Chamings races to the top
Cross-country speed comes to the fore over a hilly course in hot weather, while a bit change pays off for one rider
WITH its old-fashioned, undulating cross-country course, Eridge has a habit of bucking the trend for finishing scores in the 20s and instead churning out surprise results. This year was no exception, with 23-year-old firsttime winner Emma Chamings topping the intermediate section with her 11-year-old mare, Trefeinon Sovereign.
“Cross-country is our forte,” said Emma, whose turn of foot in the final phase (her round for 10.8 time-penalties was one of rein-back — straight as a die between the white ropes and over the hummocks — was better than most people can muster in a flat arena.
“He was fine once he was down there, but I didn’t want it to become a ‘thing’, so after I’d finished, I walked him calmly down to the start box again and he went in very quietly.” the quickest of the day) came as no surprise given her racing credentials. Emma’s father, Patrick Chanings, trains Flat and National Hunt winners and Emma rides out for him on Saturday mornings. She has also raced as an amateur jockey.
“Although race riding is different, it helps me enormously with my judgement of pace and also my muscle memory,” she said.
Emma’s weekly schedule involves commuting from London, where she lives and works full-time in racing PR, back to her family home near Newbury three times a week.
“I have a great team behind me, fronted by my mum [Phillippa], which means I can make it work,” she said.
Lauren Mclusky steered RLE Spencers Dream into second.
CHANGE OF BIT WORKS
PIPPA FUNNELL’S “schooling run” on Jonathan and Jane Clarke’s MGH Grafton Street, yielded a win in the open intermediate (OI), courtesy of a typically polished dressage test for a score of 24.3 and a double clear.
“We’ve had a few little glitches this spring, so it was good for him to come here and have a nice spin,” said Pippa, who explained that she had trialled putting “Squirrel” back in a snaffle bit for the cross-country. “He had run-outs at Belton and Houghton because I didn’t quite have control of his shoulder. I felt the gag I was riding him in was making the problem worse because of the delayed reaction when I asked him to turn. His flatwork has improved so much that I thought I’d try him back in a snaffle and it worked.”
There were a few changes to this year’s cross-country track, including the removal of the final, steep hill.
“We had a split start and finish, which seemed to work well,” explained joint-organiser Tim Nolan. The intermediates had a new loop near the beginning to make up the distance.
Eridge Park’s old turf, which had been extensively aera-vated, rode well. The water provided for horses and humans at the end of the course was a very welcome touch.