Crawford rises to the occasion
Riders from Scotland take both the individual honours while the South East produces the winning team
LUCINDA CRAWFORD led from pillar to post to win the CCIJ*, sponsored by HECK! Foods, with her own Ballintoher Harry, putting behind her the spectre of having two down in the final phase the previous year.
She added nothing to her smart dressage score of 25, but admitted she felt the pressure going into the showjumping.
“I’m trained by Caroline
Powell and I had a hotline to her all weekend. Ballintoher Harry loves his hedges and flew round the cross-country, but the showjumping hasn’t been our best phase,” said Lucinda, who is on the junior development squad.
“Last year we had two down and it dropped me down the placings, so I was determined it wasn’t going to happen again.”
Harry, a nine-year-old by Cruising Harry owned by Lucinda’s father Cameron, rattled the middle of the treble but otherwise was foot perfect.
In second, leading the charge for the South East team, was Emily Nicol on her striking chocolate dun Annaghmore Boomlander, also finishing on her dressage score.
“He’s not the flashiest or biggest moving, but he’s trainable and completely calm and correct. He went all the direct routes cross-country and, although he’s a good showjumper, I put pressure on myself to do my best for the team,” she said.
In fact, South East had already secured pole position when Millie Faulkner jumped clear to finish fifth, with Zoe Embury seventh and Serena Kullich in 10th.
Annabel Carthy and Painted Moon II finished on the same score as Emily, but were further from the optimum time crosscountry and took third place.
“We warmed up really badly for the showjumping, so it was emotional to go clear and be placed,” she said.
SHADOW LAD ON FORM
DOUGLAS CRAWFORD topped the Animalintex CCIY* on Shadow Lad, a horse bought for him earlier this year by his employers, Geoff and Elspeth Adam. This class was open to any qualified rider aged 16 to
21, while the CCIJ* was for riders in the regional under-18 competition.
Douglas — a friend of Lucinda, but no relation — was lying second going into the final phase, but garnered the win after the overnight leaders, Georgina Herrling and SF Detroit, were eliminated after a couple of stops at a downhill oxer.
“He was bought in February through Ben Hobday with a view to trying for young rider teams,” said Douglas, who is on the Horse Scotland development squad and trains with Ian Stark.
“He got some nines in his test, went all the direct routes and is super-careful showjumping.”
Local rider Victoria Wilson rose from fifth to second courtesy of a polished clear on her Irish Kroongraaf nine-year-old Dont You Know.
She said: “I got him when I was 15 to do some affiliated eventing, and he has smashed every goal
I’ve had and just continues improving. I was going to go to college, but at the moment I’m grooming for Sophie Platt who rides at three-star and enjoying producing him, so I’ve decided to take another year out.”
Tremlett, a half-sister to Oliver Townend’s winning Burgham ride Tregilder, gave Kate Poole her third place. Kate bought the Grafenstolz mare from PreciSpark two years ago, and is currently working there for Sam Hobbs before going to study at Hartpury in the autumn.
“It’s been our first three-day and she’s been fantastic in every phase,” she said.