Oliver Townend has scored numerous victories in his career but this year’s Subaru Houghton International was his first ever three day event win. He took the CCI** riding Andrew Cawthray’s Waterview on his dressage score of 35.1pen.
The Leicestershire-based rider lead from start to finish but it came down to the wire in a tense final show jumping phase when he finished just 3.6 penalties ahead of Matthew Wright and Hugginstown. Last year’s winner William Fox-Pitt had to settle for third with Chuckelberry and was also fourth on Bee Animas.
Oliver said: “Waterview wouldn’t be the most careful horse in the world but this is the best he’s ever jumped. I knew the time allowed was tight but I also knew how carefully I had to ride to stay clear!
“It means a lot to secure my first win — I feel like I’ve been second at just about every other event in the country — Houghton will always be special to me now.”
Don’t miss Horse & Hound full report from the Subaru Houghton International Horse Trials, including the two CCI* sections, in this Thursday’s issue (29 May, ’08)
