Hannah Sue Burnett and Harbour Pilot (Libby Law Photography)
Woodstock, England – A top notch international field of 76 combinations contested the 2016 Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials CCI3* from September 8-11 at the picturesque venue. Three Land Rover/USEF Eventing Competition Grant recipients, Hannah Sue Burnett, Holly Payne Caravella, and Kurt Martin, made their trips worthwhile with strong performances. Burnett and Harbour Pilot were the top U.S. combination in fifth place.
Burnett (The Plains, Va.) and Jacqueline Mars’ Harbour Pilot began the competition on Thursday with a lovely dressage test that earned a score of 41.7 from the Ground Jury of Eric Lieby (FRA), Joanne Jarden (IRL), and Harry Payne (GBR), putting the pair in third place on the leaderboard. Burnett rode the 2003 Irish Sport Horse gelding determinedly on a rainy cross-county day. They successfully tackled Eric Winter’s tough track, collecting 5.2 time penalties on a day when no combinations finished inside the optimum time. Burnett and Harbour Pilot had two rails over Di Boddy’s show jumping course for eight jumping penalties to finish on a score of 54.9.
“I am very happy with William’s performance this weekend. Even though we didn’t have a clear round [on Sunday], I couldn’t be more proud of my horse and my team for a great result at my first Blenheim,” Burnett said. “A huge thanks to Land Rover and Ms. Mars for making this trip possible. I can’t say enough about my friend and groom Sara McKenna for her impeccable care and love for William and myself, and for my family, sponsors, coaches, friends, and for everyone’s help and support at home and abroad. I am confident that I will learn from my experiences here and improve on them for the future. Congratulations to my fellow U.S. riders; I’m proud to be a part of a fantastic team!”
Payne Caravella (Gladstone, N.J.) rode Bethann Groblewski’s Santino in the horse’s European debut at Blenheim. They began with a great dressage test on Thursday that received a score 46.2. She and the 2003 Thoroughbred gelding made light work of the questions asked on cross-country day, incurring 9.2 time penalties. Like Burnett, Payne Caravella had an eight-fault show jumping round to finish in 13th place on a score of 63.4.
Both Martin (Middleburg, Va.) and his, Carol Jean Martin, and Bill Martin’s Delux Z made their overseas debut at Blenheim, and they did not disappoint. Martin and the 2005 Irish Sport Horse gelding performed a respectable dressage test on Thursday, scoring 54.0. They demonstrated that they were up to the challenge of Winter’s cross-country course on Saturday, though they tallied 15.6 time penalties. In the show jumping phase, the duo had a double-clear round to end their weekend on a high note with a final score of 69.6.
Two other Land Rover/USEF Eventing Competition Grant recipients, Sinead Halpin and Manoir de Carneville Syndicate, LLC’s Manoir de Carneville and Alexandra Knowles and Sound Prospect L.L.C.’s Sound Prospect, planned to compete at Blenheim but withdrew prior to the start of the competition.
Bettina Hoy (GER) and Seigneur Medicott claimed top honors with a score of 41.3, while Andrew Nicholson (NZL) and Teseo finished second with a score of 52.9 and Lydia Hannon (GBR) and My Royal Touch were third with a score of 53.5.
Find out more about the Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials.
By Kathleen Landwehr