The final championship on Wednesday at the Royal International, the BS Winter Grades B&C Championship, was won by Helen Tredwell with the very smart nine-year-old Independence TN.
Of the 24 finalists for the prestigious B&C title, eight made it through to the jump-off where Helen and the son of I’m Special De Muze, out of a Heartbreaker mare, took the crown from second-placed Alex Bishop riding Thomascourt Emirates. In third was Damian Charles with the Old Lodge’s eight-year-old Desert Encounter OL.
“He seems to love it in that ring,” said Helen. “I just got in a forward, open canter as much as possible and just tried to be as quick as possible and hope that the others couldn’t catch me!”
Helen has been producing the gelding since taking over from Adam Ellery in 2020 and the pair have enjoyed some good recent results on the county circuit.
“I got him in lockdown, so I’ve had him for a couple of years,” explained Helen. “We’re slowly building a really good partnership and he’s starting to step up to the big classes now. I think he’s going to be a really good one.
“I’d quite like to come back here again to some of the Derby meetings and things like that, do some trials and stairways and see where we go from there.”
Helen describes Independence TN as “a bit on edge and a bit of a worrier”.
“You have to be quite sensitive with him,” she said. “He can overreact to a lot of things so you have to be quite quiet and careful with him, but when he gets there, he wants to jump the fences and he wants to please.”
Royal International: Pavitt takes the winter novice title
Earlier in the day at the Royal International, the SEIB Winter Novice Championship provided top sporting action as the lead changed hands again and again — and the win went to the very last combination.
Eight of the 24 starters jumped clear in the first round, and of those it was Nicole Pavitt on Leigh Collier’s six-year-old mare Colliers Carlotta who took the title.
Nicole had already clocked up a good time, with four faults, on her first ride, her mother Sandra’s six-year-old stallion Genial Du Dalot. John Crippen on Pearl WL, Leo Lamb on Gmail, Harry Bateman on Cruising to Paris and Lorraine Lock on Billy Gobi each went into the lead in turn, before Nicole sealed the deal with her second ride
“The turn inside to the second-last is where I had the fence down with the stallion so I took it a bit straighter with her and got a better line; that’s the bonus of having two in it!” Nicole said.
“Going first gave me the lie of it but then they were going quicker and quicker, and I knew I could use her stride. She’s very athletic and nimble, and I allowed her to cover the ground.”
Carlotta had not competed between the Hickstead Derby meeting in June, when she won the six-year-old title, and Tuesday’s qualifying class.
“She must like this ring!” Nicole said. “I’m so lucky; everyone is to be able to qualify for and jump in it. I think she’ll be quite good, and to be able to get into a ring and an atmosphere like this is good for them at a young age.”
After the Royal International, the mare will be aimed at the Bolesworth Young Horse Championships next month, and “hopefully”, Nicole said, the FEI WBFSH World Breeding Championship for Young Horses in September.
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