Competition for 7 year old horses: Piggy French and Cast Away II hold out
Sunday 21 October 2007 14:59:03
Almost 30,000 spectators were present on Saturday for the cross country event. Therefore, the 7 year old horses which competed on the course designed by Pierre Michelet, which was 5,480 metres long, were cheered on by a huge crowd.
Crédit : Cosinus Production/www.equi-photos.com
The cross country event for the World Championships for 7 year old horses took place with conditions similar to experienced by the 6 year old horses and there were also very few incidents. Nelly Schorer was one of the few riders who unfortunately did fall, on the landing of the Pays de la Loire Gazebo (no.4). The French rider competed again with Myrage du Bois, and then retired on obstacle no.15 (the new Renault Laguna). Denis Mesples was eliminated after Mahogany fell at the entry of the Aigle Water Jump (no.14).
Like for the competition for 6 year old horses, the two water jumps were the obstacles which caused the most problems for the riders. Having said that, the majority of them finished their round without any problems and within the time limit. All in all, these were ideal circumstances to train these young horses, some of which are destined to replace the crack horses currently competing on the circuit. Several of the 7 year old horses stood out from the crowd. This was especially the case of those which were in the lead after the dressage event… The little horse Prada, ridden by Lucinda Fredericks, was wonderful throughout the entire round, just like Avebury, ridden by Andrew Nicholson (4th).
Michael Jung and La Biosthetique Sam (3rd) were also successful in this event: “He was fantastic! He jumped very well and was fast throughout the round.“
Piggy French (1st) was also thrilled at the finish line of the cross country course: “Cast Away is really a very, very good horse! I had a slight problem on the 3rd obstacle (the Val de Loire Apples), but apart from that he was perfect! He is calm, he loves performing and is competitive. He is a horse for three or even four star level competitions… If he does not manage to reach this level of competition, it will be because I have failed!“
The rider everyone was waiting for, Nicolas Touzaint (2nd) of course, lived up to the public’s expectations! He had a wonderful performance with his Spanish horse Barlovento. “ I am completely thrilled! At the beginning, he was very sensitive to the public, he shied when they applauded. He is rather curious, but he remained concentrated on what I asked him to do. He is very straightforward on the obstacles. He is still tricky to ride, but he really has potential“ said the European Champion enthusiastically, once he had crossed the finish line.
The top of provisional line-up has not changed and the first seven riders are still only separated by four faults. As a result, the show jumping event will be even more exciting to watch on Sunday afternoon. .
Like for the competition for 6 year old horses, the two water jumps were the obstacles which caused the most problems for the riders. Having said that, the majority of them finished their round without any problems and within the time limit. All in all, these were ideal circumstances to train these young horses, some of which are destined to replace the crack horses currently competing on the circuit. Several of the 7 year old horses stood out from the crowd. This was especially the case of those which were in the lead after the dressage event… The little horse Prada, ridden by Lucinda Fredericks, was wonderful throughout the entire round, just like Avebury, ridden by Andrew Nicholson (4th).
Michael Jung and La Biosthetique Sam (3rd) were also successful in this event: “He was fantastic! He jumped very well and was fast throughout the round.“
Piggy French (1st) was also thrilled at the finish line of the cross country course: “Cast Away is really a very, very good horse! I had a slight problem on the 3rd obstacle (the Val de Loire Apples), but apart from that he was perfect! He is calm, he loves performing and is competitive. He is a horse for three or even four star level competitions… If he does not manage to reach this level of competition, it will be because I have failed!“
The rider everyone was waiting for, Nicolas Touzaint (2nd) of course, lived up to the public’s expectations! He had a wonderful performance with his Spanish horse Barlovento. “ I am completely thrilled! At the beginning, he was very sensitive to the public, he shied when they applauded. He is rather curious, but he remained concentrated on what I asked him to do. He is very straightforward on the obstacles. He is still tricky to ride, but he really has potential“ said the European Champion enthusiastically, once he had crossed the finish line.
The top of provisional line-up has not changed and the first seven riders are still only separated by four faults. As a result, the show jumping event will be even more exciting to watch on Sunday afternoon. .
Alison Drummond
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