A HOST of British Olympic hopefuls showcased their depth and strength at Aston Le Walls last week, and specifically Laura Collett who cemented her own Olympic challenge, when dominating the star-studded CCI4*-S.

As she did when winning Pau last October, Collett partnered London 52 and, leading from day one on an impressive mark of just 20.5, delivered yet another master class performance.

The pair now remain unbeaten from their three runs this season, and while they have undoubtedly bolstered their Tokyo claim, so did a raft of others who filled the places behind them. Chasing all the way, Izzy Taylor was two marks adrift with her star ride Monkeying Around, while 2018 World Equestrian Games medallists Tom McEwen and Toledo de Kerser were close behind in third.

Almost every British squad member ran to be competitive, so add to the mix Piggy French, who filled fourth with her Pau runner-up Brookfield Innocent (ISH), world champion Ros Canter who won the second sector, the well-placed Sarah Bullimore (Corouet), Nicola Wilson (JL Dublin), Pippa Funnell and Tina Cook and it is clear that the British team will have a very strong hand this summer.

The CCI4*-S class at Nigel Taylor’s purpose-built Aston Le Walls facility was especially designed by Captain Mark Phillips, with the idea of providing these top ranked riders a testing track with the Olympic Games selection in mind.

As a result, the event was also singled out by Ireland’s High Performance manager Sally Corscadden as a perfect stepping stone towards the same aim.

“It was ideal for several reasons,” Corscadden told The Irish Field. “Most of our Irish-based riders haven’t left the country since 2019, so it was really good to get them back into travel mode, and into a squad situation. It also gave them another opportunity to work with Tracie (Robinson, dressage coach) and to get in front of different judges against top competition.”

Mixed fortunes

It was also noted that with Captain Phillip’s connection with the Olympic designer Derek di Grazia, there was a strong possibility that the technical course might give a taste of the fences likely to be encountered in Japan.

With 100 starters, competition in the main section was intense from the get go. The six Irish riders who went to post met with mixed fortunes, and leading the sextet was Padraig McCarthy aboard Sir Mark Todd’s former ride Leonidas II. Adding just time penalties to their opening score of 28.8, the Devon-based pair creditably completed in 31st spot, 10 ranks in front of compatriot Camilla Speirs and Lukas.

Now 18-years-old, Leonidas is not listed for the Olympics, but could be very competitive at the European championships in September. In comparison, the 10-year-old Lukas is on the cusp of his career, so Camilla was thrilled to complete with just a few time faults to add.

“The ground was beautiful but also very undulating. They had a number of man-made mounds and made every use of them. The angles were so acute, you really needed a horse to suck in between the flags,” commented Speirs.

Indeed, one to bear the penalty of those flags was Sarah Ennis who, having enjoyed a good spin with Horseware Woodcourt Garrison (ISH), was penalised an added 15 penalties for skimming just the wrong side of one.

The Batterstown pair also show jumped clear, and while Ennis was perhaps a little disappointed in her dressage mark, the outing had been constructive.

It was a case of so near and yet so far for Joseph Murphy, who having set out across the country on a competitive flatwork mark of 28.1 parted company with Cesar at the water three from home. Missing out on a possible sixth spot, Cesar buckled on landing going into the water, leaving Murphy no chance of staying in the plate.

Of the remainder, Cathal Daniels and Rioghan Rua (ISH), who had already run at Ballindenisk two weeks earlier, unsurprisingly withdrew before cross-country, while Aoife Clark, who sadly lost her highly regarded intermediate horse Dondarrion during the week, opted to call it a day with Celus d’Ermac Z after dressage.

Building blocks

“It’s all about building blocks,” summed up Corscadden. “The plan coming here was to compete at somewhere new and to run over a track that would be completely fresh.

“It was not a test of results but more of a learning and training exercise. The track had lots of technical, bending lines, and the angles are far more acute than we would meet at home.”

The value of the trip was immense, but as Corscadden points out, the Brexit-related costs and paperwork are not insignificant. “It is so much more expensive. It costs around €1,500 extra per rider, and sadly will put people off travelling, and of course the same will apply to British riders coming here. These are FEI horses travelling for competition, they are not being sold - the government have to help out.”

It was not just Ireland that used the event as a recce, as riders from Australia, France, Japan, Italy, New Zealand and Sweden also took part. Rather like Team Ireland, all appeared to be clocking up mileage rather than being ultra-competitive, but prominent were the Swedish duo of Ludvig Svennerstal who slotted into eighth spot with Balham Mist, and Therese Viklund and Viscera (20th).

There was no Irish participation in the second sector which, delivering another British domination, fell to world champion Ros Canter (Lordships Graffalo) from Piggy French and the Irish-bred Brookfield Quality.