Chris Burton is otherwise occupied this year but took the spoils in 2015
‘The Festival is a place that gets us riders fired up,’ said last year’s British Eventing Open Championship winner Chris Burton, and his compatriot Andrew Hoy, who triumphed in 1997 on the floating grey Darien Powers, described the competition as the toughest one-day international in the world.
The British Open Championship never fails to thrill, with the final cross country phase run in reverse order and the leader after the dressage and jumping phases facing a long anxious wait as they will go across country last of all with everyone’s eyes on them.
Cross country time is always influential at Gatcombe and the sight of the world’s best riders flying around the spectacular, undulating park bowl in sharp competition always produces a worthy winner as a glance at the roll of honour shows.
Burton is unable to defend his title this year owing to a pressing engagement in Rio de Janiero, but Andrew Hoy, a triple Olympic team gold medallist, will be competing on the experienced Cheeky Calimbo who should feature at the sharp end as long as he doesn’t live up to his name.
Despite the clash with the Olympic Games, the field for The British Open Championship, probably the most prestigious CIC3* in the world, boasts a former Olympic champion in New Zealand’s Blyth Tait, plus a former World Champion, Zara Tindall, as well as three Badminton winners (Hoy, Paul Tapner and Oliver Townend), and World, European and Olympic team medallist Nicola Wilson. Nine nations will be represented.
This year, The British Open Championship will incorporate the fourth leg of the inaugural Event Rider Masters (ERM), an exciting and lucrative series that links six leading British events and has the ambition of attracting new followers to the sport of eventing from across the world. Look out for the revolving podium near the end of the cross country where spectators and connections will gather to cheer the leading riders home.
Gatcombe offers competitors a serious chance to gain valuable ERM points and Swindon-based Australian Paul Tapner, the runner-up at the third leg at Barbury and one of the hardest-working riders on the circuit, is currently ranked second on the ERM leaderboard and will be giving it his all on Yogi Bear Vlll. His compatriots Sammi Birch, who went well on Hunter Valley ll as a member of the winning Australian team at the recent Nations Cup in Aachen, Germany, and Bill Levett (Improvise) will also be competitive.
Blyth Tait took the British Open title in 1998 on his brilliant horse Ready Teddy and he will be hoping that the delightful Bear Necessity V can follow up on a great 13th place on his rider’s Badminton comeback this year. Fellow Kiwi Jesse Campbell should go well on his experienced horse Kaapachino.
Other international riders of note include talented Frenchmen Thomas Carlile on Upsilon and Maxime Livio (Pica D’Or), Andy Heffernan, a team bronze medallist for the Netherlands at the 2014 World Equestrian Games, on Millthyme Corolla, and experienced Irish competitors Joseph Murphy (DHI Top Story) and Elizabeth Power (Soladoun).
Obvious contenders for the national title, for the best British rider, include Oliver Townend (Cillnabradden Evo), who has taken the accolade twice before, Izzy Taylor on the experienced four-star mare Briarlands Matilda, Nicola Wilson on another mare, Bulana, a winner at Boekelo last year, and Zara Tindall on the up-and-coming Watkins.
There’s also Laura Collett (Pamero 4), who is sixth on the ERM leaderboard, Francis Whittington (Hasty Imp), Ros Canter (Zenshera), Sarah Cohen (Treason) and Flora Harris (Cooley Lord Lux) plus the three contenders for the Horse Trials Support Group’s prize for the best British rider aged 25 and under: Tom McEwen (Staff des Champs), Emily King (Charlemagne) and Sam Ecroyd (Wodan lll). The stage is set for another historic competition.
Running from the 5th - 7th August 2016, British Eventing will be live streaming cross country action on the weekend (Saturday 6th August and Sunday 7th August) to the approximate timings below:
Saturday 6th August
09:30 Dodson & Horrell Novice Championship
11:30 Advanced Class
14:00 Smith & Williamson Intermediate Championship
Sunday 7th August
11:30 TopSpec Corinthian Cup
Viewers will be able to watch online at www.britisheventing.com/livestream
