Hugginstown bows out at Blair Castle

Eventer Matthew Wright retired Charlotte Cole’s grand old campaigner Hugginstown at Blair Castle at the weekend (Sunday 24 August).

The pair had taken the CCI2* at the Scottish event for the third time.

The 17-year-old by Puissance was “only bought to have some fun with” while owner Charlotte Cole’s other horse was off work, but he has a remarkable record in this class: three wins (2009, 2010, 2014), two seconds (2011, 2012) and a fifth (2013).

“He’s as hard as nails and he’s like a pet to me,” said Matthew, who climbed from eighth after dressage. “He’s staying with me to hunt now.”

Blair this year was something of a trial run for the 2015 European Championships at the venue, with plenty of foreign riders competing and checking out the site.

Work is well underway on improvements for the championships, including a new grass dressage arena and two extra waters on the cross-country.

For full report don’t miss this week’s issue of H&H magazine, out Thursday, 28 August

A taste of the Blair cross-country — venue for the 2015 European Championships [PICS]

Check out fences on the 2014 CCI3* course for a flavour of the hilly cross-country track ahead of next year's

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