The rails fell freely for most of the top 10 at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials this morning but three Kiwis filled the top four slots and Tim Price finished second in the cash-rich FEI Classics Series.
Andrew Nicholson and Nereo were second, with Jonelle Price aboard Classic Moet third and Tim Price aboard Ringwood Sky Boy fourth. Chris Burton (AUS) notched the biggest win of his career, holding on for the win aboard Nobilis 18 despite garnering 16 jump faults in the final phase. He is just the third Australian to win Burghley.
Caroline Powell and Onwards and Upwards finished in eighth, with Sir Mark Todd aboard NZB Campino ninth, Blyth Tait and Bear Necessity V 11th and Dan Jocelyn with Dassett Cool Touch 13th. Tim Price was also 21st on Bango.
Run in reverse order, it was a nail-biting finish for all, with Tim Price picking up 12 faults to slip off the podium, Jonelle Price nudging ahead of her husband with her single rail, and Nicholson adding six faults. Just five combinations of the final 38 had clean slates in the showjumping.
It was Nicholson’s third runner-up spot and he was clearly proud of his chestnut.
Jonelle Price said she felt she had been playing catch-up all week.
“I feel like I’ve been digging myself out of a hole all week,” she said. “I wasn’t happy with my dressage, then I took an unplanned long route at the Dairy Farm, but I’ve managed to claw my way back and this horse makes my life easy. It is hard to think about what might have been, however at the end of the day it is a top three for Classic Moet – her first at four star level.”
They were the fastest of the day in the cross country phase, and Jonelle describes her as “my dream ride”.
“We get each other. It is a real team out there. I trust her implicitly and vice versa and that really shows on a day like yesterday.”
The combination placed fifth last year and third this year, which mathematically lines them up well for 2017.
“If we keep going in this fashion maybe she can win next year,” said Jonelle.
Husband Tim’s efforts saw him place second in the FEI Classics Series and pick up a $US30,000 prize, with Nicholson third, Clarke Johnstone fourth and Todd ninth.
“It is a nice show of consistency in what has been a bit of an inconsistent year,” said Tim. “And it was nice to do it too without the strength of Wesko involved, so it is the icing on the top.”
Burghley had been “fun”, but a little disappointing for him.
Classic Moet proved a real winner for all her connections. Elaine Hepworth won the prize as the breeder for the highest placed British bred horse, while her owner Trisha Rickard received a bronze and rosette from Sport Horse Breeding of Great Britain as the highest placed horse sired by an SHB (GB) graded stallion or HIS premium stallion to finish in the top 12, and also won a scholarship for two embryos from Twemlows Stud Farm as the highest placed British domiciled mare to finish in the top 20.
The horse details -
Bango (owned by The Numero Uno Syndicate), Ringwood Sky Boy (owned by Varenna Allen, Robert Taylor, Selwood.com and Tim Price), Bear Necessity V (owned by Ronnie Bartlett), Classic Moet (owned by Trisha Rickards and Jonelle Price), Dassett Cool Touch (owned by Therese Miller and Dan Jocelyn), Onwards and Upwards (owned by Mr and Mrs Cameron Crawford and Caroline Powell), Nereo (owned by Deborah Sellar), NZB Campino (owned by Sir Peter Vela and Sir Mark Todd).
For full results, head to: http://www.bdwp.co.uk/bur/16/
