Oliver Townend leaps onto provisional podium – plus the other major leaderboard climbers you need to know about on Blenheim cross-country day
Oliver Townend, Sam Ecroyd, Zara Tindall and Tayla Mason were among the notable climbers on cross-country day at Blenheim Horse Trials
Oliver Townend spearheaded the leaderboard leapers on CCI4*-L cross-country day at Agria Blenheim Horse Trials, soaring onto the overnight podium with his fault-free round on new ride Sommersby.
Tom McEwen heads into tomorrow’s showjumping holding the top two places – provisional first with The Fieldmaster (30.4) and second on Brookfield Quality (30.5). Oliver and Sommersby have climbed from 32nd place after dressage to hold third overnight.
“I was having a beautiful ride, that was the most confident that I’ve felt him up until being held,” said Oliver, who rides the 14-year-old for owners Jennifer Caras and Jerry Hollis, and is on a score of 34 ahead of the showjumping.
“He’d had a great spin until then, but fair dues to him, he didn’t feel that confident once we got going as his blood had gone back down again, and every time I asked him a question, he answered it very well.”
The Olympic gold medallist was held on course for around 20 minutes before the HorseHage Roll Top (fence 13) – the jump before the Murlac Hanging Brush (14abc) into the lake – while Tom Rowland’s horse, The Mail Man, was attended to following a fall further on course. Thankfully, Tom and The Mail Man both walked away.
Oliver has been riding Sommersby for around eight weeks and the pair have been in the ribbons at all four of their starts together.
“He’s a very talented horse and Jenny [Caras] has done a beautiful job producing him,” said Oliver, adding the 14-year-old gelding had lost his way a little and that he is in the saddle to help give the horse a confidence boost.
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“The first part of the course for me was as beautiful a ride I’ve had here since I won the eight- and nine-year-old class on Cooley Rosalent. He really felt in the bridle and beautifully looking for the fences. Fair dues to him [for getting going again]; hopefully the more runs he gets under his belt where he gains confidence while he is going, the more positive it is.”
The cross-country time played a major role today. The dressage results were tightly bunched, meaning any faults were costly. It also meant that almost any competitor could earn a place in the top 10, right to the end of the class – the lowest dressage score of the CCI4*-S was 48.5, and the cut-off for the top 10 after cross-country is 43.6.
Sam Ecroyd powered up the standings with his two rides, Bloomfield Manuscript (35.7) and Jackpot (37.6). Bloomfield Manuscript was 17th after dressage, while his stablemate was in 19th. They now hold fifth and sixth respectively.
“Bloomfield Manuscript is such a cool cross-country horse,” said Sam, following the first of his two rounds. “It’s probably the biggest test we’ve had in terms of difficulty and fitness, and the course hasn’t ridden super smoothly – it’s proved troublesome for quite a few. So I was probably a fraction more cautious than I would have been on him on some of my previous runs, so we had a few time-faults, but time is hard to get here, so it’s great.”
Zara Tindall and Classicals Euro Star are in seventh (39.5), skipping up from 12th after dressage.
“He was very good everywhere. He’s a bit of a tricky one in the sense that he pretends he’s all brave, but actually I think he’s quite an anxious person, so this year has been a bit up and down,” she said. “I’m so pleased as he has stepped up; he’s a cool little horse and I hope he draws loads of confidence from this too.”
Jack Pinkney and Monbeg Stone Town are new faces at the business end of the standings, hiking 19 places from 27th to eighth (41.9).
New Zealand’s Tayla Mason and Joopiter are among the biggest climbers so far. They were 51st after dressage and rocketed into provisional 10th (43.6) thanks to their speedy cross-country clear, where they picked up just 5.2 time-penalties – that’s a rise of 41 places.
“He is very fast up the hills – he’s kind of a one-pace man, he’s just as fast up a hill as he is across one,” said Tayla. “I don’t know where I could have gone faster, he was totally galloping the whole way around. He is really rideable, he’s about 17.2hh and goes in a snaffle. He is the absolute gentleman and that is his biggest quality. He’s such a trier, all he wants is to do the right thing.”
Other notable gains outside the top 10 include Izzy Cook and Cymoon “F” Z powering from 30th to 12th (44.9), Samuel Jeffree and Santorro from 34th to 16th (46.2), Alice Casburn and LSS Ile De Re from 38th to 18th, plus Izzy Taylor and Barrington Revelation rising an enormous 42 places from 61st to 19th.
- Read the report on Tom McEwen’s leading performances in the CCI4*-L on Blenheim Horse Trials cross-country day
- To stay up to date with the latest equestrian news throughout Blenheim Horse Trials, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website
Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.