Harry Charles claims second in the pinnacle class of the day at Royal Windsor
Saturday 13 May 2023
Harry Charles was the best British rider at Royal Windsor on the penultimate day as he guided Ann Thompson's Aralyn Blue into second in the pinnacle of Saturday’s showjumping classes, Belgium’s Abdel Said pipping him at the post.
Twenty-one of the world’s best horse and rider combinations went head-to-head in the CSI5* Kingdom of Bahrain Stakes for The King’s Cup.
First into the arena was Britain's William Funnell riding the 13-year-old chestnut gelding, Equine America Billy Diamo. William showcased all of his experience to jump clear and set the standard for the rest to follow. Clears continued to come in the Castle Arena, including yesterday’s CSI5* Pearl Stakes winner, Lily Attwood, Belgium’s Abdel Saïd, and two members of Britain's FEI World Championship bronze medal-winning team, Ben Maher and Harry Charles.
However, Bernardo Costa Cabral’s skillfully curated course caused problems throughout, with nearly half of the field accruing four faults. Beneath the historic Windsor Castle, crowds came alight when 68-year-old veteran of the sport, John Whitaker, entered the arena. John executed a superb clear jumping round, but disappointment came when he picked up two time faults.
Eight combinations progressed through to the jump-off. First to go was Abdel Saïd riding Arpege du Ru, who won this class back in 2017 and set the standard with an exceptionally fast round of 32.32 seconds. Following Saïd’s round, the pressure was on the remaining combinations. It was a tightly fought contest as France’s Kevin Staut looked to challenge the lead but could not quite match the pace set, coming home in a time of 33.76 seconds. All British hopes rested on Under-25 World No. 1 Harry Charles, after both Ben Maher and Lily Atwood had a pole down. Harry, who partnered the talented Aralyn Blue, rode a beautiful round, and as he rode down to the last oxer the crowd held their breath in hopes of a British winner. The young rider, however, could only do enough for second, with a time of 32.97 — just over 0.60 seconds slower than the winner, Abdel Saïd.
Abdel said; “I’m really happy with Arpege, she’s naturally a really fast mare, I know her really well as I’ve been riding her since she was eight, so I stuck to my plan and I’m really pleased with how she went. I love competing at Royal Windsor Horse Show, the British crowds are so supportive and they really understand the sport so it’s an amazing experience.”
Speaking of his tactics for the jump-off “I don’t usually walk the jump-off course when riding Arpege, as she has such an unusually quick stride, so I spoke to a few colleagues who told me the lines. I tend to just take what I see as it comes, and today it really paid off.”
Twenty-eight starters tackled the technical 1.50m course in the CSI5* Defender Challenge Stakes. The competition consisted of two rounds, with eight going through to the jump-off in reverse order.
After a lightning fast first round from Olivier Perreau, the Frenchman was in pole position for the jump-off. Ben Maher and the incredibly careful stallion Enjeu de Grisien were first to go in the second round and set the precedent for those following. Fellow Brits included William Funnell and the home-bred Equine America Billy Marmite, Lily Attwood on Karibou Horta, and Jodie Hall McAteer, who finished in third with Mandy Hall’s Kimosa van het Kritrahof.
There was heartbreak for Daniel Deusser, as he and Kiana van het Herdershof were bumped out of the top spot by a painstaking margin by World No. 4, Martin Fuchs and Viper Z. Fuch’s round was picturesque, with his sixpence-like turn from the Rolex oxer to the water tray finishing 0.05 seconds quicker than Deusser, sealing another 5* win.
Speaking about Viper Z, the former World No. 1 said: “He’s great and naturally very quick, it’s his first 5* show, so I’m delighted with this result. When walking the course I believed it would suit us, so it’s always very nice when it works out. Royal Windsor Horse Show is just such a nice atmosphere, with amazing people who know the sport all around."
The Castle Arena hosted the final of The Kingdom of Bahrain Services Team Jumping, which saw the best of 29 service teams, each made up of three riders, tackling a course of show jumps. The competition was split over two phases; in the first phase, held in the morning, all members of the team jumped; whilst in the second phase this afternoon, 16 riders were nominated for the jump-off.
The Kingdom of Bahrain Services Team Jumping Competition saw a huge field of competitors. The Queen's Cup for working military horses was won by The Defence Animal Training Regiment's team of CoH Mancey, WO2 McGrath and SSgt. Kershaw. The Queen's Plate for non-horsed units was won by Hurstpierpoint College (Freddie Laing on Cash Up, Ralf Birkby with Skyline and Harriet Birkby aboard CBH Clover Lining), while the International Challenge Trophy was won by the Abu Dhabi Police Cavalry.
Meanwhile in the Frogmore Arena, attention turned to the Inter School Show Jumping Competition sponsored by Equine Rescue Services where Seaford College (Lulu James on Uptons Kanga, Dasiy Andrews with Woodwards Whinney, Sophie Jones riding Jannan Des Imoo and Dasiy Dace on Meelickisland Corncrake) triumphed in the team competition, and Darcie Nobles from Leweston School won the individual title on Wainfelin Starlight.
