It was Michael Eilberg with his father’s 13 year old gelding ‘Marakov’ (pictured) who stole the show at Addington Premier League, 10 -12 May, with wins in both the Grand Prix and Special classes.
This was the pair’s first Premier League outing of 2013, and Michael was delighted with how easy and relaxed Marakov felt at Grand Prix.
Talking about the gelding that has been with the family since the age of four Michael said ‘As a youngster he was very sensitive and spooky, over the years he’s learned to relax but now Grand Prix has really caught his attention, he’s feeling great.’
Fans haven’t seen much of Marakov since mid-2012, as Michael has concentrated heavily on his other rides – including the two Half Moon mares, Delphi and Dynasty, which he rides for Julie and Jonathan Deverell and Alison Reddy’s 10 year old gelding Furst Sinclair.
''Marakov had to play second fiddle somewhat to Delphi last year, especially during the National Championships when I was so poorly. We made the decision not to compete back in March due to the EHV outbreak, so his first show back for 2013 ended up being an International at Hagen and I was so pleased with how well he coped.''
Riding Lady Anne Evan’s 16.3hh grey gelding Merlin Nemorensis, Carl Hester took second place in Saturday’s Grand Prix and Sunday’s Special saw Carl’s pupil Sam Thurman-Baker take second spot with her own 12 year old gelding, Spring Pascal.
Charlotte Dujardin was out and about with her youngster ‘Edison H’ – taking second place in the Shearwater 4 Year Old class next to winner Sadie Smith and Bird Song III.
Both Peter Storr and Spencer Wilton clocked up two Small Tour wins over the three day competition – Spencer in the Inter I with Doogie and a PSG section with Zamboucca, while Peter took the Inter II with Fabioso and PSG section with Sirius Black.
This makes two strings of wins with their rides for both Peter and Spencer - who each notched up multiple firsts at Keysoe Premier League just two weeks previously.
Speaking about Fabioso, the 11 year old German gelding owned by Susan Singer, Peter said ''He’s an amazing little pocket rocket. He’s already won several times at International Small Tour level but this was his first time at Big Tour and he did an amazing job. My plan with him is to just keep building on his confidence and really establish him at Grand Prix.’'
The youth team classes saw a smaller field of International riders following Saumur CDI4* at the beginning of the month, but winners included Victoria Appleyard, Pippa Hutton, Rebecca Bell, Philippa Corbett, Shannon Rule and Alex Rowe.
Following her massive successes over the past year in Pony’s, Phoebe Peters was out for the first time at Junior level for a ‘practice run’ riding Laetitia Van Der Wyck’s ten year old gelding Delfiano. She finished fifth on Saturday in the FEI Junior Team Test and although there were a few mistakes was really happy with her performance.
Perhaps most happy with their performance, however, was Gloucestershire based rider Maria Griffin - who could not stop smiling after taking both first and second place in Sunday’s PSG freestyle.
Trained by Damian Hallam and Adam Kemp, Maria rode to victory with music arranged by Leonie Smith on her two horses D-J and Kassio, who are both owned by Adrian Baker. She has exploded on to the Small Tour scene with a hugely successful start to 2013 on her two rides, Sunday being the first time that any of them have competed to music at PSG.
She said '‘I was really out of my comfort zone but it was so much fun and we had such a good show. Although Kassio is the more experienced horse and his music suited him perfectly, the floorplan was more complex and on reflection perhaps needs revisiting. With D-J, he has a huge movement but is very green at PSG so we kept his floorplan very simple and concentrated on accuracy. His music was a beautiful upbeat Robert Wells piano piece arranged by Leonie. I wanted to keep his confidence up, and he came home feeling really pleased with himself. I’ve trained D-J since he was three years old and we’ve moved up the levels together so this win really did feel very special. I’m looking forward to the upcoming season and am excited about what the future holds – I have two very happy, confident horses and couldn’t ask for any more.’'
Results as follows:
Friday 10 May
FEI Intermediate I
1st Matt Hicks and Talent III 68.860%
2nd Willow Kemp and Dragon Heart 67.588%
FEI Intermediate II
1st Peter Storr and Fabioso 70.351%
2nd Samantha Thurman - Baker and Spring Pascal 70.219%
FEI PSG (section 1)
1st Charlie Hutton and Blue Chip Titanic 69.079%
2nd Maria Griffin and DJ 68.553%
FEI PSG (section 2)
1st Peter Storr and Sirius Black 72.105%
2nd Matt Frost and AMD Don Rosso II 70.263%
National 5yr Old
1st Tom Goode and Dior 81.600%
2nd Anne Marie Perry and De la Beaute 79.200%
National 6yr Old
1st Rebecca Cowderoy and Celicia 82.40%
2nd Ami McLean and Premier Royal Mint 81.20%
FEI 5yr Old
1st Deborah Christie and Devonport 74.400%
2nd Anne Marie Perry and De la Beaute 71.400%
FEI 6yr Old
J. Thompson and Danilo II 81.600%
Louise Davidson and Sports Horse Centre Carilla 78.200%
Saturday 11 May
FEI Grand Prix
1st Michael Eilberg and Marakov 71.844%
2nd Carl Hester and Merlin Nemorensis 71.135%
FEI Intermediate I
1st Spencer Wilton and Doogie 75.044%
2nd Gareth Hughes and Aramis T 72.588%
FEI PSG
1st Spencer Wilton and Zamboucca 73.114%
2nd Daniel Greenwood and Lennox 72.412%
FEI Junior Team
1st Victoria Appleyard and Sir Willy 67.905%
2nd Maisie Scruton and Hot Chocolate 67.027%
FEI Young Rider Team
1st Pippa Hutton and Duela 73.618%
2nd Josefin Gyllenswaard and Troy 67.237%
FEI Pony Team
1st Rebecca Bell and Valido's Starlight 68.974%
2nd Alex Rowe and Ferrari 67.564%
Sunday 12 May
FEI Grand Prix Special
1st Michael Eilberg and Marakov 68.785%
2nd Samantha Thurman - Baker and Spring Pascal 66.701%
Freestyle PSG Music
1st Maria Griffin and DJ 71.083%
2nd Maria Griffin and Kassio 66.667%
Freestyle Advanced Medium Music
1st Philippa Corbett and Saphier VH Overwater 68.417%
2nd Natalie Allen and Winston Jani 67.750%
FEI Junior Individual
1st Philippa Corbett and Saphier VH Overwater 70.461%
2nd Maisie Scruton and Hot Chocolate 67.237%
FEI Young Rider Individual
1st Shannon Rule and Disco Diamond 66.382%
2nd Genevieve Walters and Always Open 63.289%
FEI Pony Individual
1st Alex Rowe and Ferrari 69.207%
2nd Oliver Booth and DHI Good Luck 61.829%
Shearwater 4yr Old
1st Sadie Smith and Bird Song III 79.000%
2nd Charlotte Dujardin and Edison H 81.000%
Shearwater 5yr Old
1st Ferenc Damen and Classic Deejay 82.800%
2nd Daniel Greenwood and Romanno Stromboli 79.400%
For full results see Addington EC website here.