Britain‘s Hector Payne made his first visit to the young event horse World Championships in Le Lion d’Angers a successful one when he piloted Caroline Primrose’s striking grey, Bueno, into second in the seven-year-old class.
The pair completed on their first phase score of 29 in this FEI WBFSH Eventing World Breeding Championships for Young Horses (15-18 October).
“He’s naturally spooky and I wasn’t at all sure how he would cope this week,” admitted Hector, who took on the ride on Bueno from his owner two years ago after she found his spookiness tricky to deal with.
“When he went down the centre line and spooked in the first corner, I thought, ‘This is going to be a long test’, but he knuckled down after that.”
The British-bred gelding, by Dante’s Junior, had been campaigned with this target mind.
“We’re not in any rush with him, though,” Hector continued. “I was based with William Fox-Pitt for a number of years and William always said that three-star was the most important level to consolidate with a young horse.”
Hector Payne and Bueno seal second place at Le Lion d’Angers with a showjumping clear
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The result never looked in doubt for the Belgian combination, who took command from day one and capitalised on their leading dressage score of 28.6 with a foot-perfect double clear.
Only four horses have ever achieved back-to-back victories at Le Lion – Nicolas Touzaint’s great grey Galan De Sauvagère (2000 and 2001), Thomas Carlile’s Ténarèze (2013 and 2014), Anna Lena Schaaf’s Lagona OLD (2021 and 2022) and a second of Thomas’ rides, Golden De Beliard (2022 and 2023).
“The pressure was intense,” admitted Lara. “In this kind of situation, it’s difficult being me. I’m so afraid of not doing the mare justice, of letting down my team and her owners. But Tara has so much quality across all three phases. She is certainly one of the best horses I have ever ridden, and I have an enormous amount of respect for her.”
France’s Alexis Goury completed the podium with Jeroboam Wal.
Britain’s Max Warburton (Earl Dorado) and Lizzie Baugh and (Tysons Upto Trix) both completed on their dressage score of 32.5 to finish sixth and seventh respectively.
Barrington Candy Kid best British-ridden horse in six-year-old class
The six-year-old championship was a multinational affair with the top seven combinations all representing different nationalities.
Germany’s Ann-Catrin Bierlein and ACSI Daisy Dynamite kept a completely clean sheet to win, ahead of Switzerland’s Robin Godel and Kosmic D Elbe and Australia’s Kevin McNab and Monbeg Kobe.
Jack Pinkney was the highest-placed Brit, finishing fifth with Barrington Candy Kid, by Sligo Candy Boy.
“He’s a sharp type and mentally he’s just a little bit insecure, so this season has been about building his confidence and trying to get him to believe in himself,” said Jack of the smart gelding, who belongs to Margaret and Simon Hope.
