Taylor treats bumper Bramham crowd to thrilling ride

IT had been three years since horses graced the park at Bramham, but Sunday’s CCI4*-L grand finale was worth the wait.

Clear rounds were at a premium in the Top Arena, which meant some considerable climbs up the leaderboard for a top-10 finish and a share of the prize fund.

The 2022 title was claimed by

Izzy Taylor and her 2021 European Championship top-10 partner Monkeying Around, owned by Mark Sartori and Taylor herself.

A second-place position in the dressage was bettered on the final day thanks to a clear round over Ian Stark’s cross-country test, with just 1.2 time penalties to leave them on a score of 25.2.

The duo cantered into the ring knowing they could afford some time faults, but had to leave up the fences in front of a bumper Sunday Bramham crowd. ‘Monkey’ didn’t make it easy for his rider, who has claimed the Bramham short format title twice before with back-to-back wins in 2018 and 2007.

Oxfordshire-based Taylor had to use every bit of her experience, but the fences stayed in place – albeit with a few nervy taps around the course. The final treble had the crowd on the edge of their seats – part A cleared, part B a rattle and part C a proper knock, which could have dislodged the pole but it hopped out of the cup and straight back down in its proper place.

The time allowed was exceed, but only by 1.2 faults, which gave her the win on a final score of 26.4 and a third Bramham accolade.

Taylor said: “He felt like I was going to do as much work as him, maybe. I think, with the wall blowing down and I waited, and I waited, and I waited – I thought, they’ll be done by now, and normally I go into a ring and off we go, but I went in and we had a little trot round, then a canter round, then off we went. It was fine, he was a bit spooky and a bit ‘oh, are we doing this now?’. Yes, we are doing this now!”

Ros Canter made it a weekend to remember with a runners-up position added to her win on Saturday in the Land Rover CCI4*S. Riding Annie Makin and Kate James’s Pencos Crown Jewel, she retained her second place with an immaculate performance.

“She’s an absolutely fantastic horse and when you look at her record over the years, it’s phenomenal,” said Canter.

A clear round secured Kirsty Chabert a podium place with her own and the Daisy Chain’s Opposition Loire.