THE Price family has been cleaning up on the global four-star horse trials circuit this season. The latest win went the way of Tim, who claimed the spoils at last weekend’s Land Rover Burghley CCI4* aboard the Irish Sport Horse Ringwood Sky Boy. Price’s trophy will join the silverware won by wife Jonelle at Badminton and Luhmuhlen earlier this season.
Wiltshire-based New Zealander Price (39) lay second after the dressage, narrowly headed by countryman Mark Todd on the elegant grey Kiltubrid Rhapsody. However, the early leaders fell at fence 10 on Mark Phillips’ taxing 30-fence cross-country course, leaving the way open for Price.
He had previously finished in the top-five here on three occasions aboard Varenna Allen’s 15-year-old Ringwood Sky Boy, who was bred by Myles Mahon in Enniscorthy by the Holstein stallion Courage II.
The horse, who arrived in Price’s yard in 2010, is out of the mare Sky Lassie, by the Thoroughbred Sky Boy.
“I’m super proud of my horse for jumping a clear round,” said the popular Price, referring to the final show jumping phase which has been a slight bête noire for the bay gelding in the past.
“I’m so thrilled for him. He’s such a trier and he always puts his best hoof forward. Winning feels even more incredible than I thought it would.”
Oliver Townend was best of a rejuvenated British contingent — now excelling under the watchful eye of eventing team performance coach Christopher Bartle.
Yorkshireman Townend took the runner-up spot on last year’s Burghley champion, the 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse Ballaghmor Class, also by Courage II, who was bred by Noel Hickey in Co Limerick.
“He’s very special and he dug deep all the way round the cross-country. There isn’t a more testing track than this in the world,” said 35-year-old Townend, who had arrived triple-handed at Burghley on a mission to prove Britain’s selectors wrong for omitting him from their World Equestrian Games squad.
Rounding up the podium placings was New Zealander Andrew Nicholson (57). He piloted the four-star debutante Swallow Springs with typical aplomb to rise up the order from 16th after dressage.
The grey Swallow Springs, by Chillout and bred by Maria Keating, is another Irish Sport Horse, as was Britain’s Piggy French’s fifth-placed mare Vanir Kamira, plus Harry Meade’s sixth-placed Away Cruising, Richard Jones’s Alfies Clover (seventh) and eighth-placed Willa Newton’s Chance Remark.
POWER NINTH
Ironically, the highest placed Irish rider, Elizabeth Power in ninth, returning to this Lincolnshire fixture after a six-year gap, was paired with a French-bred horse.
Power, who would have finished slightly higher in the field had her 11-year-old mount Soladoun not caught the back rail of the middle element of the treble on the final day, had stopped the cross-country clock within the 11-minute, 11-second optimum time the day before, one of only four riders to do so.
This propelled her up the leaderboard from 37th to seventh at this point and prompted her to say: “Soladoun has racing blood and anyone on a blood horse had to pay the penalty for two days of dressage, but he was fantastic [around the cross-country]. It’s all I’ve ever dreamed of. I have one horse at this level and I have to make every round count.
“I’ve been away from the level for a while because I haven’t had the right horse and I’ve always believed in this one. He was naughty in the early days and he can still be, but he’s always given me the feeling that he can do it.
“I have these horses because I don’t have the budget to go out and buy youngsters. This is an ex-Alan King horse,” added Power, who bought Soladoun (Alfie) out of King’s yard when the trainer informed her that the grey wasn’t suited to the track.
Killossery Lodge Stud manager Ciaran Glynn took home a miniature of the Land Rover Perpetual Challenge Trophy as the best Burghley first timer. Glynn finished 14th with Susanna Francke and Peter Cole’s 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare November Night.
Glynn, like Power, had heard the dreaded sound of a show jumping pole thudding on the turf on Sunday, and the duo had clocked up 7.2 time faults on Saturday.
“We put in a personal best in all phases,” said Glynn. “I’ve got the hang of her a little, but she’s an old lady now. The cross-country walked big and rode big, but she was a warrior and battled away to the finish.”
Michael Ryan (Dunlough Striker) found himself neighbours on the final scoreboard with Joseph Murphy (Sportsfield Othello), both just scraping into the top 25.
Murphy found himself with just the one horse in the competition after withdrawing Fernhill Frankie II from the holding box at the first trot-up. Austin O’Connor and Lucky Contender were best of the Irish in 20th after dressage and their storming cross-country round promised much, until they incurred 20 jumping penalties that anchored them in 29th place at the finish.
“Lucky Contender was pure class around his first four-star,” said the Thame-based Irishman on social media. “This time 10 months ago he was very green around his first three-star. I’m frustrated to say the least that I crossed my tracks at the Joules Corners as he didn’t deserve a 20, but I’m so excited for his future.”
British Burghley first timer Julie Tew (44) provided the story of the event. Diagnosed with a spinal tumour 18 years ago, and still enduring ill health, she has continued to defy doctors’ orders and event.
Campaigning the 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse Simply Sox (Don Tristan x Kildalton Son), she passed through the cross-country finish flags with an extraordinary clear round to her name, but sadly withdrew her gelding prior to the final horse inspection.
NUMBERS
39 completed Burghley 2018
10 eliminated cross-country
7 ISH’s in top 10
5 (18%) Traditional ISH’s completed