A rather surprised Alex Hua Tian found himself at the top of the leaderboard in the Project Pony CCI4*S, Chicko having risen up the ranks after uncharacteristic errors from those above him – including dressage leaders Laura Collett and London 52 who were amongst those who missed a flag on the cross-country.
Alex took over the ride on the 16-year-old Irish-bred horse, previously campaigned by Polly Stockton, in 2023 when Polly stepped down from top-level competition. This was his first run since Badminton in the Spring.
“I’m so happy for him and his owner, Kate Willis,” said Alex. “Kate and her family are all here today; it’s her husband Pete’s birthday so we’ve been having a lovely picnic. Chicko went really well today, but with three or four horses ahead of us I didn’t for a moment think we’d win – or receive a beautiful silver trophy presented by Jocelyn Rosenberg!
“This was Chicko’s last run before Aachen. He’ll now have a quiet week before doing our final prep and setting off for Germany.”
Last year’s winners Max Warburton and Deerpairc Revelry had to settle for the runner-up spot. They were the only combination to beat the clock home, coming home eight seconds inside the optimum time.
Another horse to be having a first run since Badminton, Max said, “He was incredible. It’s nice to have him back out, he was fresh throughout the show – and when they don’t pull it’s easy to make the time. You couldn’t ask for more from the ground conditions, which makes a huge difference. Owners want their horses to run here.
“He will have one more run at Hartpury and then on to his third Burghley.”
Max was less lucky with his second ride; Primitive Funtime left a leg at the first water and Max went for an unscheduled swim.
Kitty King completed the top three riding the veteran Vendredi Biats.
“We had a really nice time; he was fresh and forward in the dressage and excited to be out, and then jumped two lovely clears today. He’s seventeen now so we are just doing four-star shorts and enjoying him, in the past he’s had a lot of pressure on him. I’d quite like to do a Prix St George with him in the winter – we’ve been working on our canter pirouettes and tempi changes with Carl (Hester) in preparation.”
Kitty is another one to have a less-than-perfect run on her other horse, Cristal Fontaine. He was heading for a top 10 finish but jumped the largest part of the brush at the Redpost Equestrian Log (11b and the site of London 52’s error) which was outside the red flag. Kitty realised her mistake, circled round and popped through between the flags, finishing steadily.
