Harry Charles Triumphs in Wierden Grand Prix
Saturday 10 June 2017
Harry Charles, aged 17 from Alton, Hampshire flew the flag for Great Britain triumphantly this afternoon in Wierden, The Netherlands, with Junior Grand Prix win on his father Peter’s chestnut gelding Vivaldi du Dom.
The 1.40m Grand Prix course asked a lot of its eighty-six starters with only twelve of them managing to jump clear in the first round. Not only was the time allowed a tight resulting in many combinations incurring time penalties but it was also up-to-height and technical asking many questions of both horse and rider. Within the group of twelve that qualified for the jump off was current Pony European Champion Jack Whitaker (GBR) on Emilie Machon and Michael Potters grey stallion Valentin R who finished in eventual 6th place.
Last to go in the jump off, Harry who has also already won three Junior European Championships medals over the past two years, had watched some of the first ones go and decided on the strategy he was going to take as a result. Talking it through he said “I had watched a couple go and I could see that there was room for me to take a stride out between the first two fences. I was going in for a win, so knew I had to be fast but felt confident as my horse is so careful. I managed to save a bit of time going forward and taking a stride out where I could. The jump off course suited us as it had a good distance between fences and Vivaldi has a good forward pace so it worked out well for us”. Stopping the clock in a time of 37.74 seconds, Harry was the only rider to break the 39 second barrier on which he commented “As I came to the finish line I knew I had been fast so wouldn’t be far off the current leader but it wasn’t until afterwards that I realised I had managed to shave almost two seconds from their time”.
Second place went to Calvin Bockmann (GER) with Carvella Z who jumped clear in a time of 39.52 seconds with third place going to Thibault Phillippaerts (BEL) on D Cancarra AC. Only seven double clears were achieved within the competition and it was superb to see two of them being British and featuring high up in the line up.
Clare Whitaker, British Showjumping's Youth Team Manager said “Harry has ridden exceptionally well at the show and he was excellent in the Grand Prix today. This, along with his performance in the Nations Cup when, as anchor rider, he delivered the clear that we needed to secure the win has absolutely highlighted his talent and he highly deserves the success that he has had today. I was also extremely pleased with Jack, who at only 16 years-old produced a faultless two rounds riding with maturity well beyond his years. The Juniors have shown considerable talent in Wierden and Harry in particular has been outstanding. I couldn’t be happier!”
Harry’s father, London 2012 Team Gold medallist Peter Charles added “It was a great show for the Junior Team and to cap it off with Harry’s win and Jack in 6th has made it all the more special. We all knew we could win the Juniors Nations Cup, we set our stall out for it and nothing was going to deter us. To win both the Nations Cup and the Grand Prix just shows what tremendous talent we have within this age group and we’ve proved this week that we’re the best in Europe."
Discussing the season ahead Harry said “We leave here and then head up to Cheshire for the Bolesworth International show before heading over to Belgium for three weeks. My focus is now very much on hoping that I will be selected for the Junior European Championship team. We will then, if all goes to plan, come back from there and look at concentrating our efforts on FEI World Ranking classes at senior international shows.”
For full results http://results.scgvisual.com/2017/dyf/r27.html
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