days with us. This is the only opportunity for the BE membership to compete in traditional long format classes and we really want them to have the best experience possible.”
Follow the Bicton Arena social media channels for more information on competition and activities at www.bicton-arena.co.uk.