Romanella strikes gold
Dale Burnham heads to Hickstead full of confidence after a grand prix win, while Jess Dimmock posts a one-two
A FLYING visit to the show paid off handsomely for Dale Burnham. He took the £1,000 top prize in the grand prix on his long-standing owner Dr Tim Howard’s Romanella Gold.
Although the numbers throughout the four days were not as high as the organisers hoped (see box, below), there were plenty of exciting finishes.
Four reached the grand prix jump-off, where 16-year-old Georgina Burchmore-Eames, having her first try in a senior grand prix, was first to go on Contender B. The pair had jumped a lovely first-round clear and back they came to repeat the process, setting a decent target.
Graham Lovegrove’s ride, Audis Amalia, rolled a pole after a short turn, before David McPherson took over the lead on the big-jumping Belle Fleur 38. This 11-year-old Berlin mare is a former ride of world number one Kent Farrington and was partnered briefly by Chloe Winchester before David took over at the end of last year.
Dale was determined to improve on the third place he and Romanella Gold achieved in the same class last year. He kept up a great pace on the 10-year-old Romanov II mare and some neat turns put them into the top spot by just 0.08 of a second.
“I gave her the whole winter off and it’s taken longer than I expected for her to get going properly again, but she feels back to her best now,” said Dale.
Romanella Gold will now have another break while Dale moves house, but the main aim is Hickstead’s Derby meeting.
“I’m thinking seriously about the Derby, but she’ll definitely jump in the Derby trial,” said Dale. “She went well there last year.”
DIMMOCK’S DAY
THE previous day belonged to Jess Dimmock, who won £900 in prize money after capturing the top two places in the 1.40m open with Cassius Clay IV and Cudansa M. Cassius Clay IV, a horse previously ridden by Emily Moffitt and Ben Maher, is now owned by Irishman Cian O’Connor.
“It was my first proper show with Cassius Clay,” said Jess. “After Cian bought Cybel from me, I was short of top horses, so he asked if I’d like to ride Cassius Clay, which was so kind of him. He’s a fabulous horse and has made saying goodbye to Cybel so much easier. And Cudansa has been going better and better in 1.40m classes.”
Bury Farm’s event director, Stuart Reeve-Young, kept some of the money at home by winning two 1.15m members’ cups on Chablis Z II, but had to be content with second place in Saturday’s equivalent. The winner was Alcatraz B, ridden by Keiran Leonard, who also took the Foxhunter honours on Clover
Bay Mariner.
Emma-Jo Slater won the opening day’s newcomers and 1.25m speed class on Woodfield Clover and Killorans Mountain, while Sussex-based coach Morgan Shirley won two newcomers on Mr Macvicar and was second three times with Dons Dark Gold.
The eight-year-old Mr Macvicar is a former eventer who started showjumping after being too strong across country, while Dons Dark Gold, by Don VHP Z, was bought as a four-year-old from his breeder, Shirley Light.
“They are both really consistent and they’ve improved hugely through help from Liz Howes. I owe her a great deal,” said Morgan.