Boon flys into first place at Bramham

After an eventful cross-country day at the Guardian Collections Bramham International Horse Trials, Terry Boon and Foreign Exchange lie in first place, just 1.2pen ahead of Marie Ryan and Sparrow Hall.

Foreign Exchange, a Selle Francais gelding who came to Terry as a “big, gangling” four-year-old, executed a flowing, accurate cross-country round, just picking up six time-penalties to add to his dressage score of 41.6. The pair goes into the final show jumping phase on a score of 47.6.

“We had a silly run-out here two years ago,” said Terry, “but I came here with high hopes as he’s won both his runs this season. He was magic across country.”

Marie Ryan enjoyed one of the best days of her career, finishing second on Sparrow Hall for 48.8pen and fourth on Penny Royal III with 57.8.

“I’m so delighted with both of them,” said Marie. “Penny is so easy to ride into a fence that I can cut corners and save time, and she finished full of running.”

After a disappointing Badminton, Marie said that she was on a “bit of a mission” at Bramham to prove herself, and she produced two of the best rounds of the day, wasting no time and riding with confidence and accuracy.

Just behind Marie on a score of 49.4 at this stage is William Fox-Pitt riding Parkmore Ed. William’s first ride, the dressage leader and highly experienced Moon Man, caused the biggest upset of the day when he “pulled himself up” just four fences from home.

In an exact repeat of what happened at Badminton in the spring, the big liver chestnut, veteran of several British teams, jumped beautifully until the last part of the course, where he suddenly decided that enough was enough.

But William was thrilled with his second ride, saying that it “began to make up for this morning, which we’ll forget about.”

In fifth is Ireland’s Sarah Daly with test Flight, while Lucy Kemplay lies sixth on Karl D’Cymbeline.

Cressida Clague-Reading leads the Elite Colleges under-25 section on Volnay, less than a fence ahead of Piggy French (Which Way II), with Germany’s Anna Warnecke and Twinkle Bee in third.

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