BRITAIN’s Tom McEwen leapt up 26 places on the final day of Belton International Horse Trials to win the CCI-S4* with Figaro van het Broekxhof on his dressage score of 33.54. Twenty-three-year-old Susie Berry was best of the Irish in 16th place with the Irish Sport Horse Ringwood LB.

Some 66 of the 88 combinations who completed the cross-country, designed by Captain Mark Phillips, came home without any jumping faults, and just four of those managed to get home within the time allowed.

Another clear round in the show jumping phase saw McEwen, who was a member of the 2018 WEG gold medal-winning British team, take the top prize aboard the 14-year-old Belgian-bred gelding.

Laura Collett guided London 52 to second place. She added 5.2 time penalties to her dressage score of 28.8 to finish on a score of 34.00, less than half a mark behind McEwen.

Third placed Mollie Summerland is fast making Belton her happy hunting ground. After winning the under 21 Open Intermediate event at the venue in 2018, she returned for a podium place in the CCI-S4* on this occasion, with the same mount, Charly Van Ter Heiden. The result was the combinations career best result up to this point.

Summerland also collected the Polly Phillips Memorial Prize, awarded to the highest-placed British rider not eligible to wear a senior flag. Established by Polly’s husband Vere Phillips, who is well-known on the eventing, show jumping and sales circuit in Ireland, after her death in 1999, Summerland became the youngest recipient of the award.

Susie Berry scored 35.0 in the opening day’s dressage with Helen Caton’s 10-year-old Iroko-sired gelding. The combination then produced double clear jumping rounds, only to add eight time penalties across the country to finish on a final score of 43.00 in 16th place.

Britain’s Izzy Taylor was the clear leader after dressage with Monkeying Around on 26.2, but after knocking a rail in the show jumping arena, the eight-year-old was subsequently withdrawn, as were both of Izzy’s other rides in this class.

Padraig McCarthy and his WEG silver medallist Mr Chunky scored 33.2 in their dressage test before finishing the show jumping phase with four faults. The pair then completed just over half of the cross-country course before retiring, as planned.

JONTY APPEARANCE

McCarthy, alongside Austin O’Connor, flanked his teammate and friend Jonty Evans as he made his first public appearance in the saddle since sustaining a brain injury at Tattersalls last June. One year on from his victory at Belton, he returned with Cooley Rorkes Drift.

Asked what his drove him to get back in the saddle, Evans said: “I am sitting on him, and what people have done for me is off the scale. People have been incredibly kind, they sent so messages, and determination was east to get hold off.

“The drive from everybody who got involved, everybody who wore green for Jonty, it means so much and I want to thank everyone so much.”