Piggy French riding HIGHDOWN MARCH in CCI-S*** Section C, during the Rockingham Castle International, held in The Great Park Rockingham Castle near Corby in Northamptonshire in the UK on 18th May 2019
Badminton winner Piggy French has set a new record with her 14th international win of 2019 – before the end of the season.
Piggy, who sits at number two on the FEI world rankings, has had the most successful season of any eventer since 2008, data by equestrian analysts EquiRatings has shown.
The record was held by German eventer Michael Jung who won 13 international classes in 2009, 2014 and 2015.
Piggy picked up her 14th win at Osberton Horse Trials, incorporating the British Eventing (BE) young horse championships, (3 to 6 October), taking the seven-year-old championship CCI-S YH3* section F with March Stud’s Sportsfield Top Notch.
A spokesman for BE said: “After a successful season, in which they have now claimed five wins and four top-10 placings, the combination will head to the FEI World Breeding Federation eventing championships for young horses in France (17 to 20 October).”
Piggy also won the CCI-L3* section B at Osberton with March Stud’s Highdown March.
Piggy said it was a “special day” and a record she is “quite proud of”.
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“I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has played their part in a really unbelievable season. It wouldn’t be possible with out all your help and support so thank you,” she said.
“Well done to the [Osberton organiser] BEDE Events team for all their hard work this week. Conditions [were] not always favourable but every effort made to ensure the best going for the horses – thank you and much appreciated by everyone.”
A spokesman for March Stud thanked Piggy French for “another perfect performance”.
“Two super horses and one outstanding rider,” he said.
Piggy almost made it a hat-trick with Lancer Stud’s Cooley Lancer in the six-year-old championship but was pipped to the post by Ros Canter on Izilot Dhi by 0.1 of a penalty.
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Since joining H&H in 2018, Becky has covered a broad range of equestrian news including welfare matters, veterinary studies, FEI Tribunal hearings and road safety campaigns. She has also interviewed top riders including Scott Brash, John Whitaker and Ian Stark, to name just a few. Becky’s reporting has taken her to Canada for Spruce Meadows and France for Pau five-star, as well as the Royal Highland and Blair Castle International Horse Trials closer to home. She was also a key part of the remote reporting team for the Tokyo Olympics and the Europeans.
