Dan Sherriff and his 15 year old stallion Bayford Hall Dallaglio were the best of the British seniors last weekend in the grand prix ranks at Kapellen CDI3* in Belgium last week. The Laurentianer sired bay finished seventh in good company in the Grand Prix on 66.9%, albeit with a wide range of placings from the five judges of third to 13th. The talking point of the class was the eagerly awaited return to competition for Totilas and Matthias Alexander Rath. A whopping 78.68% give them a clear victory but above all else, it was pleasing for many to see the black Gribaldi stallion and his rider back to full health; and looking fantastic to boot.
Matthias opted for the Special with Totilas and again they were spot on for a score of 82.27% and victory by nearly 13%. Their performances certainly add spice to the prospect of the sport’s top stars meeting at the World Equestrian Games in August.
Buoyed after his great music performance at Windsor, Dan went for the Freestyle and it was a good choice as 71.55% gave them fourth spot.
In the Pony ranks, Rebecca Bell and her 2013 European Pony Championship team bronze medal partner Valido’s Sunshine (pictured) were the star performers. The opening competition, the team test, featured a number of Europe’s best combinations amongst the 36 starters and Rebecca rode her mum’s pony to score 68.69% to finish in the top third. She also had a good ride on her second pony, Valido’s Starlight, also owned by mum Caroline to score 68.48% which left them 14th. Alexandra Rowe was 30th on 66.02% with Ferrari and Clare Hole, in her first season with Maisie Scruton’s former team pony Rembrandt DDH, was 31st with 65.92%. Rose Hugh-Smith didn’t have the happiest of times with Holsteins Derwisch and 59.3% was far from their usual score.
In the Pony Individual, Rebecca continued the good form with Valido’s Sunshine and 68.31% gave them eighth spot. Both Clare and Alexandra improved their scores with 66.63% and 66.53% respectively while Rose used the day off to try and give ‘Wisch’ a happier arena experience which paid off with a small improvement to score 61.19%.
Rebecca was the only one to come forward for the freestyle on Sunday and she broke the 70% barrier with Sunny to finish seventh on 70.65% crowning a great competition for the Oxfordshire rider.
For full results, click here.