BRITAIN’s Oliver Townend won the sixth five-star of his career last Sunday when, after a weekend of ups and downs, the 43-year-old guided the Irish Sport Horse Ballaghmor Class to victory in the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event, to become just the second person ever to win the event three times in-a-row.
Only Germany’s Michael Jung has also managed to do so, all with the recently retired fischerRocana FST, while the 2020 event was cancelled due to Covid-19. The 2021 event was also in jeopardy and was actually cancelled earlier this year, before a crowd funding campaign got it back on the calendar.
It wasn’t all plain sailing for Townend, the world number one, who had to keep his composure with no room for error in Sunday’s final phase. Ballaghmor Class’s dressage mark of 26.5 was well below what we have seen them score in the past, leaving them in fifth place after that phase, and a lost shoe at fence seven on a wet cross-country day meant he had to protect the horse somewhat. Still, they crossed the finish only two seconds over the optimum time to take the lead on 27.3.
Townend then had to overcome Sunday morning’s disappointment when his two-time Kentucky winner Cooley Master Class (ISH), lying in eighth going into show jumping, was not accepted in the final horse inspection.
But the Karyn Shuter, Angela Hislop and Val Ryan-owned Ballaghmor Class delivered a classy show jumping round to win on that score of 27.3, ahead of the New Zealand husband and wife duo of Tim Price (Xavier Faer) on 28.2 and Jonelle Price (Grovine De Reve (ISH)) on 30.7.
An emotional Townend was overjoyed to win. He earned $50,000 and one-year lease on a 2021 Land Rover Discovery. “The stadium itself is the most special stadium in the world for eventing. When you go in that stadium, whether it’s full to the brim or it’s completely empty, for me there is still a very strong aura because this place is so special to us,” Townend said.
“Going down that chute when there are thousands of people watching or no one watching, when the pressure is on it will feel very much like the place we want to be. The pressure is still on. Of course we love a big crowd, we love to perform in front of the crowd, and we miss the crowd, but at the same time it took nothing away from the competition.”
Boyd Martin was the best-placed American in fourth on a score of 31.8. Martin won the Land Rover/USEF CCI5*-L Eventing National Championship for the second time in-a-row. In 2019 he won the National Championship with Tsetserleg TSF. This year he piloted the 15-year-old mare On Cue to a National Champion title in her five-star debut.
The 14-year-old Ballaghmor Class is by the late Kedrah House Stud sire Courage II out of Kilderry Place. He was bred in Co Limerick by Noel Hickey. The striking grey was sold as a three-year-old to Judy Tobin and Kathy Charlton by Pat Meagher via the Tattersalls Ireland Elite Event Horse Sale.
He competed in the four-year-old Future Event Horse League and finished in the top 10 in the Millstreet Discovery Class, as well as doing some hunting with the Fingal Harriers and the Ward Union, before being sold to Townend as a four-year-old.
The combination won their first five-star at Burghley in 2017 and in six five-star starts have never been outside the top five.
Third-placed Grovine De Reve was bred in Co Kilkenny by Paddy and Maria Ragget. By Hermes De Reve, the 13-year-old gelding is out of Erkina Jane (TIH) who is by the thoroughbred Rimilis.
Jonelle Price and the Irish Sport Horse Grovine De Reve finished third at the CCI5* Land Rover Kentucky Three Day Event \ RedBayStock.com
Dressage
The pressure was heaped on Team USA riders ahead of Kentucky as selectors made it clear it would be used as a viewing for the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games. USA’s Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous delivered a stunning performance on the flat on Thursday, earning a 21.7, and that held through the second day of dressage on Friday to lead the competition after the opening phase.
That is the best score earned at the Kentucky event since 2009, when Bettina Hoy and Ringwood Cockatoo scored a 19.2 and Lucinda Fredericks and Headley Brittania earned a 21.5 (scores adjusted to the modern scoring system).
“It’s great to be back here in Kentucky. It’s a great gauge. The last time she was here she was on a 24.8 [after dressage]. She’s so much more mature and we’ve both learned so much,” Little said of the 16-year-old Oldenburg mare owned by Jacqueline Mars and Phoebe and Michael Manders. “Riding a horse like Scandalous here is also a privilege. She’s my horse of a lifetime. I’m acutely aware of that and trying to make sure I’m enjoying every moment with her.”
Little’s teammate Tamie Smith came close to matching her mark on Friday when scoring 21.8 with Mai Baum on their debut at five-star level.
Oliver Townend lay third after dressage with Angela Hislop’s Cooley Master Class (Ramiro B x Master Imp, bred by John Hagan), who was attempting to defend his 2018 and 2019 Kentucky title, when scoring a 24.1.
“I think that’s the best test he’s done at Kentucky. He’s on the same score as 2019 but it’s a different test which possibly doesn’t suit him quite as well,” Townend said of the 16-year-old Irish Sport Horse. “He felt very relaxed. He’s probably one that does miss the crowd a little bit because he is a very laid-back character, and it does him no harm to have a bit of atmosphere.”
Townend also lay fifth with his eventual winner on a score of 26.5, while it was Boyd Martin in fourth with Tsetserleg TSF who sadly feel on cross-country to end his shot at winning.
Cross-country
The leaderboard looked very different after Saturday’s tough cross-country in difficult conditions at the Lexington venue. Townend produced two clear rounds to take over the lead with Ballaghmor Class, adding just 0.8 of a time penalty, while Cooley Master Class slipped to eighth place with 6.4 for time. Both horses lost a shoe on course, and persistent rain made the footing slippy in places.
Speaking after Derek di Grazia’s cross-country course, Townend said: “For me this was the toughest cross-country course for a long, long time at the five-star level. It’s right up there with the very toughest in the world. Both horses had a tough enough time out there. I’m still very emotional about how amazing they both are. They’ve both given me their heart and soul today.”
By the time Townend left the startbox with Ballaghmor Class, it had been raining heavily for some time. The horse lost a shoe at fence seven, so Townend said he tried to protect his mount around the slippery turns. Still, they crossed the finish only two seconds over the optimum time to take the lead on 27.3.
“He’s an unbelievable cross-country machine. With a shoe he could have been 10 or 12 seconds inside the time without any sweat,” he said of Ballaghmor Class. “I’d love to be stylish and ride the round I’d like to ride, but it wasn’t meant to be this time. It was rough and tumble and start and stop and just trying to keep him on his feet.”
After a tough day in which saw Boyd Martin (USA) fall from two of his mounts, he lay in second with On Cue when adding just 0.8 time penalties and was hot on the leaders heels with a score of 27.8.
Tim Price (NZL) and Xavier Faer moved up from 11th place to round out the top three after cross-country. He posted one of only four clear rounds inside the time to sit on a score of 28.2.
Time penalties proved to be the deciding factor throughout the day. Dressage leader Marilyn Little jumped clear with RF Scandalous but added 28.4 time faults to move well down the leader board to 32nd. Tamie Smith and Mai Baum, who were second after dressage, activated a frangible pin on course for 11 penalties in addition to 6.0 time penalties to slip to 18th place.
Show jumping
The scores were incredibly close before show jumping, with the top eight all within a rail of the lead. Townend’s day had an unhappy start, when eighth-place Cooley Master Class was not accepted at final horse inspection.
By the time Townend entered the Rolex Arena for his round aboard Ballaghmor Class, jumping clear over Steve Stephen’s track was the only option to win the competition. Townend was worried about having time penalties – which famously lost him Badminton in 2019 – but the pair delivered in style. He punched the air in delight and the few people inside the stadium made as much noise as possible for the winner.
“I had a plan and just went in and did it,” Townend said afterwards. “He was jumping exceptionally which makes my job very, very easy. My biggest concern is, I find it easy to have time penalties with him. He’s a big jumper and actually quite slow in the way he does things. It’s very easy to get stuck in gear. My biggest thing was to have a good strong pace, don’t be caught on time, and just try and get him in the position to clear the fences.”
Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class (ISH) won the the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event \ RedBayStock.com
About Ballaghmor class, he added: “We’ve had him since he was four years old, so we know him very well. He was very sharp all the way through and still can be, but that sharpness – when we’ve managed to bend it – is what makes him so special. He knows what day things happen. I don’t know whether it’s down to intelligence. It’s definitely down to pedigree. But it’s hard to put your finger on what makes him so special, but he definitely, definitely is.”
There was heartbreak for Boyd Martin who was sitting second after cross-country with his and the Turner family’s On Cue and needed a clear round to hold his placing. On Cue knocked the first element of the double combination off a tight turn which dashed his hopes, but with a fourth-place finish on a final score of 31.8, he won the Land Rover/USEF CCI5*-L Eventing National Championship for the second time in-a-row.
Dressage score finish
The New Zealand power couple of Tim and Jonelle Price placed second and third, respectively. They were also the only individuals in the competition to finish on their dressage scores with two out of five horses entered between them.
Tim and Xavier Faer moved up from equal 11th after dressage to finish second on 28.2 with no jumping or time penalties to add all week. “I thought it was a very difficult show jumping course. It had all sorts of elements. The time wasn’t just a gimme. You had to work for the clock,” he said afterwards.
“I thought there was an opportunity in there to jump a clear round, but I thought it was going to be difficult to manage today. I didn’t manage it on [Bango]… I managed to get it done with [Xavier Faer]. It’s not the same as being in the lead, so you can focus on your job and see where that leaves you.”
Jonelle had three horses in the competition and finished with two in the top 10. She placed third on 30.7 with the Irish Sport Horse Grovine de Reve, adding just 0.4 time penalties in show jumping. With her longtime partner and 2018 Badminton winner Classic Moet, they finished in seventh place on their dressage score of 35.2.
Speaking about Grovine de Reve, who went to the 2018 World Equestrian Games with Dan Jocelyn, Jonelle said: “I’ve had him two years. He had mileage with Dan Jocelyn prior to me getting him.
“I haven’t been given the ride on a lot of older, more experienced horses so it took me a year to change him a little bit and adjust him to the way I wanted him to go. That was the first year really. The next year has been fine tuning him more and more.
“He’s got a lot in there. He’s not the most outward horse – we’ve had to coax it out of him – but he’s got an immense amount of talent. While he’s not the fanciest, he’s a real jumper and is giving me more and more as time goes on. I was really impressed with him this week.”
Meade comeback
Britian’s Harry Meade was competing in his first five-star since finishing sixth at Burghley in 2018 and he slotted into fifth place with the 12-year-old British Sport Horse Superstition, previously ridden to victory at four-star-short level by New Zealand’s Lucy Jackson.
Meade suffered a head injury in a fall last autumn and only began riding again consistently in early March. Superstition was making his five-star debut and, with one fence down in the final phase, finished on a score of 33.6.
Meade was one of just four riders who were clear inside the time across the country, alongside Tim and Jonelle Price and Australia’s Kevin McNab, who climbed from 21st after dressage to finish sixth overall with Scuderia 1918 Don Quidam, on a score of 34.6.
Master Class not accepted
Two-time defending champion Cooley Master Class was not accepted at the final horse inspection Sunday morning.
“He’s picked up a cut that he’s sore on but at the same time I’ve hopped on him and given him a little ride this morning,” a disappointed Townend said. “He’s sound to ride and very fresh. He’s well in himself. I’ve no doubt he would jump very well but unfortunately he didn’t present well.
“Obviously the welfare of the horse is paramount in our sport. That’s [the ground jury’s] decision to make. That’s their job to decide. It’s very sad for him and very sad for the team, but he’s still in one piece. ... It’s more of a frustration than anything else, but he’s 100%.”