Ruth Tatam uses tactics to win the NAF Five Star Summer Bronze League Qualifier at Field House Equestrian Centre
Wednesday 28 June 2023
.jpg "Ruth Tatam uses tactics to win the NAF Five Star Summer Bronze League Qualifier at Field House Equestrian Centre")
Ruth Tatam shrewdly adopted a tactical approach to land victory in the NAF Five Star Summer Bronze League Qualifier at Field House Equestrian Centre at Marchington, Staffordshire, with Visual Impact.
“We didn’t expect to win it, he had three months off with a small back injury and I’ve been taking it steady, this is the biggest we’ve jumped for 12 months,” said Ruth, who is based just half an hour from Field House in Burton-upon-Trent.
Forty-four competitors came forward over the course set at 1.05m with 20 making their way into round two. The numbers were further reduced to 12 for the jump-off but clears proved more difficult to obtain third time out, and only two achieved three clean rounds.
Ruth tactically opted for another clear, keeping reasonably tight lines but not overly risking ultra-tight turns. It paid off with the win, the Master Imp x Clover Hill 16-year-old Visual Impact delivering the goods for Ruth with 3.65 seconds to spare.
“It was very warm weather for jumping and I was very lucky with the draw; there was only two to go after me and when I went in the ring there wasn’t a clear round,” said Ruth.
Visual Impact was bought as a 4-year-old and the partnership used to event but have switched to showjumping in the later years and won the Diamond Championship Final at Blue Chip in 2022.
“I knew something was wrong when he started stopping – he never stops – so he’s had his back treated and it’s taken some work getting up and running and gaining his confidence over bigger fences,” said Ruth. “He’s a grumpy old man and we have a love-hate relationship, we’re always grumbling at each other but he loves shows and competitions.”
Terri Hill was the only other treble clear for second riding T J Toy while Abbie Goodwin proved some seven seconds faster than the winner, but a costly rail fell to drop Master Finn to third.
Field House EC – Saturday, 24 June 2023
NAF Five Star Summer Bronze League Qualifier
1st Ruth Tatam & Visual Impact – 0/0/0 - 50.51 seconds
2nd Terri Hill & T J Toy – 0/0/0 - 54.16 seconds
3rd Abbie Goodwin & Master Finn – 0/0/4 - 43.40 seconds
NB: Qualifications pending official grading of results
Image: Top Shot Photography
NAF Five Star:
NAF’s premium range of Five Star brands include Superflex, Superflex Senior, PROFEET, Optimum, Magic, Oestress and Respirator Boost with quality at the heart of everything they do. They are a UFAS (Universal Feed Assurance Scheme), GMP+ (International Feed Assurance Scheme) and BETA NOPS (Naturally Occuring Prohibited Substances) accredited company and this enables them to guarantee full traceability on all the natural ingredients they utilise in their formulations, which are also selected in compliance with the FEI guidelines for Clean Sport. For further information, visit www.naf-equine.eu
