Robert Whitaker on flying form at Royal Windsor Horse Show
The pace upped considerably on the second day of Royal Windsor Horse Show with a good win for Robert Whitaker and Lacroix 9 in the Hong Kong Tourism Board class.
From last draw, Robert put up a strong gallop from the second to the third and turned rapidly from a substantial upright that ended many hopes in the latter half of the course, cutting close to the oxer to save time into the final fence.
Of Lacroix, Robert said: “He’s just so consistent and careful, and jumped really well on this good going.”
He was just over a second up on Duncan Inglis with Sunkist 3, whose smooth and flowing round was rewarded with runner up slot.
William Funnell conjured a great round from the relatively inexperienced Cortaflex Billy Birr for third.
Clear rounds were few and far between in the two-phase competition, won with a bold effort from an early draw by Geoff Luckett and Rising Star Investments’ Brickfield Boy.
With a short distance from the last fence in phase one, Geoff was quickly on to the first in the second phase. A bright orange upright in the centre of the ring invited riders to angle it tightly, and he was one of the few to succeed, giving a great gallop to a large oxer to finish.
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Mark Armstrong was hot on his heels with Lavaletta II, showing real star quality at just eight years old. In third was Tim Stockdale with Roland II.
Nicole Pavitt also took advantage of the final draw to take the spoils in the Accenture Young Riders speed class on Amaryllis Van De Heffink. The careful eight year old mare gave plenty of air to the influential line of the double to planks heading for home, and some quick turns towards the end of the course secured the win.
The podium places were filled by the same riders as the first day’s competition with Daniel Neilson and Inesco du Moulin slicing six seconds off the early standard set by Ryan Prater with Whisker.
A six year old took the young horse class: David Wenman’s Caleta, ridden by Mark Armstrong, who is having a great show.
Results
6&7 year old championship (speed)
1. Caleta (Mark Armstrong)
2. Kalico Bay (Tim Stockdale)
3. Outlaw (Shane Breen)
Land Rover International Jumping Competition (two phase)
1. Brickfield Boy (Geoff Luckett)
2. Lavaletta II (M Armstrong)
3. Roland II (Tim Stockdale)
Accenture Young Riders Speed Stakes
1. Amaryllis Van de Heffink (Nicole Pavitt)
2. Inesco du Moulin (Daniel Neilson)
3. Whisker (Ryan Prater)
Hong Kong Tourism Board International class
1. Lacroix 9 (Robert Whitaker)
2. Sunkist 3 (Duncan Inglis)
3. Cortaflex Billy Birr (William Funnell)
www.rwhs.co.uk
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