Great Britain move up seven places at WEG and secure their place in the Team Final

Thursday 20 September 2018

Great Britain move up seven places at WEG and secure their place in the Team Final

 

It was a tough day for the 122 competitors, 25 teams and 26 individuals that were contesting the first day of the Team competition at the FEI World Equestrian Games in Tryon today.  In a competition that spanned eight hours and saw only five clears achieved  throughout the competition it was day that really took its toll on many of the combinations.

The 1.65m course, designed Alan Wade, was both big and demanding which resulted in poles falling for almost the entire field.  It was the final four fences that typically dashed the hopes of so many with either the Liverpool fence toppling as the riders turned back to it before heading up the final straight or the final element of the double, an oxer, at the penultimate fence.  If they weren’t caught at either of those, it was more often than not the final vertical that saw a number of clear round hopes dashed.  This, compounded with quite a tight time of 85 seconds meant that even the top placed teams at the end of the competition were running into double figure penalty points.

For Great Britain the aim was very much to ensure they finished within the Top 10 so that they were assured of their place within the Team Final tomorrow where the teams will be competing not only for medals but for one of the all-important six Olympic Games qualifying places on offer.  Moving up an impressive seven places from yesterday’s finish position it was a 9th place finish for GBR with their score of 31 penalties, which is just one fence behind the team currently sitting in 6th place.

It was Switzerland who had come forward this morning in pole position. following the opening speed leg, and who impressively retained their position to hold the lead going in to the Team Final tomorrow with a score of just 12.59 penalties.  The USA are hot on their heels with a score of 12.59 whilst Germany sit in 3rd place on 18.09.  Sweden, the Netherlands, Ireland, France and Australia then sit in respective placings ahead of us with Canada securing the final place in tomorrow’s competition.

British Performances
William Funnell
, from Kent, with the Billy Stud’s 10 year-old chestnut gelding Billy Buckingham was incredibly unlucky to pick up 4 penalties at the water as a result of a light touch of the tape plus a time fault as a result of being just 100th of a second over the time allowed.  Talking afterwards Will said “I didn’t envisage I was anywhere near it [the water jump] but apparently he just put one foot back, so that was disappointing but I was really pleased with the horse. It’s his first championships; I thought he jumped well, the time was always tight, but I wouldn’t have changed too much. It’s a tough course, it’s technical, but he’s a big jumper and he proved today he can do it, very pleased with him.”

 Holly Smith from Leicestershire with Hearts Destiny, a 9 year-old bay gelding owned by both herself, husband Graham and T J Hall Limited picked up 8 penalties on the course over the Liverpool fence and then at the back pole of the oxer jumping out of the double. Commenting on her round “I thought he [Hearts Destiny] was absolutely foot perfect until he had his mistakes where we tried to keep in the time. He’s got loads of raw talent but he’s still a little bit inexperienced so there’s still a bit to work on. We always try to aim for a clear round so I am little bit disappointed that we didn’t achieve that but I think the horse showed his class in the ring and had a good experience in there.”

For Amanda Derbyshire from Lancashire riding Gochman Sport Horse LLC’s 10 year-old bay mare Luibanta BH it was another solid round.  Thir performance saw them mirror the earlier one of Will Funnell’s when a foot in the water just outside the time allowed saw them pick up 5 penalties in what was otherwise a foot-perfect performance which left all poles untouched. Reviewing her performance and reflecting on their error at the water jump yesterday she commented “She [Luibanta] jumped so well in there. I didn’t think I had a foot in the water, I thought I rode it as good as I could do, but maybe yesterday was in the back of my mind a little bit to not get her too close. I couldn’t have been prouder of how she jumped– she’s a little horse and that’s a big track, to jump round and clear all those fences I’m just so proud of her.”

For William Whitaker from West Yorkshire with Ludwig and Yasmine Criel’s 14 year-old bay stallion Utamaro d’Ecaussines it was two fences down and an 8 penalty finish.  The first came just before the water when they turned back towards the skinny fence and touched the top poles.  Resuming their rhythm they looked like they were going to come home clearing the rest until the last but one obstacle, the double, saw them caught out at the second element when they touched the back pole of the oxer. Talking afterwards Will said “He was jumping well and really trying. The course is a tough one and it’s what you’d expect [for a World Championships], but it’s still disappointing. It's a fantastic experience to be here, it’s what we work every day for, but we want to come here and win a medal, it’s not over yet; all the horses jumped really good rounds today.”

Individual Placings
In addition to the Top 10 teams coming forward tomorrow to contest the medals and Olympic Games qualifying tickets the Top 60 Individuals will also progress through to the next round.  For Great Britain this will see all four riders come forward with Amanda Derbyshire the highest placed Brit in 25th place with William Funnell in 29th,  William Whitaker in 37th and Holly in 48th.   The top three Individual placings are currently held by Lorenzo de Luca (ITA), McLain Ward (USA) and Peder Fredricson (SWE) who sit in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place respectively.

Full results from today and start lists for tomorrow can be found by visiting www.tryon2018.com and updates and information in respect of how to watch the action from WEG and news on the British Team can be found by visiting the specific Tryon 2018 section at www.equestrianteamgbr.co.uk

Equestrian Team GBR is supported by the UK Sport National Lottery funded World Class Programme; the British teams are very grateful to the support they receive from the British Equestrian Federation Fund and official partners Dodson and Horrell, Equi-Trek, FALPRO England, Musto, NAF and Point Two.

Image:  William Funnel & Billy Buckingham
Copyright:  Shannon Brinkmann

 

 
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