Burnham Market International Horse Trials 2014
by Baron Halpenny, LincsMag Editor.
Date: 21 April 2014
The EQ Life Burnham Market International Horse Trials 2014 (Thursday 17th - Saturday 19th April) in North West Norfolk, made for an action packed Easter Weekend and with gate numbers up over 15% on previous years it's clear that this is becoming a popular event, especially with families.
In what is one of the country's finest events where not only did visitors enjoy the top level sport, with riders from 22 nations competing, but there were also a wide range of trade stands, children's entertainment and dog agility to keep all happy.
The main order of the day though was the riding as both horse and rider did dressage, showjumping and then the thrilling cross country. The ground was hard and certainly put the horses to the test, and though some riders were reluctant to ride their best horses, others were more than happy to show what their horses could do on this terrain.
CIC**
Josephine Schnaufer decisively secured the CIC** with both a first and third placing. Schnaufer won first place riding Leslie Ann 2 with Andrew Nicholson riding Cillnabradden Evo taking second place, but then Schnaufer riding Collien P 2, went on to also take third place making it a Happy Easter weekend for her in the 2 star eventing.
Amy Martin riding Sparky's Reflection, who has a connection with Uncle Henry's near Gainsborough, came in 12th place.
Charlotte Barber was doing reasonably well on her chestnut mare, Gran Sho, but sadly had a mishap at the second from last with her taking the fence ahead of the horse, something I know about all too well when I use to ride, thankfully both horse and rider were okay, but sadly it meant her elimination from the event.
CIC*** Section B & C
Oliver Townend, who had 13 horses at the event, won the CIC*** Section B on Black Tie II, with Nicola Wilson taking second with Beltane Queen, and New Zealand’s Craig Nicolai coming third riding Just Ironic.
Not content with his CIC*** Section B win, Oliver Townend went on to also win the CIC*** Section C as well, this time riding Armada, making it now that he has won the Three Star class at Burnham Market Horse Trials an impressive seven times.
Australia’s Paul Tapner on Indian Mill came Second, and veteran Mark Todd on NZB Campino came third.
The event was well put together, but then that is no surprise as they are organised by Musketeer Events that were founded by Alec Lochore, who apart from going on to be the eventing manager for the London 2012 Olympic Games, has over ten years experience running more than 50 national and international horse trials.
Facebook Picture Album
To see more pictures from the Burnham Market International Horse Trials 2014, visit the Album on our Facebook page HERE!
