© Eventridermasters.tv / Ben Clarke
A fascinating first day of Eventing dressage unfolded in the grounds of the historic stud located near to Paris, with all of the top ten horse and rider combinations producing a ‘sub 40’ dressage mark. Ahead of tomorrow’s showjumping phase there are less than eight marks separating the top ten competitors. The competition will conclude with the thrilling cross country ran in reverse order of merit. The scene is set for a nail biting second day of competition.
Bettina, who was second last to go in the dressage, riding Seigneur Medicott, produced a lovely dressage test to score 31.4. The performance puts her into pole position heading into the second day of the competition tomorrow. Bettina holds a three-point advantage over Australia’s Andrew Hoy and Cheeky Calimbo. Lt. Col Thibaut Vallette and Qing De Briot ENE HN lie in third place for France.
“He is so reliable”, Bettina commented on Seigneur Medicott who won the CIC*** German Championship last month on a remarkable finishing score of 26.3. “He always gives 150% and although he was a bit tense outside of the arena today, but he delivered inside it. I now need to focus on being competitive tomorrow and delivering the results”.
“All being well I hope to compete in the final leg of the series at Blenheim in September, and I am very excited to be involved with this series”.
Bettina filled second place on the podium at Leg 1 in May and currently sits in equal seventh on the overall 2017 ERM standings with 28 points. A strong performance from Seigneur Medicott tomorrow in the showjumping and cross country phases could earn her valuable series points, and potentially shake up the top placings on the series table.
Multiple Olympic Gold medallist Andrew Hoy (AUS) riding Cheeky Calimbo sits in second on a score of 34.4. Visibly delighted he said;
“Cheeky Calimbo was super today. We’ve had a few interesting moments throughout our career together but he is very secure now and did great. It’s a great start to the competition, but it’s a still a long way to the finish with two more phases to go. I will not be taking anything for granted”.
© Eventridermasters.tv / Ben Clarke
Lt Col Thibaut Vallette (FRA) and his 2016 Olympic team gold medal winning horse Qing De Briot ENE HN lie in third place, scoring 34.8. Commenting after his dressage, Thibaut said;
“He is a very good horse and I am particularly pleased with his trot work today. The time on cross country is difficult to get here, but he is proven in all phases and fingers crossed we will go well tomorrow”.
© Eventridermasters.tv / Ben Clarke
Fellow Frenchman Karim Florent Laghouag riding Entebbe de Hus fills the fourth spot on a mark of 34.9. The current European, World and Olympic Champion Michael Jung (GER) lies in fifth on 35.7 riding Star Connection.
Britain’s Gemma Tattersall and Chico Bella P and Will Furlong on board Livingstone hold the next two spots on respective marks of 36.37 and 38.6. Oliver Townend sits in tenth with Cooley Master Class on 39.10.
Leg 4 of the Event Rider Masters at Haras De Jardy continues tomorrow with the showjumping and cross country. All the action from Leg 4 can be viewed live at Eventridermasters.tv. A highlights programme will be aired across global TV channels from Thursday 20th July, including Sky Sports in the UK at 7pm.
