The overnight leader’s 3.4-penalty cushion vanished in the Palace Arena, handing Tom McEwen and Brookfield Danny De Muze the GFS Saddles CCI4-S lead with 0.2 of a penalty covering the top three.
Blenheim’s eight- and nine-year-old class has a long history of being turned upside down by the showjumping, and it did not spare the leader this time.
Astier Nicolas and Hitchqote du Coudray came into Saturday morning 3.4 penalties clear after a dressage test of 23.5 that included a 10 for the halt. Three fences fell. Twelve penalties took the French Olympic medallist and the nine-year-old from first to 29th on 35.5, and with them went what had looked the most comfortable lead of the week.
Back to where he started
The rider who inherits it is the one who set the standard in the first place. Tom McEwen was the pathfinder in this class at 9am on Thursday, posting 27.2 with Brookfield Danny De Muze, and after a clear round on Saturday he is back on top on that same mark.
The I’m Special De Muze gelding came here as one of the favourites precisely because of this phase – he has jumped double clear in all his starts this season, and took the seven-year-old world title at Le Lion last year. He is owned by Alison Swinburn and John and Chloé Perry.
Upton misses out by a tenth
Bubby Upton is second, and only four-tenths of a time-fault stopped it being a share of the lead. Sancerre de Tiji, whom she owns with Caroline Owen, jumped clear and added 0.4 to move to 27.3, one-tenth behind McEwen and one-tenth ahead of Izzy Taylor and Barrington Boy in third. Upton’s other ride, Auckland 7, who was equal second after dressage, has dropped out of the top ten.
Every combination now in the top ten jumped clear, and Upton’s four-tenths is the only penalty any of them picked up — a striking contrast with what the course did to the leader.
GFS Saddles CCI4-S — top 10 after showjumping
| Rider | Horse | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom McEwen (GBR) | Brookfield Danny De Muze | 27.2 |
| 2 | Bubby Upton (GBR) | Sancerre de Tiji | 27.3 |
| 3 | Izzy Taylor (GBR) | Barrington Boy | 27.4 |
| 4 | Kitty King (GBR) | Kilcoltrim Cooley | 27.8 |
| 5 | Sammi Birch (AUS) | Rosa’s Party | 28.3 |
| 6 | Katie Magee (GBR) | Cushlas Indigo | 28.4 |
| 7 | Therese Viklund (SWE) | Sella | 29.1 |
| 8 | Tom Jackson (GBR) | My Star Turn | 29.2 |
| 9 | Samantha Lissington (NZL) | Cooley Corpello | 29.4 |
| 10 | Ben Leuwer (GER) | Zuccini MN | 30.1 |
Everything to play for
Under three penalties cover the whole top ten and less than a single time-fault separates the top three, so Sunday’s cross-country will be decided by the clock as much as by the fences. Sammi Birch leads the overseas challenge in fifth with Rosa’s Party, with Therese Viklund and Sella seventh, Samantha Lissington and Cooley Corpello ninth and Germany’s Ben Leuwer and Zuccini MN tenth.
This is the class that produced London 52 and NZB Land Vision, among others. On Sunday, this year’s crop gets its proper examination.
Watch the GFS Saddles CCI4-S cross-country and the Agria CCI4-L showjumping finale live on H&C+ tomorrow.