Rule Brittania! Matt Sampson reigns at Spruce Meadows with victory in the Pan American Grand Prix on Daniel
Monday 01 July 2024
Matt Sampson ruled at Spruce Meadows Pan American, taking victory in the feature 5* Pan American Cup presented by Rolex at the iconic Calgary, Canada venue.
There were tears of joy as Matt hailed Davenport Stud’s 16-year-old stallion Daniel as “one of the most incredible horses” he has ever worked with.
Matt and Daniel had started the week with second place in the Canadian Utilities Cup with a practise run over a 1.50m track on the brilliant green turf of the vast Meadows on the Green arena. Only four of the 65 starters reached the jump-off, Matt and Daniel again supplying a clean round to take the runner-up position 1.14 seconds behind the winner, Mexico’s Francisco Pasquel Vega on Dominant 2000 Z.
It set them up nicely for the main event.
Thirty-seven riders faced a challenging test over the top-billed 1.60m Grand Prix track designed by France’s Gregory Bodo – a co-course-designer at the Paris Olympics. Following congratulatory phone calls from his Mum Ruth and Canadian showjumper girlfriend Kara Chad, Matt enthused about the 14-fence, 17-effort course.
“I’ve jumped a few of Gregory’s courses and they’re never easy,” said Matt, who faced seven others in the jump-off, including Paris-bound Canadians Amy Millar and Mario Deslauriers, who finished seventh and eighth respectively.
Matt was drawn third and, with no clear yet on the board, some may have taken precautionary measures. Not Matt. With five riders following all in with a chance of taking the crown, he lit up Daniel at the start, hitting the accelerator and tackling the enormous fences at top gear. The Heartbreaker x San Patrignano Mister stallion responded with gusto, flying between fences and flicking his heels away at each obstacle to storm home clear.
Only The USA’s Elena Haas provided a clean round on Claude, but they were 2.31 seconds adrift to take second place. However, Kyle King had everyone on the edge of their seats as he challenged on Odysseus, beating the time by 0.01 seconds, but at the expense of a rail down to drop to third.
Matt had already secured two wins at the Spruce Meadows Summer Series so far, but both were with the 11-year-old One Whisper – “I feel like it meant so much to Daniel to win. He deserves it. If I were a horse, I would wish I was him. He’s one of the most incredible horses I’ve ever had. I feel like, when we don’t win, it’s always my fault. To win today feels amazing, a dream come true.”
A long-term partnership pays off with victory for Amanda Derbyshire and Cornwall BH
Amanda Derbyshire scored a 2* 1.45m victory in Ocala, Florida, The USA, with Cornwall BH.
A large entry of 49 competitors from 17 nations contended this $31,500 2* Grand Prix qualifier over Irish course-designer John Doyle’s challenging track where a tight time allowed claimed several. Eleven pairs managed to leave all the fences intact and finish within the time to go forward into the jump-off.
Drawn second, Amanda had to set a sizzling target for her fellow competitors to chase.
“There were a couple of options to leave out, which I was a little unsure of, especially after watching the first rider. It didn’t quite go her way in the last line, even though she was clear and awesome, the six [strides] were very long. I didn’t have much of a plan, I just went for it, and it was enough in the end,” said Amanda, who claimed the win by 0.48 seconds over Ireland’s Dylan Daly on Cinderella Z.
Amanda reflected on her long-term partnership with the German-bred Holsteiner, Cornwall BH.
“He’s like my naughty child! It took me five years to win a class on him. He’s 16 now and I’ve had him since he was eight, but he’s been an incredible partner and always tries to leave the jumps up,” said Amanda.
“Now that he’s older, we pick and choose our classes. In the last couple of weeks, he’s placed second, first and now another win. I couldn’t be prouder of him and our team – it takes a big village, and I couldn’t do it without them.”
Amanda also picked up third in the 14-entry $10,000 2* 1.45m two-phase with the Baloubet Junior Z eight-year-old Renkum Oriana – bred in Britain by Henk Minderman – 0.79 seconds behind the winning time. Amanda claimed second in a 20-horse 2* 1.40m two-phase half a second off the pace with Vogue, another recent acquisition from Britain and Tom Williams and produced by Nicole Lockhead Anderson.
Nathan Bull and Josh Hutchins claim wins in The Netherlands
Nathan Bull and Josh Hutchins both recorded victory in CSI3* Geesteren, The Netherlands.
Nathan topped the 3* 1.40m with Balloon P in a hard-fought competition. Fifty-nine contended this two-phase class with Nahan and the Balou Du Rouet x Landcapitol 10-year-old easing ahead of their rivals by 0.73 seconds.
Josh outpaced all to take the 1* Grand Prix in fine style aboard Jill Donna. The 45 starters were reduced to 16 over the 1.35m track with Josh and the 10-year-old Zambesi TN x Ustinov mare galloping ahead to win with 1.47 seconds to spare.
Laura Renwick is in the money in France
Laura Renwick picked up several places throughout the CSI3* in Royan, France.
The 10-year-old Cottee (Asterix E Z x Couleur Rubin) started the week off with third in the big 97-entry 3* 1.40m two-phase for Laura, finishing 1.40 seconds behind the pace. The home-bred Cottee went on to take fourth in another 3* 1.30m two-phase in a 98-strong class.
Laura also slotted the home-bred NFS Angelina into second in a 3* 1.35m, narrowly missing out on victory by a tiny margin. Seventy-five competitors contended the two-phase course with Laura and the Arko III x Couleur Rubin eight-year-old only 0.12 seconds behind the winner.
Image: Matt Sampson Daniel. Credit: Spruce Meadows Media / Tony Lewis
