Cachacco can’t be caught
A US teenager steers her ‘green’ partner to an amateur grand prix triumph, while Bobbie Heath steps on the gas for a big win
AMERICAN rider Olivia Woodson went up a few more gears than normal to secure victory in the Irish Horse Gateway amateur (A) grand prix after Cachacco (Chuck) stopped the clock on 38.32sec.
Jumping early and following a sharp opener set by Bryony Holloway and Jabab in 42.75sec, Olivia produced an ultra-tight but very smooth turn to the double, and she continued along inside lines after that.
“Chuck is still a bit green, but we have been slowly working up, learning to go quicker, and he was deceptively fast today,” said Olivia. “I heard a loud tap at the second-last fence, but everything stayed up.
“This is my first visit to Bolesworth, so I’m delighted to secure our first win and championship here,” added Olivia, who bought Chuck two months ago. “He’s a very easygoing horse, but he can be cheeky in a nice way.”
The 18-year-old rider is based this summer with Laura Kraut and Nick Skelton and will return to the USA in the autumn to begin studying psychology.
In a close-run finish, Bryony Holloway finished second with her second ride Elton LV (38.86sec) and fourth riding Jabab, with
Iwan Carpenter slotting into third on Merllyns Chacco (40.89sec).
Other winners included Rebecca Marsh (Temple Colett) and Gabriella Spencer (Duke Of Tell) who topped their respective Outlanda Apparel and NFU Mutual competitions.
‘WE JUST WENT FOR IT’
BOBBIE HEATH also went faster than usual to claim a first Bolesworth win, the local rider finishing her weekend with a flourish when topping the Horse & Country TV amateur (B) grand prix riding Floretta.
After finishing second the previous day, the pair pulled off a series of quick runs and tight turns to win.
“I thought we would just go for it today and we ended up going a lot faster into the fences than we normally do,” said Bobbie, who put the pressure on the remaining 17 combinations after posting their early speedy clear. “All the turns worked and we had good strides everywhere.”
Megan Broadway and
Capello II challenged hard to take second, while Bolesworth regular Julie Slade finished third with Billy Gogo.
The amateur B classes were again hotly contested, with early winners Tony Pearson (Boombastic), who finished fourth in the grand prix and Russia’s Sofia Abramovich (Sacree Du Rouet) also having a battle on their hands to win their respective Bolesworth Estate jump-off and two-phase competitions.