Crippen heads the area trial with ‘catch ride’
A tricky jump-off track with faults galore allows the only double-clear combination to score a one-two
IT was a week of golden form for John Crippen, who claimed not only his second area trial on the bounce but also insured it with a one-two.
Executing the only double clears in an eight-strong jumpoff field, it was his “catch ride” Cacharel Z — temporarily taken over from injured partner Bryony Ward — who was the faster of the two to claim the winning spot.
The 34-year-old rider already knew victory was in the bag when he entered the ring last with a grin to jump 12-year-old Bling Bling IV — who was fresh from a trial win at Bury Farm — playing it safe with the slower routes to bank a total of £1,800.
“I rode ‘Cach’ a little bit before when Bryony was pregnant — he’s been jumping really well lately, so I’ve managed to come here and take all the glory!” said John. “Bling only won an area trial two days ago so I’m very pleased with him. He’s owned by [ex-Arsenal footballer] Nigel Winterburn, but he’s had to go to a match and he’ll be gutted he missed it.”
With a decent number of first-round clears, a fast second phase had looked likely but Phil Ashworth’s jump-off track asked plenty of questions — causing scattered faults all the way from a tricky turnback to the second, to a massive oxer at the last.
“In the first round, people went in thinking it wasn’t a big track, but it took more jumping than it looked, and the jump-off wasn’t easy,” John added.
While the fates may have been smiling on John this week, the same cannot be said for partner Bryony Ward, who had to hand over the ride on her own 17-yearold Cach after she managed to injure ligaments in her ankle while dismounting.
“I did it getting off him and he’s the smallest horse in the yard! I must have just landed funny. The swelling has gone down a lot already, so I’m hoping I’ll be back for Newbury,” said Bryony, who admitted to giving John some “instructions” before the class.
“You couldn’t get two more different horses to ride, but they’re best of friends and they go everywhere together,” she said. “Bling is big and slow, while Cach is like a little pony — you have to pull him off the fences but you ride Bling at them.”
SIFTING THE FIELD
IN the accumulator, clears were slow to materialise and, in the end, fewer riders left the rails standing than in the first round of the trial. An unusual joker at the last topped by a thin plank with a central disc did a particularly efficient job in sifting the field.
Of the four riders to finish on maximum points, it was
Maisie Drea who executed the quickest round by more than two seconds on the experienced Kinkeen Diamond.
“There hadn’t been many clears and I wasn’t really sure how fast they’d been going,” said Maisie. “The ground was riding well, but the fences were quite spooky and the horses were backing off a lot for a speed class.
“The joker was also a bit unusual. Looking at it from the side of the ring, I thought I’d aim for the middle, but the circle was quite a bit bigger than the rest of the fence and doing that would make it more like 1.70m, so in the end I aimed for the side,” added Maisie.
The consistent 12-year-old is the horse Maisie credits with reviving her interest in showjumping.
“My dad used to ride him when I was at university, but I left after two years and he was the one who made me come back to it. He’s been a super horse for me, he’s a lot like a pony to ride,” said Maisie, who will now miss her usual targets of Bicton and Newbury to head to Lanaken instead.
Paul Crago had a consistent show, picking up a third in the accumulator and first-round clear in the area trial with
Wendy James and Bonny Harrison’s June Hof Ter Zeedycke, before winning the 1.30m open with Liz Hudson’s Déjà Vu.
The eight-year-old mare has been based with Paul for the last two months and is gaining experience at this level.
“She’s not done much at this height,” he said, “but she’s careful and I think she’s got the potential for bigger tracks.”