Belsay International (2) Horse Trials Cross Country Videos
Japan’s Yuya Segawa wins CCI2*-S
Japanese riders have taken the sport of eventing by storm in recent years, winning team bronze at Paris 2024 and claiming multiple individual titles over the years. With a change of guard after Paris 2024, some top riders heading back to Japan and new riders arriving in the UK, there may have been a brief hiatus in the Japanese winning ways, but this proved not to be the case on Friday at Belsay (2) International.
The newest star in the Japanese firmament, Yuya Segawa, shone at Belsay by scoring his first European international victory on a very new horse in the NIS Group Services/Encon Technical Solutions CCI2*-S.
Riding Vegas De L’Elfe JRA, 25-year-old Yuya showjumped clear and added just 1.2 cross-country time-faults to his second-placed dressage mark of 30.2 to take the competitive class by less than a penalty from Scotland’s Louisa Milne Home.
Yuya, who is based in Leicestershire with eventer Richard Jones, only took over the ride on 16-year-old Vegas De L’Elfe from fellow Japanese rider Shunto Takahashi in April.
“He is a great horse who has a lot of experience and knows his job and I think I will learn a lot from him,” said Yuya. “He felt very confident across country and it was fun to ride him.”
Louisa finished second with her own and Susie Wilks’ Future Plans on 32.2, while rising British star, 17-year-old Jago Jackson, was third on Cooley Top Boy.
The top 20 featured several riders from up-and-coming countries in eventing. Another Japanese rider, Shoto Kusumoto, on a familiar horse, Swiper JRA, who started his career in Australia with Shane Rose took 15th place, Hong Kong had both Owen Wong riding Harthill Phantom (12th) and Daniella Lin riding A Sparkling Bellini (16th) and, while India’s Shashank Kanumuri riding his new horse Wellfields Casino Royale slipped from second after dressage to 17th overall, he is in hot contention in the Hambro Sport Horses CCI3*-S.
Izzy Taylor has maintained her lead in the CCI3*-S on Bayaanaat with a dressage score of 26.2, but Willa Newton has slipped into second on Hartacker with 26.2 and Shashank Kanumuri holds third on 27.8 with Gideon II, a horse he took over from his coach, Andrew Heffernan.
Local rider Lucinda Atkinson has held on to her lead in the Barbour CCI2*-L on PRF Made In England with a faultless cross-country round, adding nothing to her dressage mark of 27.4. Eliza Bell (Macgyver) and India Wishart (BP Quinnton) are second and third.
In the Lycetts British Junior Championships, the podium remains unaltered after cross-country. Lucy Standish is in first place on Global H on 25.9. Second is Ella Howard (Marchwood, 27.8), with Oscar Fitzgerald third with 28 on Super Cillious.
Annabel Ridgway has kept the top slot going into the final showjumping phase in the Project Pony British Pony Championships on Akim De L’Arquerie ahead of Maisie Greening (Kilnaspic Lily) and third-placed Alice Fraser (Bookhamlodge Pennylane).
Brakes at Belsay (2) for Katie Magee
Local riders also made their mark on Friday afternoon at Belsay. Barnard Castle’s Katie Magee enjoyed the perfect Bramham preparation run by winning the Galbraith Intermediate Novice on Angela Hislop’s Agadir Gano.
“Our bit snapped across country at Belsay (1) two weeks ago, so today was all about testing out a new bit and checking we had brakes,” said Katie. “The course was fantastic and the ground is amazing, so we’ve really enjoyed it. The fact that the Belsay team has run two brilliant events in two weeks is incredible - I think we should have two Belsays every year!”
Will Murray, who lives in Durham, won the Evelyn Partners/HorseQuest Novice Masters’ on Linda Philipson’s seven-year-old mare Drumrankin Idha.
“I’m very lucky - I’m a part-timer rider these days; I’m the lead coach for British Eventing in the northern region - so I just turn up and ride a couple of days a week, and the team at Linda’s do all the fitness work. My showjumping coach Philippa McKeever came to warm me up today, which was a big help, because I thought it was a proper track. The mare finds the cross-country very easy and she’s naturally very fast. I’m a lucky person to ride such a special horse.”
A busy Saturday at Belsay starts with dressage for the national intermediate classes at 8am and CCI3*-S showjumping at 8.30am. Cross-country commences at 10.30am. There is also a BSPS show in the Castle Arena, a fun dog show, lots of children’s entertainment, excellent shopping and delicious locally produced food and drink available.
An Eventful Life is filming all competitors on cross country at Belsay (2) - order or view cross country videos here
