H&H’s eventing editor Pippa Roome takes a look at the upcoming five-stars on both sides of the Atlantic, reviews the Europeans and has a request for event organisers...
This week’s Maryland 5 Star has a small entry, with just 23 on the list, despite the fact the US and Canadians have no end-of-year championship this season.
The event had 46 starters for its first running in 2021 – probably helped by the fact US and Canadian competitors were unlikely to travel for a five-star that year, with Covid lingering and Bicton replacing Burghley. Since then, Maryland has not exceeded 26 starters. This year, there’s just one Brit, Alex Bragg on Quindiva, compared to two to five British riders for previous renewals.
Boyd Martin probably starts as favourite on the Kentucky runner-up Commando 3. US-based New Zealander Monica Spencer also has a chance on the consistent Artist, a good-moving thoroughbred.
Caroline Pamukcu has three horses entered, including 2023 Pan Am Games champion HSH Blake. He hasn’t been prominent since his debut CCI4*-L win in May last year, but he’s still only 10 and should re-emerge to fulfil his promise at some point.
Also in the US, 30 started in the first US Equestrian Open of Eventing Final at Morven Park last week, at CCI4*-L. The open is a new competition with showjumping and dressage branches too and US Equestrian awarded $200,000 (about £150,000) prize money for the eventing final, which may have distracted a few would-be Maryland contenders.
Buy-in was available to the final, for those who hadn’t completed a qualifier, at $5,000 – it will be interesting to see if any British or European-based competitors take this up in future.
Meanwhile, the French five-star at Pau Horse Trials, the week after Maryland, boasts a chunky 69 horses. Thirty-four British horses are set to line up, including four-time five-star victor Ballaghmor Class (Oliver Townend) and aspiring winners at this level in Galileo Nieuwmoed (David Doel) and Valmy Biats (Emily King).
Three from Britain’s Europeans squad reappear – Tom McEwen and JL Dublin are perhaps a surprise entry after their individual bronze at Blenheim, while Yasmin Ingham and Bubby Upton look to make amends for their falls with the seasoned Rehy DJ and the five-star debutant, Its Cooley Time, respectively. Bubby also rides Cola and Cannavaro.
If the winner isn’t British, it might well be one of the Prices, who have four rides each. Jonelle’s include 2022 Pau winner Grappa Nera.
Shades of Pratoni
The result at the European Championships at Blenheim last month reminded me of the World Championships in 2022, but we’d swapped the all-pervasive Italian dust of Pratoni for green English parkland. In both cases, Britain started as favourites and the reigning Olympic team champions, and came away without a team medal, but with individual gold – in 2022 for Yasmin Ingham and this year for Laura Collett.
Both times I was left thinking, “Thank goodness that didn’t happen last year” on the team front. Of course, all championships matter and this hurt, but for funding, public attention and prestige, the Olympics matters most of all.
I’ve been lucky to debrief with Laura since Blenheim, so look out for our “How I Won” feature talking through the Europeans week in the magazine dated 13 November, and a look at the ups and downs of London 52’s career on The Horse & Hound Podcast’s 30 October episode.
One name please
A plea to organisers – could we have just one fence name for each combination, even if there are two fence numbers within the complex? Journalists and broadcasters want to help by mentioning sponsors where we can, but having multiple names and sponsors makes things tricky.
That situation hit new heights at the Blenheim Europeans, where a single obstacle was numbered as both 17c and 18ab, with fences 17 and 18 having different names and sponsors. I love a writing challenge, but it’s a struggle to find a succinct way to wrap the “hanging hedge arrowhead (fence 17c and 18ab) at the BE Support Trust Healing Garden and Subaru Splash” into a sentence…
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You might also be interested in:
How to watch Maryland 5 Star live from anywhere in the world
Tom McEwen, Oliver Townend and Zara Tindall among strong Pau five-star entries
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