Harry Meade explained what happened before his Defender Burghley Horse Trials dressage today (5 September) on Annaghmore Valoner, when he was stopped for a vet check before starting his test.
It turned out a tiny speck of suspected blood was seen on the outside of the mare’s lip while Harry was riding round the arena. In line with FEI rules, the mare was checked and it was established that there was no fresh blood. The pair were then allowed to continue.
Harry said: “I went in and just thought they’d been very slow to ring the bell, and maybe they were deciding to slow the competition down to give people their money’s worth.
“Then Andrew Bennie [president of the ground jury] walked over and said he just wanted to have a look, because there was a tiny spot of pink, nowhere near the bit, but just on the outside edge of the lip near the muzzle.
“Whether she’d gone down to scratch herself – I gave her quite a few breaks before I went in and I’m quite casual about everything so if they want to have a bit of an itch, they do, and whether she just did something then… Anyway they have a procedure, which is they get a bit of cotton wool, they dab it, if it disappears – which it did – and doesn’t come back then they’re happy and they were happy.
“It was quite right [that they check] – they are very much conscious of the welfare of the horses so they check. Then they gave me a couple of minutes to go around again and then eventually get into the arena to start the test.”
Harry Meade scored 29.8 for his Burghley Horse Trials dressage test with Annaghmore Valoner, which puts him 15th. The score was dragged down by the pair missing the third flying change and scoring a one, two and a three for that movement.
“She did a really nice test and that one movement absolutely plummeted her,” said Harry. “She’d normally be good with her changes and it’s frustrating, because one movement doesn’t normally drop you that much – it’s like getting fives for six movements.
“She’s getting stronger the whole time. She’s quite an introverted, nervous horse, and I was really happy with how she coped with the crowds – she was confident and enjoying it. She has lovely movement and she’ll keep getting better and better.”
Harry also sits 16th on Cavalier Crystal and 25th on Et Hop Du Matz heading into tomorrow’s cross-country.
To stay up-to-date with all the breaking news throughout Burghley and other major shows this year, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website, from £1 a week. Horse & Hound’s 20-page magazine report on Burghley is published in 11 September issue, including full analysis and exclusive comment from six-time Burghley winner William Fox-Pitt.
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