Longines CCI5*-L British quartet in the lead
Selina Milnes with COOLEY SNAPCHAT (GBR) © Pam Cunningham/Irish Eventing Times
At the end of the first day of dressage, Selina Milnes and Cooley Snapchat (ISH) came out on top of the Longines CCI5*-L starting field (31.5)
The British rider was very pleased with the performance of her eleven-year-old Irish gelding: “He was super, very relaxed and rideable. I don’t really know what else he could have given. All the changes were good. He always does a nice test,and today I felt like I could really go for it. I was disappointed with the mark at C, but as long as that stays consistently low it doesn’t matter. He’s still inexperienced at this level. He’s very easy and he has taken on every challenge he’s had so far. But the course is really intense. There are a lot of combinations and you really have to be on your game all the way round. It’s also quite twisty but he’s not strong and he likes to stay in a rhythm so I think it’ll suit him.”
Aaron Millar with KEC DEAKON (GBR) © Pam Cunningham/Irish Eventing Times
Aaron Millar, currently in the runner-up position of the Longines CCI5*-L, was also full of praise for his horse KEC Deakon (ISH) (31.6): “I was massively pleased with him. He was really good, even though I slightly overworked him before going in. He had a year off last year so I felt it was better to have him a little underpowered going in. He doesn’t need much work beforehand, but I was very pleased with him. He’s a performer. He goes in and he wants to do a good job. Hopefully the cross-country will suit him, I’m really looking forward to it. There are a lot of acute angles that are going to keep us working and thinking. A lot of the combinations need accuracy, for example the angles in the arena.”
Rosalind Canter with MHS SEVENTEEN. ©Pam Cunningham/Irish Eventing Times
Ros Canter with MHS Seventeen (ISH) (33.5) and Laura Collett with Hester (ISH) (33.9) are currently lying in third and fourth place.
Laura Collett with HESTER. © Pam Cunningham/Irish Eventing Times
Arne Bergendahl (GER), currently 11th on the leaderboard was also pleased with his horse’s dressage test: “After making our five-star debut in Luhmühlen two years ago, it feels great to be back. It’s just fun to compete in this stadium and she seems to enjoy the atmosphere. Of course there’s always room for improvement, but I’m quite happy. In my opinion, the Cross-country course will be quite influential. There are a lot of angled fences, a lot of corners, so we need to focus and make sure to ride the ideal lines – then it should be fun.”
Chris Bartle agrees with the athlete’s assessment: “My first impression of the five-star is that it’s a beautiful course. The fences are beautifully made, inviting yet impressive. The track looks in very good condition. In terms of technical demands, it’s not the toughest five-star course but a very good introduction for horses and riders stepping up this level. I believe the time will be quite difficult to achieve because Mike Etherington-Smith has included quite a few phases where riders have to reduce speed in order to get the turn.
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