Holly Smith and Fruselli continued their run of fierce form with victory in Thursday’s CSI3* 1.45m grand prix qualifier at the Dodson & Horrell Bolesworth International Horse Show (7-11 July).
The pair headed to the Cheshire show, fresh from a double across the five-star classes at the Royal Windsor Horse Show last week (30 June – 4 July) and a win in the CSI5* La Baule Derby (12 June).
Guy Williams and his own 16-year-old stallion Rouge De Ravel set the time to beat at 29.40 seconds. The powerful stallion looked as quick across the ground as he was through the air and it was hard to believe anyone would find a whisper of a second to shave off his time.
But it is testament to the partnership that Holly has with Fruselli that their smooth round took them ahead by almost two seconds (27.51).
“He’s been so consistent over so many weeks now, I’m so grateful for him,” said Holly.
“It’s a whole team effort. Obviously he’s done a lot of jumping over the last few weeks. We’re just trying to keep him fresh, he’s had plenty of physio, and we’re trying to keep him in the best shape possible.
“He’s naturally a quick, careful competitive horse. I think he’s just got a touch more stride than some of the speed horses, which allows me to take a stride out, but then he’s still got motor around the corners as well. A lot of big-striding horses are slow horses, whereas he’s not. He’s just that perfect medium of stride and speed.”
Holly said that in the past, she used to have trouble turning the 11-year-old stallion (Zambesi x Karandasj), which is an area she’s worked on in the four years they have been together.
“He was always quick over the ground, but I’d have trouble turning him. Over the years, we’ve just honed that and he’s just kept improving and improving – persistence pays off!” she said.
The pair will feature on the entry list of the Dodson & Horrell grand prix on Sunday (11 July), which has a provisional start time of 3pm.
Bolesworth is one of Holly’s final competitive starts before she heads to Tokyo as part of the British showjumping team, aboard her own Denver.
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