‘He grew in confidence’: Olympic gold medallist seals first part of record-breaking Blenheim double with precocious talent
The reigning seven-year-old world champion added another gong to his already dazzling CV in the form of the Blenheim Horse Trials young horse CCI4*-S title
Tom McEwen and precocious talent Brookfield Danny De Muze blazed to glory across Blenheim’s turf to win the GFS Saddles CCI4*-S for eight- and nine-year-old horses.
Tom and the eight-year-old, who is owned by Alison Swinburn and John and Chloe Perry, were the first combination down the centre line on Thursday morning and the last to leave the startbox as leaders on Sunday afternoon.
As was the case with Saturday’s CCI4*-L cross-country, time was a major player in who came up the leaderboard – and who went down.
He could afford a smattering of time-penalties to hold his lead. Nobody had made the time before he set off – Ireland’s Padraig McCarthy and Kilroe Tiger were the quickest at three seconds over the optimum time of 6min 54sec.
Tom put his foot on the gas and “Danny” responded. Their round was fast while never compromising on quality, the result was an electrifying performance and a new prince to add to the roll of honour in this “kingmaker” class.
“Every time I asked, he gave me a bit more,” said Tom, for whom this was the first of a record-breaking double of Blenheim Horse Trials wins today.
“I gave him a few breathers on the way round, then pressed him again, and he grew in confidence.
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“It was a hard course to make the time, not only because Blenheim is renowned for its terrain. The time was tight – there’s the water crossings, but also the distances are a little bit on the tight side, so with that many gear changes, it was hard work. What a special horse to win the Le Lion seven-year-old world championship last year and come and win this as an eight-year-old.
“It was in the planning, but you never really know, and there were so many great horses out of the 100-odd that started.”
Burghley runner-up Katie Magee and Cushlas Indigo climbed to second from sixth after showjumping as a result of their silky smooth cross-country round.
“Hopefully the sky is the limit for him,” said Katie, who rides the nine-year-old for Sharon Parnaby. “His owner bought him as an unbeaten three-year-old; she saw him in Ireland and he is one of those few horses who has ticked every box on the way up and made it feel easy, which is amazing considering what he has achieved.
“He has this lovely expression on his face, he is just so happy everywhere he goes and that’s why he has found it so easy.”
She added: “I thought it was a good course, that early water is always quite a big question, and is one that leads onto the next level for them. There’s the crowds, the huge expanse to jump into, and it’s so early on in the eight- and nine-year-old class. I watched a bit and it seemed to ride really well, both my rides had lovely trips round, and the ground felt good.”
Bubby Upton enjoyed clear cross-country rounds on all three of her rides in this class, two of which came home with rosettes.
Sancerre De Tiji, who Bubby owns with Caroline Owen, was the yard’s star this week, finishing third. His big galloping chestnut has a real ground-eating stride, and he devoured today’s course. His flashy friend Light Up E, owned by Lucy Hughes, rose from 31st place after dressage to ninth in the final standings, thanks to his great jumping performances.
“It’s been an amazing week,” said Bubby, who also finished 23rd with Auckland 7, and has stressed throughout the event that Blenheim this year was about building these horses for the future, rather than the result on paper.
“To have two in the top 10 is unbelievable. I like to really try to protect and preserve my young horses and they wouldn’t necessarily have as many wins or as much experience perhaps as others. But then when the time is right to go, and the feeling they gave me today when I did finally let them go, was just incredible. I’m so proud of them, and that their training and the whole system shines through on a day like today.”
Tom Jackson was fourth on My Star Turn, Yasmin Ingham finished fifth with Kinda Corvette, and Padraig grasped sixth aboard Kilroe Tiger.
- View results for the young horse CCI4*-S at Blenheim Horse Trials
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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.