Tom McEwen breaks new ground with historic Blenheim double: ‘What a day!’
Tom McEwen won both classes and also bagged a one-two in the feature CCI4*-L at Blenheim Horse Trials
Tom McEwen scored a record-breaking double at Agria Blenheim Horse Trials, winning the CCI4*-L aboard The Fieldmaster an hour after soaring to victory in the GFS Saddles young horse CCI4*-S on Brookfield Danny De Muze.
When Tom cantered into the CCI4*-L showjumping on his overnight leader, The Fieldmaster, he knew he had already won.
His other ride, Brookfield Quality, was in provisional second overnight and Tom had jumped him out of order earlier in the afternoon. Brookfield Quality (“Norris”) tipped the final part of the treble, but it did not change his place in the provisional standings – the only horse that could finish above him was The Fieldmaster.
That rail meant The Fieldmaster (“Trev”) could also afford a pole and still win. He rattled the upright at fence three, which stayed in place, then cashed that in at the Agria oxer at 10. He jumped the remaining two fences beautifully to win by 0.1 of a penalty over his stablemate.
The last time a rider achieved a one-two in this class was William Fox-Pitt in 2000, who won aboard Stunning and was runner-up with Tamarillo. Nobody has ever won both the CCI4*-L and the CCI4*-S for eight- and nine-year-old horses in the same year.
“I brought five very special horses here, so I’m very lucky,” said Tom. “It’s nice for Tom Strawson, who brought ‘Trev’ around here last year as an eight-year-old, and for him then to come back again and win is amazing.
“He’s obviously called The Fieldmaster, Jo and James Lambert and Penny Barker own him, and Penny's late husband, Fred, was a master of the Quorn.
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“When I saw the hunt outside, I thought that was probably an omen, a nice touch. He was so relaxed he could have probably done with them blowing the horn, I think!”
He added: “Both horses jumped brilliantly. I just had an easy rail coming out the treble on Norris, who jumped a superb round. Trev also jumped a super round – the pole was my fault, I knew I had to get a bit of jump back into him, so I gave him too big a shot. What a day!”
Tom knew he had a strong string coming into this week, each of the five had chances, but to dominate with this much style is a spectacular achievement.
“You come here with no expectations, and I gained a lot of understanding from Trev yesterday. I gave him a couple of presses, and he just absolutely accelerated,” said Tom.
Norris, who is owned by John and Chloe Perry and Alison Swinburn, is an “elder statesman” of the four- and five-star eventing scene these days. Blenheim has long been his happy hunting ground, and at the age of 17, he has recorded his best ever finish at this event.
“Norris has been a superstar; although I'm delighted that Trev won, it’s a shame they couldn't share it, and I couldn’t have somehow found 0.1 somewhere else, because Norris is always a bridesmaid, and he’s just an absolute star. What a great old boy,” he said. “All my horses have been fantastic this week.”
Blenheim Horse Trials results: Sam Ecroyd enjoys a week to remember
Sam Ecroyd climbed from 19th after dressage to third aboard Stewart and Vicki Irlam’s Jackpot, who was previously ridden by his partner, Emily King.
“I was really hoping I had an outside chance of maybe a top 10, I’m just so thrilled with them both,” said Sam, who also finished fifth with Bloomfield Manuscript.
“Jackpot is such a good horse. Emily has ridden, produced and done everything with him. He’s so straight and easy. She just thought that he would really suit me, my weaknesses are his strengths, he is so smart on the flat and such a special jumper.
“He can get a tiny bit strong when you go really fast across country. There are not many people who would just give you their five-star horse, so thank you to her.
“Bloomfield Manuscript was in the lead at Millstreet in the CCI4*-L this year and I didn’t ride a very good round, I got a bit nervous. So I was just conscious to show that he can do it, he’s a good horse and he jumps really well. So my focus was to do better for him this time round.”
New Zealand’s Jesse Campbell and Speedwell lowered the first fence in an otherwise spotless round to finish fourth, in between Sam’s two horses.
“He was pretty perky this morning, he has certainly grown into himself – he’s getting stronger and stronger all the time. He’s a superstar,” said Jesse, who is now eyeing a trip to Kentucky with the 12-year-old gelding.
“Towards the back end of last year, we started to really develop and get to know each other pretty well. I’ve learnt to ride him across country in a slightly different way, he’s great. I love this horse.”
He added: “I thought it was a great showjumping course. It was technical, it took a lot to jump a clear round, we saw Sam move up quite significantly and there were quite a few problems. I think that’s the way it should be, it should be a challenge on the last day, it shouldn’t be a freebee – the more courses like that, the better.”
Gemma Stevens was sixth aboard Chilli’s Jester, the full brother to her Burghley-winning ride Chilli Knight. Tayla Mason was the most notable major climber at the business end of the leaderboard, rising 44 places from 51st after dressage to finish seventh on Joopiter.
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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.