In April 2020 and in the interest of legacy I wrote a Wikipedia entry recording the thoughts and notable works of Harveywetdog. I admit I was ignorant of the rules concerning self promotion on Wikipedia and consequently my entry was correctly deleted and my account expunged from the system. As a result my original words and links were sadly lost but nevertheless here is a rewrite. Perhaps when I'm gone someone will be able to enter it onto Wikipedia as a fitting epitaph for my time on the Harveywetdog Project.
For the first time since the early 1970s, some of the
world’s leading horses and riders could be seen competing in the grounds of
Cirencester Park this weekend (30 April – 2 May) as affiliated eventing
returned to the iconic Gloucestershire venue. I was able to attend on Saturday to capture some of the action from the Advanced Classes for the Harveywetdog YouTube Channel.
The 2021 Cirencester Park International Horse Trials were
warmly welcomed back into the eventing calendar by riders and supporters alike,
with more than 700 horses competing over the three days. Competitors were
treated to all four seasons across the weekend – from moments requiring short
sleeves and sunglasses, to dodging hail stones the size of marbles – but thanks
to the hard work and efforts of the team at Willis Brothers and Alec Lochore,
the Park was in fabulous condition throughout.
“It’s a beautiful place that gave us such a great canvas to
work with,” said Event Director, Alec Lochore. “It’s wonderful to be bringing
eventing back here. It’s a lovely piece of ground, this old turf works really
well, and the estate has been great to work with; so, it’s really exciting.”
Saturday saw the return of Advanced classes to Cirencester
Park – almost fifty years since Lucinda Green and Be Fair won the competition
at the Midland Bank Open Championship back in the early 1970s. That was
undoubtedly an exciting time in Lucinda’s career, showing promise of the
extraordinary things to come, and there were plenty of eye-catching
performances from combinations competing over the weekend who will be hoping
they can emulate some of that remarkable success.
Kitty King and Cristal Fontaine followed up on their superb
CCI4*S win at the FEI Barefoot Retreats Burnham Market International Horse
Trials with a win in Advanced Section K. The lovely 9-year-old gelding, owned
by Camilla and Alex Wakeley, just keeps developing and looks a real star for
the future.
“I was over the moon with Cristal Fontaine’s win today,”
said Kitty of their success. “He was fantastic in all three phases and gave me
a wonderful ride cross country. To be able to come out here and win after his
great performance a fortnight ago, really shows what a consistent performer he
is. It was lovely to be able to run the horses on such good ground.”
Advanced Section I went to Tom Jackson and the Jewson’s
mare, Billy Cuckoo. “We are delighted with Billy Cuckoo,” said Tom. “She has
had a great start to the season with a good result at Burnham Market as well.
Her aim is to go to Luhmuhlen and we are hoping she can continue with her
recent form.”
Alexander Bragg won Advanced Section J with another very
promising mare, Quindiva. The only combination in their Section to avoid time
faults on the cross country, their gutsy and speedy performance was rewarded
with the win.
“Quindiva did a very professional job today,” said Alex.
“Her dressage test was mistake free and she made light work of the jumping
phases. The ground was good to gallop on, and I’m thrilled that we have
Cirencester in the Eventing calendar.”
Bubby Upton’s performance was truly masterly in the Advanced
U25 class, filling three of the top six places. She finished third with
Cannavaro and sixth with Magic Roundabout IV but the performance of the day
came with Cola III. A super performance from start to finish saw them finish on
their dressage score of 30.1 to take the win.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled with how all three of my horses
performed,” said Bubby. “It was great to secure the win and to have all three
of them in the Top 10. I was so proud of how they all jumped, as I’ve been
working hard on the show jumping over the winter. It was also very special as
it was Magic Roundabout’s first Advanced, so it was extremely exciting how
easily he made the step up.
“I thought the show jumping and cross country courses were
really good and rewarded correct riding and accuracy. It was so nice to compete
at Cirencester Park for the first time. What an incredible venue it is and with
the rain we had it made the ground perfect for Saturday. I’m very much looking
forward to returning next year.”
The International classes were also decided on Saturday;
with Amelia Walker and Dassett Eventing’s extremely promising young horse,
Dassett Rock Star, coming out on top of the hotly contested CCI-S 2*. The
combination led from start to finish, following up an impressive dressage test
with clears across the board.
“The Dassett Eventing team put a huge amount into producing
the young sales horses, so we are all absolutely delighted with Dassett Rock
Star's win,” said Amelia. “He's been a successful horse throughout his career
and it's great to carry this through to international level too. I’m very proud
of him!”
In the CCI-S 2* for ponies, the win went to Ellie Martindale
and Little Indian Feather. The combination looked strong from start to finish,
completing on their dressage score to finish just ahead of Anna Price and Black
Jacko in second.
In total,
more than 20 classes were contested over the three days with full results
listed below.
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