Tag Archives: Paul Tapner

Eventing/H.T., FEI, FEI

Tough Tapner Takes the Cross Country Lead at Badminton

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Cross Country leaders Paul Tapner and Kilronan (AUS) have a fence in hand to win at the Mitsubishi Badminton Horse Trials, fourth leg of the FEI Classics™ series. Photo: Kate Houghton/FEI.

Badminton (GBR), 10 May 2014 – Paul Tapner (AUS) is on course to win his second Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials (GBR), fourth leg of the FEI Classics™ 2013/2014, after a dramatic day of Cross Country action.

The 38-year-old Australian, second after Dressage on the mud-loving Irish gelding Kilronan, tackled the track early in the day and looked beatable when he took the long route at Huntsman’s Close (fence 22-23) and clocked 20 time penalties to finish on a score of 56.4.

However, strong winds, rain and holding ground made Guiseppe Della Chiesa’s revamped Cross Country course extremely influential and only 35 riders completed, none of them coming anywhere near the optimum time of 11 minutes 21 seconds.

The leader board looks completely different from yesterday, with only two of the top 10 after Dressage completing: Tapner plus Sir Mark Todd with his second ride Leonidas ll, which has dropped from equal ninth to 17th after picking up extra time penalties when the horse lost his line in the Lake and plunged into deep water.

Tim Price (NZL) rose from 41st after Dressage to second after a brilliant round on Ringwood Sky Boy with the fastest time of the day for 11.6 time penalties. Pascal Leroy (FRA) and the lovely Minos de Petra leapt 27 places to third with 15.2 time penalties.

“I didn’t think the course was unusually tough but you couldn’t make any mistakes,” Tapner said. “It’s Kilronan’s third four-star and he feels a different horse from last year; he’s far more mature. He does, however, tend to get on his forehand when he’s a bit tired and that’s why I took a long route near the end.”

Oliver Townend (GBR), the last British rider to win Badminton, in 2009, has jumped 30 places to fourth on the Spanish-bred Armada, ahead of Sam Griffiths (AUS), fifth on Paulank Brockagh.

Townend was emotional about his horse’s performance. “Everyone knows Armada is an amazing horse but he did, for the first time ever, feel tired by the time we got to the Quarry [fences 24-26]. However, he was such a good old horse and pricked his ears and picked up again.

“I think the course was fantastic. Giuseppe [Della Chiesa, Course Designer] has done an amazing job. It was a fair test and a proper Badminton course.”

Dressage leader Clark Montgomery (USA) retired Loughan Glen after a refusal at the big corner in Huntsman’s Close near the end of the course (fences 22-23). Francis Whittington (GBR), lying third, retired Easy Target here, and Lucinda Fredericks (AUS), fourth, pulled up Flying Finish after fence 5.

Mark Todd and Sara Algotsson-Ostholt (SWE), who were equal fifth after Dressage, both fell; Todd found himself sitting inelegantly on top of the brush box at the Shogun Hollow (11) when NZB Campino refused, while the Swedish rider had a fall at Huntsman’s Close on Reality 39.

William Fox-Pitt (GBR) and Andrew Nicholson (NZL), who were in equal seventh, both fell when challenging for the lead. Fox-Pitt and Parklane Hawk fell at a hedge three fences from home when going well, and Nicholson tipped off when Nereo hit the rail exiting the Mirage Pond (16). Nicholson retired his first horse Quimbo following a run-out at the brush keyhole at 13.

Peter Flarup (DEN), equal ninth after Dressage, had a fall with Callista E at the spread fence before the Lake (7). Mary King (GBR), 12th, miraculously survived a sticky moment when Imperial Cavalier crawled through the keyhole fence only to have a refusal at the Mirage Pond.

Jonelle Price (NZL), 14th, walked home on The Deputy after an early run-out at the skinny brush at 5, while her husband, Tim, took a dunking in the Lake with his second ride, Wesko.

Christopher Burton (AUS), equal 20th on the Adelaide CCI4* winner TS Jamaimo, had a run-out at the Vicarage Vee (fence 15); Kristina Cook (GBR) had a glance-off at fence 5 with De Novo News and Pippa Funnell was frustrated to fall at the log at 18 when going beautifully on her second ride Redesigned.

Funnell, however, was elated with her first horse, the home-bred 10-year-old Billy Beware, with which she is in sixth place after a masterful clear round for 24 time penalties. “He’s the first Billy Stud horse to do Badminton!” she said.

“I know it wasn’t all copybook, but I am so excited about his future. He kept digging deep and got me out of trouble a couple of times, which is the sign of a really good horse.”

Harry Meade (GBR), who is in eighth place on Wild Lone behind flying Dutchman Tim Lips (Keyflow NOP), was also thrilled with his day. Meade is back in action after breaking both elbows in a fall last August. “This is what I came back for, the real seat-of-the-pants stuff,” he said. “My wife, Rosie, was nervous, but I told her this is what I love doing. I’ve known my horse since he was four years old and we just got on with the job.”

Tapner, who has been based near Badminton since 2000, looks set to lift a second Mitsubishi Motors Trophy, his first victory coming in 2010 on Inonothing. However, after a day full of surprises, it’s clear that nothing is a certainty. Tapner and Kilronan have a fence in hand, but the next group of four riders are all within a fence of each other and are all equally determined to make history in Badminton’s 65th year.

Full results on www.badminton-horse.co.uk.

Watch live coverage of the Jumping finale on the FEI’s official video platform FEI TV, if you are based outside of the UK. In the UK, live coverage of the Jumping can be seen on the BBC Red Button and BBC Sport website. For full TV listings and broadcast times, please visit the Badminton website here.

See full standings here.

Prize money

At the end of the FEI Classics™ 2013/2014 season, the five riders with the highest number of points collected across the six FEI Classics™ events will share a total prize fund of US$120,000 split as follows: 1st – US$40,000 (Series Champion); 2nd – US$35,000; 3rd – US$25,000; 4th – US$15,000; 5th – US$5,000.

Join the FEI on Facebook & Twitter.

Our signature Twitter hashtags for this series are #Classics and #Eventing. We encourage you to use them, and if you have space: #FEIClassics #Eventing.

The Mitsubishi Badminton Horse Trials Twitter handle is @bhorsetrials and hashtag is #MMBHT.

By Kate Green

Media Contacts:

At Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials:

Julian Seaman
Press Officer
+44 7831 515736
j.seaman2@sky.com
@bhorsetrials #MMBHT

At FEI:

Grania Willis
Director Media Relations
Grania.willis@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 42

Ruth Grundy
Manager Press Relations
ruth.grundy@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 45

*Featured/Spotlights, Eventing/H.T.

Paul Tapner Leads the 2014 Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials after Cross-Country

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(UK, 10 May 2014) Paul Tapner (AUS) riding Kilronan, today Saturday 10 May 2014, is the current leader after the cross-country phase, with Tim Price (NZL) riding Ringwood Sky Boy in 2nd place, and Pascal Leroy (FRA) riding Minos De Petra in 3rd place, at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials, in Gloucestershire, UK.

It is Australia, New Zealand, and France in a 1-2-3 at the Badminton Horse Trials after a dramatic day’s cross-country. Many of the top names could not make it around the challenging course, with tough weather conditions of wind and rain testing all horse and rider partnerships to the limit.

Paul Tapner rode a brilliant round after a stunning dressage test to take him from second place into pole position. Many of the top riders including Nicholson, Clark Montgomery, Todd and Funnell, all came unstuck with falls or run outs. Tim Price currently lying in second place rose up the ranks from his overnight position in 41st place after the dressage! Similarly, French rider Pascal Leroy went clear with one of the fastest times of the day, finishing in third place after being 30th after the dressage.

Unfortunately, the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing live contender, William Fox-Pitt (GBR), could not stay on board Parklane Hawk at fence 28 in today’s cross-country phase, after winning the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event last month in such style and so a new contender will be crowned tomorrow.

Results after the Cross-Country Phase

1. Paul Tapner/Kilronan (AUS) 56.4
2. Tim Price/Ringwood Sky Boy (NZL) 61.6
3. Pascal Leroy/Minos De Petra (FRA) 62.5
4. Oliver Townen/Armada (GBR) 62.7
5. Sam Griffiths/Paulank Brockagh (AUS) 63.9
6. Pippa Funnell/Billy Beware (GBR) 66.3
7. Tim Lips/Keyflow NOP (NED) 66.5
8. Harry Meade/Wild Lone (GBR) 67.4
9. Ludwig Svennerstal/Alexander (SWE) 72.0
10. Lucy Jackson/Willy Do (NZL) 72.0

Quote from Rolex Testimonee, Pippa Funnell (GBR), riding Billy Beware:

Q. Pippa – you are beaming!

I’m really, really beaming. You guys (media) put a whole lot of doubt in my head yesterday, when the first thing you all said was he’s only done one three star – is he experienced enough?! All night I’ve been thinking it’s raining, and he’s not had the mud before. So I’ve never been ‘have I made the right decision?’

As I said yesterday, I was going to set out with not the time in my head – I was really pleased as he’s never done the trip before and he kept digging deep. I certainly didn’t help him at a few fences and he showed me his class!

Quote from Paul Tapner (AUS) riding Kilronan:

Q. Paul – did your cross-country go as you planned?

No it definitely didn’t go exactly according to plan because I wasn’t within the time! I went long at Huntsman Close which wasn’t part of the plan but I knew I was in a bit of trouble in terms of the petrol left in the tank when I was coming back up into the park after the Vicarage (fence 15) – didn’t have enough energy left as I wanted and needed to conserve energy.

It wasn’t about the clock. It was about getting the job done; it was about getting clear and getting home. The Australian coach said that ‘it’s a battlefield out there’ and you’ve only got to look at the scoreboard to see that.

Quote from Tim Price (NZL) riding Ringwood Sky Boy:

Q. Were you worried about the course and the stamina needed?

Absolutely, the whole way really. In that department I think that’s what set him apart, by the ease in which he jumped around. He just felt brilliant in his fitness and the way he traveled… he did go early so that had a little advantage, but he just felt great.

Quote from Oliver Townend (GBR) riding Armada:

Q. How was the ride today?

I thought it was down to myself and my own ability to get the best out of Armada. We all know Armada is an unbelievable horse cross-country and if there was going to be a mistake it was going to be jockey rather than horse.

For the first time ever I did feel we ran out of petrol. Normally I finish with a double handful with his ears pricked, but this time, going up to the Quarry I gave him a bit of squeeze but there was no reaction. But like a good old horse he pricked his ears and galloped on properly again to the next few fences.

Copyright Free Audio

Please click on the following links for copyright free audio of the post-event Press Conference after Cross-Country Day with the top three placed riders and other interviews as below:

Pippa Funnell, riding Billy Beware after Cross-Country     http://po.st/eVVxVf
Pascal Leroy, riding Minos De Petra after Cross-Country   http://po.st/PNa9Ni
Oliver Townend, riding Armada after Cross-Country     http://po.st/KMDg4H
Paul Tapner riding Kilronan and Tim Price riding Ringwood Sky Boy after Cross-Country   http://po.st/LkEpwx

For more information on the 2014 Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials and full Results/Leaderboard, please visit www.badminton-horse.co.uk.

Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing

In 2001, Rolex created the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing. This trophy is awarded to the rider who manages to win the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials and the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials event in any consecutive order. Until now, only British rider Pippa Funnell has managed this staggering achievement, winning the title in 2003.

Revolution Sports + Entertainment
team@revolutionsports.co.uk
www.revolutionsports.co.uk

*Featured/Spotlights, Dressage, Eventing/H.T., FEI

Tapner Is on Track at Badminton

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Paul Tapner (AUS) and Kilronan produce a stunning test to take the lead after the first day of Dressage at the Mitsubishi Badminton Horse Trials, fourth leg of the FEI Classics™ series. Photo: Kate Houghton/FEI.

Lausanne (SUI), 8 May 2014 – A trio of brilliant Dressage tests lit up a wet and blustery afternoon at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials (GBR), fourth leg of the FEI Classics™ 2013/2014.

Two Australians, Paul Tapner and Lucinda Fredericks, both former Badminton winners, flank Britain’s Francis Whittington as the only riders to break the 40-penalty barrier after the first day of Dressage.

Tapner, 38, leads with 36.0 penalties on Fred and Penny Barker’s Irish-bred grey Kilronan, on which he finished 20th last year. He has a 0.2 point lead over Whittington on another grey, Easy Target, both riders having wrought considerable improvement in their horses’ flatwork over the winter.

“Kilronan was getting very good marks at three-star level, but it was eating away at me that I couldn’t get the same at four-star, so I’ve been working hard over the winter,” admitted Tapner, who won Badminton in 2010 on Inonothing.

“But I don’t think I’ve ever felt so relaxed about the Dressage before. I’m not sure it matters too much about the marks because the Cross Country course is going to be extremely influential.”

Whittington, who was 31st at Badminton on Easy Target last year, has achieved a 15-mark improvement in 12 months. “The big thing is that over this winter I’ve been learning to ride again,” he explained. “We knew ‘Smokey’ had the movement and could do it.

“But it was really the warm-up which made the difference. Ian Woodhead, who trains me, worked out exactly how long it would take to get to the arena, and we timed everything to perfection.”

The last British rider to win Badminton was Oliver Townend in 2009. Whittington’s best Badminton result to date is 15th in 2009 with Sir Percival lll and he was careful not to get too carried away. “I’ve been in this position twice before and then ended up doing the ‘walk of shame’ home from Cross Country,” he joked.

Accomplished Dressage rider Lucinda Fredericks, the Badminton winner in 2007 on Headley Britannia, scored 39.0 on her 2012 Olympic ride Flying Finish which has completed Luhmühlen and Pau but not a British CCI4* before.

Sir Mark Todd, who first rode at Badminton 34 years ago, and won, showed he is still ahead of the game when taking fourth place with a score of 40.5 in a beautifully presented test on NZB Campino.

The 12-year-old Hanoverian by Contendro has not done a three-day event since the London 2012 Olympic Games, where he was third after Dressage and part of the bronze medal New Zealand team, because he suffered a minor injury at the start of the 2013 season.

The German-bred gelding made a couple of mistakes with a missed strike-off in the canter work, but otherwise scored highly throughout. “He felt amazing,” said 58-year-old Todd.

“He has come back much more strongly and feels more mature. Normally the canter work is the best part of his test, but he perhaps got a little tense. I can’t repeat what was going through my mind when he made the mistake, but it’s still a very good mark.”

Another former winner, Pippa Funnell (GBR), pulled off a soft and responsive test with the home-bred Billy Beware to lie fifth on 42.3.

“He has been a lovely horse to produce,” said Funnell. “The only thing against him is his size [17hh] and balance. He’ll be an unknown quantity across country because he hasn’t been further than 10 minutes, but he is a very scopey jumper. When he was only six, I jumped 1.85m in a charity competition on him.

“Billy Beware has upgraded quite quickly, but gut instinct made me bring him here because he has always stepped up to the mark before.”

All talk at Badminton is of the challenges facing riders on Saturday when they test the Cross Country track produced by Giuseppe Della Chiesa (ITA), the first new Course Designer here for 25 years. Andrew Nicholson (NZL), who has more Badminton completions (33) to his name than any other rider, was full of praise: “Giuseppe has done a great job,” he said. “He’s changed the style without going overboard.”

The complex that is most perplexing riders is the Swindon Designer Outlet Mound at 18abc, where a log on top of a bank is followed by a sharp right-hand turn to another log followed by a curving line to a third.

“This will be something different, because you’ll have to slow up and sit on your backside and that’s hard when you’ve been jumping big fences on a forward stride, but that’s what cross-country riding is all about,” said Nicholson, who is in seventh place on his 2013 Kentucky winner Quimbo.

“I think it’s great,” was the view of Mark Todd. “Giuseppe has breathed new life into the course. It’s a proper four-star test which makes you concentrate all the way.”

Full results on www.badminton-horse.co.uk.

Watch live coverage of the Cross Country and Jumping on the FEI’s official video platform FEI TV, if you are based outside of the UK. In the UK, live coverage of the Cross Country and Jumping can be seen on the BBC Red Button and BBC Sport website. For full TV listings and broadcast times, please visit the Badminton website here.

See full standings here.

Prize money

At the end of the FEI Classics™ 2013/2014 season, the five riders with the highest number of points collected across the six FEI Classics™ events will share a total prize fund of US$120,000 split as follows: 1st – US$40,000 (Series Champion); 2nd – US$35,000; 3rd – US$25,000; 4th – US$15,000; 5th – US$5,000.

Join the FEI on Facebook & Twitter.

Our signature Twitter hashtags for this series are #Classics and #Eventing. We encourage you to use them, and if you have space: #FEIClassics #Eventing.

The Mitsubishi Badminton Horse Trials Twitter handle is @bhorsetrials and hashtag is #MMBHT.

By Kate Green

Media Contacts:

At Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials:

Julian Seaman
Press Officer
+44 7831 515736
j.seaman2@sky.com
@bhorsetrials #MMBHT

At FEI:

Grania Willis
Director Media Relations
Grania.willis@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 42

Ruth Grundy
Manager Press Relations
ruth.grundy@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 45

*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Eventing/H.T., Events, FEI

Australian Paul Tapner Takes Over Lead at Badminton

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Paul Tapner (AUS) and Inonothing galloped into the lead at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials, the second leg of the HSBC FEI Classics, after picking up just 0.4 of a penalty in the Cross-Country (Photograph: Kate Houghton).

2 May 2010 – Paul Tapner (AUS) was clearly overjoyed as he came through the finish line at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials (GBR) on his second ride, Inonothing. His celebrations were more than justified as, after an enthralling and dramatic Cross Country day, he found himself in the lead at a 4-star event for the first time.

The track at Badminton, the second leg of the HSBC FEI Classics, proved as enigmatic as ever, taking its fair share of high-profile scalps, including all the top five riders after Dressage.

“I was aware that there were quite a lot faults occurring,” said British-based Tapner, 34, who was equal 11th after Dressage. “But after I’d ridden my first horse (Stormhill Michael, 12th) I had a roast lunch and then a sleep in the lorry and tried to forget about it. Inonothing is a unique horse to ride across country; he’s so small and nippy.”

If Tapner wins tomorrow, he will be the third Australian rider to do so in the last four years, following Andrew Hoy (2006) and Lucinda Fredericks (2007).

Continue reading Australian Paul Tapner Takes Over Lead at Badminton →