British Riders Notch Up Several Wins In This Week’s International Round Up
Tuesday 03 December 2024
Laura Renwick lands the top-billed 2* Grand Prix on Enjoy CK Z to conclude week one of the Autumn MET III tour in Spain
Laura Renwick seized victory in the feature 2* Grand Prix with Enjoy CK Z to finish week one of the Autumn MET III tour in Oliva Nova, Spain, on a high.
Sixty-nine riders came forward over a 1.45m course with 13 producing initial clears, although three more were considered unlucky finishing on one time fault apiece to miss out on the jump-off. Laura encountered no such trouble and set sail with Pamela Wright and Charlotte Rossetter’s 11-year-old Echo Van’t Spieveld x Cornado mare to win with 0.30 seconds to spare.
Laura also picked up second in a 42-strong Gold 1.40m speed with the home-bred nine-year-old Kosmos A (Arezzo VDL x Namelus R) only 0.14 seconds behind French speedster Julien Epaillard on Secret Love NML Z. Nathan Bull slipped into third on Milton Van Vrijhern – winner of a later Gold 1.35m speed.
James Smith has enjoyed a success here, totting up wins every week over the three, three-week tours and added another to his tally in the world ranking Gold 1.45m speed on Juno Rose 23. Seventy-one competitors contended this hot class with James and the Erdento x Nissan Caretano Z 10-year-old emerging triumphant by 0.36 seconds.
Ellen Whitaker claimed second in a 10-strong jump-off of the Gold 1.45m with Tilly Shaw’s Korlenski, the nine-year-old Cornet Obolensky daughter finishing 0.79 seconds behind Luxembourg’s Victor Bettendorf and Milky Way 111. Laura and Enjoy CK Z showed their early form here with fourth place.
British riders notched up several wins in the lower height classes. Iwan Carpenter posted a victory double, winning an early 64-horse Silver 1.35m speed by more than three seconds with Merllyn’s Chacco B and the Chacco-Blue x Contendro I 14-year-old went on to head Friday’s Silver 1.40m speed, outpacing their 52 rivals by 0.32 seconds. Tom Whitaker claimed a hat-trick, topping the initial 60-entry Gold 1.30m speed on the eight-year-old mare Elle De Liebrie Z with just 0.10 seconds over Izac Ketteridge’s Indezz G and while the eight-year-old Unicorn Di June won a Silver 1.25 two-phase and a Silver 1.30m speed.
Other Brits topping the podium – Emily King won the concluding Bronze 1.30m on the eight-year-old Mellow Lane, Mia Grey topped a Bronze 1.30m two-phase with the nine-year-old Kiana and Lauren Edwards outpaced 39 rivals in a Six-year-old 1.25m two-phase aboard Deputy.
Matt Sampson lands a hard-fought speed class in Madrid
It was all systems go in Madrid as known speedsters were pitted against each other in the 5* 1.45m, but Britain emerged triumphant in the form of Matt Sampson and Fabrice DN.
Fifty-seven riders chased the clock over Spanish course-designer Javier Trenor’s 11-fence, 13-effort track with Matt setting his sights on the top spot, hitting the turbo button to guide Luis Alejandro Plascencia’s 14-year-old Fabrice DN (Gelha’s VDL Emilion x Baloubet Du Rouet) to gallop ahead with 1.31 seconds to spare. The Netherlands’ Maikel van der Vleuten eased Elwikke into second with Ireland’s Mikey Pender taking third on HHS Vancouver.
Robert Whitaker claimed equal first in the Six-Bar competition on the Quite Easy 18-year-old Gentlemen VH Veldhof. Twelve initially faced the line of verticals but only two qualified for round four on four faults each, at which point Robert and Germany’s Daniel Deusser (Pepita Van T Meulenhof BR) opted to withdraw and share the top spot equally.
Robert was in the reckoning in the Longines FEI World Cup Qualifier with an initial clear on Vermento, but four faults second time out in the 13-horse decider dropped them down to ninth. Nonetheless, it earned Robert another eight points and he stands as Best Brit in fifth on the Western European League Leaderboard.
Image credit: 1clicphoto/Hervé Bonnaud
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