Do you want to see the British Olympic eventing team horses having their last run on British soil before they go into quarantine and then board that plane for Japan? Of course you do! And we are here to fulfil that wish…
All four horses ran in the open intermediate class and jumped double clears. Unsurprisingly, all were taken very slowly across country as this was simply a preparation event – the foot-to-the-floor winning performances will hopefully follow in Tokyo in four weeks’ time.
Tom McEwen and Toledo De Kerser – owned by Fred and Penny Barker, Jane Inns and Tom’s mother Ali’s Toledo De Kerser – broke the 20-barrier for the first time in the dressage, scoring 19.1.
Tom spoke to H&H about his reaction to his selection: “I don’t know if it’s called relief – it’s definitely happiness. It’s been a long road and different to most years.
“We’ve got the most incredible group of horses and riders for selectors to choose from and I wasn’t expecting to have to be so competitive so many places. Toledo has been phenomenal everywhere and he was amazing the two places I aimed to be competitive this spring [Aston-le-Walls and Bicton], plus he’s obviously got history with three-days events and a team competition [2018 World Equestrian Games] already.”
Piggy March and Brookfield Inocent scored 21.4 for their dressage before penalty-free jumping performances. Brookfield Inocent is owned by John and Chloe Perry and Alison Swinburn’s Brookfield Inocent. Piggy and Brookfield Inocent are the alternates for the team, so they will travel to Japan and can be substituted into the team during the competition if necessary.
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Pippa is a true eventing geek and has been H&H’s eventing editor since 2005. She has first-hand experience of competing up to British Eventing intermediate and international CCI2*-L level, and has worked in the industry on a top event yard. Pippa enjoys nothing more than immersing herself in the sport at the highest level, reporting from the five-stars and international championships, including the Olympics.
