The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Bestof Three takes honours at Burgie Equestrianism: Blue riband triumph for mare
Renfrewshire’s Fiona Malcolm won yesterday’s blue riband event at the Burgie horse trials near Forres on her nine-year-old dark bay mare Thebestof Three.
Malcolm, from Kilbarchan, and her family business have been longtime supporters of Burgie and she was delighted that her mare triumphed in the Pentland Landrover Novice section G.
She said: “That’s the mare now into the intermediate class.
“She has no more novice points left but it is nice to finish with a win as it shows that she is ready to move up the grades a bit.
“She was brilliant today and she has been in form for the last few weeks. I can’t believe that parts of the cross-country course were under water less than a week ago as it is nearly hard in places. You could hear the hooves in the first few fields but as usual Burgie have made an amazing job of the course. It has always been one of my favourite places.”
Malcolm said that Thebestof Three’s mother died giving birth to her.
She added: “She was an orphan foal. Friends of ours in Kilkenny, Ireland, brought her up. They bottle-fed her every three hours and she almost died, she loves humans but she doesn’t really like other horses.
“We bought her three years ago.”
There was a clean sweep in the William Gray Novice under-18 section H when Lucinda Crawford, from Roxburghshire, finished first and second on Silver Touch and Ballintocher Harry, with Glasgow’s Joanne Neilson taking third place on Ces Silver Chip.
There was a local winner in Novice section G1 when Naidene Urquhart, from Roseisle, near Elgin, on the nine-year-old bay mare Perihelion Peridot held off the challenge of Louisa Milne Home, from Perth and Kinross, riding Future Plans.
Iona Campbell, riding the eight-year-old bay gelding Edelwijs triumphed in the Pentland Landrover North regional final, edging out fellow Aberdeenshire rider Caitlin Padfield on another eight-year-old bay gelding, Quincy IV.