Louise Simpson seized victory in the 3* Grand Prix with Cindy R in Oliva Nova, Spain whilst Youth riders were victorious at Sentower Park, Belgium
Monday 20 November 2023
.jpg "Louise Simpson seized victory in the 3* Grand Prix with Cindy R in Oliva Nova, Spain whilst Youth riders were victorious at Sentower Park, Belgium")
Louise Simpson landed the feature 3* Grand Prix to finish the Autumn MET II tour in Oliva Nova, Spain, on a high with Cindy R.
“Cindy isn’t the fastest horse and I’ve only been riding her for a few months, so I don’t know her inside out, but she does have a very big stride,” said Louise.
Fifty riders came forward over the world ranking 13-fence 1.50m track designed by Switzerland’s Gerard Lachat with 10 providing initial clears to return for the jump-off.
“When there first were quite a few clears, I thought ‘Oh, I didn’t think it was that easy’, but as it turned out, ten clears equalled the perfect number,” said Louise about the course set by Gerard Lachat. “I think the course was built brilliantly, I thought the wall quite tight out of the corner would cause more trouble than it did, but actually, it jumped really well. It was into a short four stride distance, but most of them jumped the wall a bit steady so it worked perfectly.”
Louise has never been a slouch against the clock and has proved a formidable opponent since her pony days. Today was no exception, and she guided the Clarimo x Quidam De Revel 11-year-old mare with equal shots of skill and daring to edge ahead and win by 0.30 seconds.
“The only way I was going to be quicker than anyone else was to make use of her huge stride and I planned to do seven strides from one to two, where I think most did eight,” explained Louise. “I stuck with that, and then again, her stride came into place to the last, where I could just keep going – she eats up the ground. However, I didn’t think I would be anywhere near fast enough to win!”
Louise, who lives in West Sussex with husband David and their four boys, first competed this big mare at the beginning of September.
“We’ve had her for about a year now,” she said. “She’s huge and on paper, you would definitely say she’s a guy’s horse. David has been riding her for most of the year, but actually, ignoring her size, she is so sweet and easy that I kind of stole her three, four months ago and she’s been a hero. The plan was to put me on her to speed her up, so I feel like I’ve done that a bit now. She was just breeding until she was 8 or 9-years-old, so she is not super experienced and she has kind of had a tough year to catch up, but she’s definitely done so and come on really quickly.
“The horses have improved from being here; you can break it up with jumping in different rings and going to the beach, and there is plenty for the kids to do as well. We’ve had a great time and we are definitely coming back,” added Louise, about the venue at Centro Ecuestre, Oliva Nova.
Louise also picked up third in the 73-entry world ranking gold 1.45m two-phase on Dallco Chance, the Casallco x Landfriese 2 8-year-old finishing 1.29 sec behind the winner, Switzerland’s Martina Meroni on Fidelgo Du Houssoit.
Nicole Lockhead Anderson clinched victory in the gold 1.45m with Christian Street, but it was oh so close in this hotly competitive class.
A big entry of 88 competitors came forward in this speed class with Nicole hitting top gear from the off in her usual breath-taking speedy style. But she was matched stride for stride by Ireland’s Seamus Hughes Kennedy with Cuffesgrange Cavadora. Nevertheless, Nicole is not a quitter and she edged ahead on the Christian 25 x Poker 49 10-year-old mare by the tiniest of margins – winning by only 0.01 sec.
British riders hit Grand Prix form at Sentower Park’s Youth Festival
Noora von Bulow dominated the Junior Grand Prix with two of the top three podium places at Sentower Park’s Youth Festival in Opglabbeek, Belgium, leading the way on Interstar B.
The 29 starters were whittled down to seven by course-designer Rafael Suarez’s 12-fence 1.40m track and, with four double clears on the board, it was all about the clock. Noora smoothly sped ahead on the scopey but careful I’m Special De Muze x Ohorn VDL 10-year-old Interstar B to take a comfortable 2.15 second win. Noora also slotted the Heartbeat 13-year-old Lucky Lisa into third just a fraction of a second in arrears behind second-placed Tony Stormanns for Germany on Dia Nova. Four faults dropped Ruby Barrs and Manzana De Rigo down to sixth.
Izabella Rogers claimed victory in the pony Grand Prix with Neil 55.
Brits dominated the jump-off as only eight of the 50 starters accessed the jump-off over the 1.30m track, three of them riding for Great Britain. Izabella was the quickest, smoothly guiding the Tangelo Van De Zuuthoeve 11-year-old Neil – bred in Britain by Charlotte Platt – into victory with more than four seconds to spare. Maisie Allsop has quickly developed a rapport with new ride Vaughann De Vuzit to take second while four faults dropped Lucy Capper and Capability Brown down to fourth.
Olivia Poole claimed second in the Under 25 1.45m with My Premier Touch. Forty riders contended this speed class with Olivia and the Hold Up Premier x Touchdown 11-year-old taking the runner-up spot 3.43 seconds behind the winner.
The consistent pair went on to take second in the Under 25 1.45m Grand Prix. Only six of the original 32 starters made it into the jump-off with Olivia posting another clear to finish in the runner-up spot 1.13 seconds behind the winner, Germany’s Felizitas Judith on Petit Prince HD.
Image: Louise Simpson and Cidy R. Credit: MET Oliva/1clicphoto
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