Oct 20, 2023
Townend Leads A British Sweep at MARS Maryland 5 Star
Elkton, Md.—Oct. 20—After ending second and third within the earlier editions of the MARS Maryland 5 Star, world no. 1 Oliver Townend is again to attempt to take the win, and he’s off to begin with Cooley Rosalent.
The pair snuck previous Thursday’s chief, fellow British rider Piggy March using Brookfield Cavalier Cruise (24.2), to take the lead on 23.1 at the moment.
“Rosie” accomplished her first five-star at Luhmühlen (Germany) this summer time with 20 leaping penalties on cross-country, however she’s coming into Maryland on the power of a win within the Blenheim CCI4*-S for 8- and 9-year-olds (England) in September.
“I can not let you know how completely happy I’m with Rosie,” mentioned Townend of Paul Ridgeon’s 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare (Valent x Bellaney Jewel). “Clearly, she’s nonetheless very younger and inexperienced at this stage, however she’s completed every little thing that we have ever requested of her on the stage beneath. I like coming right here to Maryland. I’ve had good experiences the final couple of years, so was excited to carry her right here and see how she coped.”
Regardless of the buzzy environment in the primary area this afternoon, Rosie put in a workmanlike take a look at. Townend felt he didn’t fairly have her as relaxed as he needed earlier than he headed in, however was pleased with how she dealt with it. “When she got here in right here, she pricked her ears, lifted her head, and I may trip her forwards,” he mentioned. “I used to be actually pleased with the way in which she coped with issues. And any little mistake was me most likely attempting to overtell her that one thing was taking place; just like the final flying change, if I had simply cantered throughout and requested for a flying change, she’d have completed one. However I type of mentioned, ‘OK, another motion left,’ kind of factor, and she or he then anticipated, however I beloved the way in which she coped with it.”
Nice Britain’s William Fox-Pitt introduced Grafennacht, an 11-year-old Oldenburg mare (Birkhof’s Grafenstolz x Nachtigall) owned by Amanda Gould, for her second five-star as properly, and so they scored a 26.1. He’d thought of taking her to Defender Burghley, however after a failed embryo retrieval this summer time and a few months within the discipline, he thought she wouldn’t be match sufficient for Burghley.
“I’ve heard implausible issues about Maryland, and I believed it is actually one which I might love to return to earlier than I lastly hold up my footwear, so I believed I ought to tick this field, and I’m definitely not disillusioned—great venue, nice arenas, and a implausible cross-country course. So hopefully, , good course that my horse will take pleasure in,” he mentioned.
Fox-Pitt’s had “Lillie” since she was 5. “She’s been actually enjoyable to supply,” he mentioned. “I all the time believed that she had it in her to rise up the degrees. She gave me an excellent trip at Badminton this 12 months and coped very well the situations. She was fairly inexperienced to the surroundings as a result of it was her first five-star, and there was fairly a giant step up in that mud. I did not even know if she’d get to the end, however she had a very good go, and I am hoping that she’ll come on from that. She’s fairly a tricky outdated factor. She’s not feeling sorry for herself fairly often.”
Townend’s ridden Ian Stark’s cross-country course in 2021 and 2022, and says this 12 months is certainly a step up.
“However on the similar time, I feel the questions are additionally particularly reasonable,” he mentioned. “I feel Ian Stark’s among the best cross-country course designers that Britain’s ever produced. He’s horseman, and he is aware of what horses can do and what they will see. So hopefully, it is going to be a clean journey for all of us.
“The whole lot’s there to be jumped,” he added. “It is a massive, massive, course. I feel it is simply attempting to get into rhythm, attempting to get them right into a constructive mindset, after which looking for your manner by these tough combos. I feel that the issues will probably be widespread.”
Fox-Pitt admitted he was anticipating a barely softer course, however appreciates the “rider frightener” fences.
“Ian Stark stamps his programs, and he likes to be a rider frightener,” he mentioned. “Within the fashionable sport I feel we’re seeing much less and fewer of rider frighteners. We’re seeing many extra technical, medical programs that are not scary. They’re tough. They’re tough, however they don’t seem to be scary. And definitely, right here you take a look at a few these jumps—strolling right down to that chevron hedge over that ditch, that’s outdated rider frightener, and it’s actually good to see that new query popping out of the water bounce a few minutes earlier. That’s a five-and-a-half-star, and I might very a lot been led to consider that it was five-star, but it surely was an encouraging one, the time was fairly pleasant, and it was kind of first-time five-star expertise. I might say that there is a few questions that most likely aren’t. So, I feel we have got our work minimize out.”
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