Nicholson Still Leads Charge at Badminton
Nicholson Still Leads Charge at Badminton
Andrew Nicholson and Nereo have held on to their overnight lead by the slimmest of margins as the dressage phase comes to an end at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials in the United Kingdom.
Nicholson
and Nereo (owned by Libby Sellar) sit on 37.8 penalty
points, just 1.2 penalties ahead of long-time rival William
Fox-Pitt (GBR) aboard Chilli Morning, with Oliver Townend
(GBR) on Nicholson’s old campaigner Armada – a full
brother to Nereo – another 1.8 penalties back, and Ingrid
Klimke (GER) on Horseware Hale Bob chasing her country’s
first Badminton win in fourth on 40.2.
Jock Paget has two
in the top 10, with Clifton Lush (owned by Lucy Allison and
Frances Stead) and Clifton Promise (owned by Frances Stead)
in fifth and sixth respectively. Nicholson and his own
Calico Joe sit in 12th place on 43.5, just 5.7 penalties
adrift of Nereo’s 37.8 score.
“I am a little bit
surprised to still be in the lead,” admitted Nicholson,
who is chasing his first Badminton win, “but Nereo felt
very smart in there, so I knew that if I was to be overtaken
they wouldn’t be very far in front.
“I know what I have to do . . . I want to win it. I will be riding like I normally ride.”
This morning, Lucy Jackson and Willy Do (owned by Gillian Greenlees and Jackson) rode their way into 14th spot with 45.7, while Caroline Powell and Onwards and Upwards (owned by Cameron and Mary Crawford and Powell) sit in =23rd on 47.2, Tim Price and Ringwood Sky Boy (owned by Selwood.com) are in 30thon 48.1 and his wife Jonelle aboard The Deputy (owned by Lucy Sangster, Tim and Jan Morice and Selwood.com) are just behind them in 33rd on 48.3. Sir Mark Todd and Oloa (owned by Diane Brunsden, Peter Cattell and Pip McCarroll) are on 52.7 in 51st place.
Powell was pleased with the efforts of Onwards and Upwards, who ‘is a bit of a ginger hot head but he performed really well today”. She is looking forward to tomorrow’s cross country.
“The ground will be fast but Badminton is old parkland and you can’t ride on much better than that,” she says. “The course is fantastic . . . there are some very large fences out there but that is what we do it for.”
Jonelle Price, who while ranked number three in the world is still chasing her first four star win, says she is lucky to be heading out on such a course with two very good horses.
“They both have a bit of experience behind them, so hopefully if I do my job, they will too and we will have two good rounds,” she says.
But there is nothing in
the 81-strong field, with a single stop tonight in the cross
country worth 20 penalties, and riders are already saying
making the time allowed is going to play a big part in
shuffling the field.
The cross country draw is done, and
Paget aboard Clifton Promise will be the first Kiwis on
course just before 11pm. Todd and Oloa are the last
combination on the course.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s top
dressage riders were in action overnight at the Sydney CDI
3*, with relatively new combination John Thompson and Bates
Antonello placing second in the Grand Prix Special. Julie
Brougham (Palmerston North) was kicking herself after rider
errors saw her and Vom Feinsten (owned by Julie and David
Brougham) finish in sixth place on 65.47%, while Penny
Castle (Ashhurst) and Magnus Spero scored 63.1% for 12th
spot.
Para equestrienne Charlotte Hoonhout won the grade 1B championship aboard Heath and Rozzie Ryan’s advanced schoolmaster Jasper R.
Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse
Trials Results (on completion of the dressage phase)
-
Andrew Nicholson (NZL) Nereo (owned by Libby Sellar
37.8 penalty points 1, William Fox-Pitt (GBR) Chilli Morning
39 2, Oliver Townend (GBR) Armada 39.6 3, Ingrid Klimke
(GER) Horseware Hale Bob 40.2 4, Jock Paget (NZL) Clifton
Lush (owned by Lucy Allison and Frances Stead) 40.8 5, Jock
Paget (NZL) Clifton Promise (owned by Frances Stead) 41.2 6,
Andrew Nicholson (NZL) Calico Joe 43.5 12, Lucy Jackson
(NZL) Willy Do (owned by Gillian Greenlees and Jackson) 45.7
14, Sir Mark Todd (NZL) Leonidas II (owned by Diane Brunsden
and Peter Cattell) 45.8 =15, Caroline Powell and Onwards and
Upwards (owned by Cameron and Mary Crawford and Powell) 47.1
=23, Tim Price (NZL) Ringwood Sky Boy (owned by Selwood.com)
48.1 30, Jonelle Price (NZL) The Deputy (owned by Lucy
Sangster, Tim and Jan Morice and Selwood.com) 48.3 33, Mark
Todd (NZL) Oloa (owned by Diane Brunsden, Peter Cattell and
Pip McCarroll) 52.7 51, Jonelle Price (NZL) Classic Moet
(owned by Trisha Rickards) 54.9 60, Craig Nicolai (NZL) Just
Ironic (owned by Anne, Hedde and Craig Nicolai) 62.4
79.
Ends