DHL presents CCI****: Kitty King and Boyd Martin in joint first
Kitty King and Ceylor LAN. Photo: Thomas Ix
USA’s Boyd Martin with Shamwari 4. Photo: Thomas Ix
After day one in the four-star competition we have a joint first, with Kitty King (GBR) on Ceylor L A N and Boyd Martin (USA) with Shamwari 4, both on 27.4 penalties. In third is Vittoria Panizzon (ITA) with Checkers Play the Game and 28.1.
Kitty King was particularly pleased with her horse’s performance, who has not competed in a big event since the Olympic Games in Rio 2016: “He has performed really well for me today and I could not have asked for more!” Boyd Martin, who rode his big German horse Shamwari 4, was equally pleased. With a new coach they managed to really improve the canter work, which he felt made a big difference today. Vittoria Panizzon’s Checkers Play the Game is competing in his first four-star this weekend, making her extremely proud how well he delivered throughout their test. “Only one of the flying changes didn’t quite turn out as planned, but the rest was brilliant. He has a fabulous walk, which earned us three nines from the judges – definitely something to be proud of!”
All three riders felt the DHL presents CCI**** course is asking plenty of questions of horses and riders and requires full concentration and precise riding throughout. With technical challenges and big jumps everything you would want from a four-star course is in there. Vittoria Panizzoni sums it up: “I’m so excited to ride this beautifully built course and looking forward to Saturday.”
