John Whitaker thrills the crowds at Olympia with a Father Christmas Stakes victory!
Saturday 16 December 2017
John Whitaker was a popular winner of the opening CSI5* class of the day, The Shelley Ashman International Shipping Ltd, E M Rogers (Transport) Ltd Father Christmas Stakes. Later in the afternoon Harrie Smolders was the only rider to complete all five rounds of The Christmas Masters faultlessly, to take the victory from Britain's Ben Maher.
The final class of the day, The Martin Collins Enterprises Christmas Tree Stakes went down to the wire with Bertram Allen coming out on top to deny Harrie Smolders a double on the day.
A HOME WIN FOR JOHN WHITAKER
Olympia crowd-pleaser John Whitaker, 61, set an unmatchable target in The Shelley Ashman International Ltd, E M Rogers (Transport) Ltd Father Christmas Stakes to win the accumulator class from William Funnell and regular Norwegian visitor Geir Gullikson.
John, who was drawn eleventh out of the 22 starters, borrowed his daughter Louise’s Leen O.L., a nine-year-old bay mare, and his clear round, including the double-points Joker fence, in 42.27 seconds proved unbeatable and earned a rapturous reception from the packed afternoon crowd.
“They always give me a great welcome,” he said afterwards. “The mare coped surprisingly well with the atmosphere as she can be hot. She’s sharp to ride but certainly not stupid and she’s a great jumper of verticals.”
IRISH EYES ARE SMILING AGAIN
Bertram Allen, the talented young Irish rider, brought the evening to a thrilling close with a stunning turn of foot on new ride Gin Chin van het Lindenhof to win The Martin Collins Enterprises Christmas Tree Stakes.
The 11-year-old grey, previously ridden by Marcus Ehning, may be Bertram’s ride in Monday’s Turkish Airlines Olympia Grand Prix. Bertram only acquired the gelding a couple of months ago, but their partnership looks well cemented already and they had 0.38 seconds in hand over in-form Dutchman Harrie Smolders who looked to have the class in the bag on Cas.
“Harrie is very fast so I knew I had to nail it and I gave it my all,” said Bertram. “This is a relatively new horse for me but he’s been very well schooled.”
HARRIE SMOLDERS IS THE CHRISTMAS MASTER
Dutchman Harrie Smolders, currently number 5 on the Longines FEI World Rankings, continued his fabulous season with a brilliant win in The Christmas Masters, jumping five clear rounds in succession on Corrada to take the €11,000 jackpot.
The winner-takes-all class is for the seven leading riders in the Show at this stage; the prize pot goes up with each clear round jumped and riders nominate a fence to go up with each round.
It came down to a head-to-head with Ben Maher on Winning Good, but the British rider was eliminated for a fence down. "He is 100% a championship horse – I’ve got my eye on him for Tokyo," said Ben. "This was a good class for him. He’s got huge scope, but often tries to rush, but he began to settle here."
Harrie, the 2017 European silver medallist, said the class had suited his horse as well. “This is a great Show that I always enjoy. You feel you are sharing your skills with the public and they appreciate it.”
CHRISTIE PRITCHARD WINS UNDER 23 TITLE
Christie Pritchard shed tears of delight as she trounced a strong field in The Under 23 British Championship Final to lift the coveted title.
Only two riders achieved double clears and Christie was the quickest, finishing 2.73 seconds faster than Chloe Winchester, who took this class in 2015.
Christie, 20, who is studying law at Bangor University, was one of the youngest in the field and has had some time away from the sport this year, so the win was doubly impressive.
‘There were so many good riders in the class, it was tough and the pressure definitely took its toll,’ said Christie. ‘But I knew my horse would look after me. I just can’t believe it. It’s amazing.’
WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO TOMORROW
- The Longines FEI World CupTM Jumping Leg
- The CSI5* Ivy Stakes
- The Pony Club Mini-Major and The Mistletoe Mini Stakes
Tickets for Olympia, The London International Horse Show, are still available for some performances. To book go to www.olympiahorseshow.com.
1svujitxhxur8.jpg "Great Britain command victory in the Pony Nations Cup of Compiegne")
.jpg "Thrilling Weekend Kickstarts the STX-UK Pony British Novice Championship Second Round")