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Think, so to speak, of the times before: a time when the coronavirus was nothing any of us had ever heard of; a time when masking and social distancing were reserved for Halloween parties and avoiding the attentions to the greasy hands of the guys in the bars who do that terrible thing of stroking the waist when they want to overtake you. It’s a happier time, isn’t it?
It was also, as you may recall, a time when Price’s circle of relatives dominated almost each and every CCI5* ranking. In 2018 and 2019, Tim and Jonelle again won badminton, Luhmühlen, Burghley and Luhmühlen, as well as the Ten Most Sensitive in Kentucky, Badminton, Burghley and Pau. We locate in this game that when smart times start rolling, they continue to do so for a long era of time, and the few years before the world went crazy actually the golden age of awards.
But that doesn’t actually mean they’re any less competitive in those days; after all, they climbed the podium of the two American five stars this year. But we haven’t noticed a Price gaining five stars since the last time life felt really mainstream, until this week. After taking the lead in Phase One won friday with five-star rookie Falco, Tim Price didn’t climb anything to his score of 22. 1 and then, after watching the carnage spread everywhere. The hugely influential ending, the screen jumped smoothly with only 0. 4 to charge in a full moment on time. It had to be a Price win at Pau, and it all felt more like a big dose of déjà vu when everyone kissed (still okay!) And they cried and laughed and raised their glasses of champagne on paper to heaven. If I could bottle that moment, I would seal it, buy it, and leave it for the next time a global pandemic shuts down the global shutdown; it actually feels so powerful.
However, to speak too dramatically of a victory as destiny is to threaten to damage the super effort and skill required to achieve it, and nowhere does effort and skill fail. they were more obvious than in today’s show jumps. Of course, in which only five of the 35 competitions were laps absolutely penalty-free. At the beginning of the afternoon, pole after pole after pole fell, while the time was proving extraordinarily difficult to achieve: one competitor even made 11 moments more than the allotted time, with no obstacles, of course, and no noticeable lack of momentum. As we approached the sensitive top of the standings, the disorders did not end: Alex Bragg and King of the Mill, ninth, fell to eighteenth after flipping 3 reels and adding a 0. 8 time penalty. ended 12 when they also added two poles and time. The top vital poles, however, were those of the Irishman Padraig McCarthy, who ended the moment overnight with the flamboyant deyetant Fallulah. The green mare, but with a supernatural talent, has few weaknesses yet for now, as she continues to strengthen her strength and accumulate a very vital education, show jumping is one of them, and Padraig has stepped in the ring aware that the Today’s lap may end. For her to be a learning moment, it was highly unlikely that she would not be calmly devastated by him as his 4 reels and 0. 8 penalty times brought the pair to 17th place.
However, that wasn’t bad news for Tim, who had started the day without a railing in his hand at Padraig, but with some other Kevin McNab, then third, and the best friend of the 1918 Scuderia. his own lap, dropping to fourth position and giving Tim more cushioning, while Padraig’s rails ensured that if he finished on that rail, he could do so and remain in the top position.
I wouldn’t want it, as it did. This domain is full of amateur horses and green talents with some progression on the agenda, so the final phase was going to be complicated for many of them, but Falco’s own strengths really shine in this phase. The old Hanoverian jump forged pitfalls with all the taste and care of a Grand Prix horse and today, although he is tired of his efforts on Saturday, he continued to jump with great ease, without threatening once to hit a pole.
“It’s a wonderful little horse,” says Tim. This is never expected for the first time at this level, yet it’s a horse of elegance and has been, even when he was learning his craft. He arrived here very well prepared, and I couldn’t be more extremely happy with the way he left. in all 3 phases. ‘
Although Tim saw the carnage spread in this final phase, he felt calm as he entered the ring, despite his horse’s inexperience: “You are nervous for many reasons; it’s the maximum pressure, and you look not to think about all things. that can go wrong, but I knew I was in a very smart jumper, so yes, there were quite a few problems, but I felt that if someone passed by to do a smart task, it would be this horse, and it was just my homework to do a smart task on top.
However, even in a smart jumper, there is a question mark on the last day of an acceleration competition, as they have to jump running in the reserves; however, this has not been a challenge for the neutered little guy at all.
“He was a little more tired than before, naturally, after yesterday’s efforts, but he tried and dug deep and showed how elegance he was until the end. It’s an incredibly special horse that I’m passionate about. “
While Tim was thrilled to take the win with Falco, who owns with Sue Benson and Jackie Olivier, he was also more than a little surprised, as the castrated only came up to the plate this season after a slightly bumpy start. In his nine 4-star races, he had upheavals in 4 of them, but 2021 replaced everything.
“That was kind of the theme for this year: it started the year despite everything walking the straight and narrow path of life in Millstreet, and it was just a breath of fresh air. From there he went to Aachen, which is a position where there is a real challenge, because there are many little questions and tricky wonders for a horse. But actually he showed me there that he was a repositioned man. So it’s been another year for him, compared to later years where he looked at other features rather than just jumping straight through a question. But going up to five stars like that is wonderful for me; I was hoping to come here with a tangled horse and show him the way, maybe take a little time and a choice or two, but he felt like he was looking for the task and wasn’t going to bother him. what he has been doing for more than 3 days. It is a bit exciting for me, because it is not like that, it is a slightly special horse that comes and does that, and it is a first joy for me from that.
British Olympian Tom McEwen, who won here in 2019 aboard his Mount Toledo de Kerser in Tokyo, shared Tim’s joy and surprise. Like Tim, he had brought this year’s climb, rookie mare CHF Cooliser, to give him an education and be more informed. his limitations or absence, and he was calmly sure of himself that if everything went well, she might end up making money, he didn’t really expect her to raise grades so skillfully.
“She’s an amazing mare, but probably a little off the radar, and we didn’t really expect that result. However, I was hoping to make the five most sensible, knowing what screen jump functions it can do,” said Tom, who started his week at position 20 with a score of 29. 6 An assertive circular took the pair to position 7 overnight and today they delivered one of those impeccable five in the allotted time to put themselves in an enviable position: they can just sit back and relax, in a way, watch runner after cyclist spin the poles.
“Yesterday he flew, and today he flew back, and the cyclist also stole some,” laughs Tom. “Luckily, I have a bit of a neck! It’s incredible, and since she won the intermediate championships a few years ago, and since then, she went ahead and waited for another moment, really. That’s what it does best, and as with all horses for the first time, you’ll be very informed about them when you do.
“If you had told me at the beginning of the week that I would finish on the podium, I would have bitten your hand and run a mile,” laughs Jonelle Price, who finished third with some other deyetante at McClaren, the little ex Mark Todd who took a little time to succeed to his full potential. However, not because of a lack of trust from those around him. Brimming with skill but also complete with audacity, McClaren came to Pau in the back of a sensitive Aachen, in which he seemed almost belligerent for much of the course and made an early start in the water due to his mastery of criticism, but this race has evidently become a kind of blessing in disguise, and the couple arrived in Pau with very advanced communication. This allowed them to start the week in the moment. position with a score of 24. 4, drop to 6th position after adding 4. 4 times of consequences and despite everything return to the podium after preventing the time two moments above the 85 moments allowed today.
“Overall, I have to be delighted with its functionality this week,” she says. Like Tom McEwen in front of her, Jonelle finished with a score of 29. 6, but Tom’s proximity to optimal time earned him the tiebreaker and led Jonelle to 3rd place.
For both Tim and Jonelle, being able to get the double podium is a privileged moment, especially when their young Otis and Abel are also in the place, as they were this week.
“It’s so special, and having the full circle of relatives here, we’re like a traveling circus, we have so many carts, motorcycles and things like that,” Laughs Tim. “The kids played tricks or treats on Friday and Saturday nights at the show, getting sweet and well-groomed – Otis was a skeleton – so it was a lot of fun, and having Joelle doing so well on a wonderful little horse couldn’t have been a wonderful end to the season.
Australian Kevin McNab has a lot to be excited about after a very good week for the slender and anxious Scuderia 1918. A very productive friend showed how much progress the talented castrated horse has progressed since last year, when he debuted here and won 20 cross-country races. This time, he finished fourth, adding only one band, and frustratingly, the last one, to his dressage score of 26. 2 to lose a spot after cross-country.
“It’s disappointing to have knocked down the last fence, but at the beginning of the week, if you had told me I was going to be there, I would have been more than satisfied with that,” says Kevin, who is the only rider in Enter the most sensible ten on a horse with five-star experience. “The horse will have learned a lot and there are many things to depend on; there will be a bigger horse and there will be a lot left, so I hope it will be even bigger next time. It is much more powerful now and has actually taken a step forward during the following year, so next year deserves to be even bigger.
If you were asked to build the best party horse, which one would you choose?A short and strong back with hard hindquarters that allow extravagant and balanced movements?A well-formed neck with a more sensitive sublime line, which makes the contour more Is a simple option possible?A moderate set of turnstiles that hold a chair in position but don’t require some sort of shark fin housing strategy to get them in?All this is just an illusion, and in the end, it turns out that everything is big. surplus part of desires anyway, as Maxime Livio’s Vitorio du Montet continues to demonstrate. here two years in a row. Last year he was smart enough for eighth position, and this year the French pair took fifth place with their final score of 30. 6.
Although the day started off on the left foot for Oliver Townend, who had to make the difficult decision to retire his MHS King Joules, 4th, before the trot, she was temporarily stored thanks to the correct efforts of her “catch-up” type, Ridire Dorcha. The neutered horse was part of Oliver’s chain several seasons ago, and in combination they competed in Boekelo CCIO4*-L in 2017, but soon after, the horse was sold to Australian Sophie Adams, who raced it this season. Recently, however, he asked Oliver if he would like to do a crusade against Ridire Dorcha for a while to give him a chance to focus on his own career, and Oliver, fortunately, agreed. The first foreign race in combination in 4 years would possibly seem crazy, the ambitious appeal paid off and the pair went from their starting position 15 of 27. 8 to a sixth position finish, adding 4. 4 time consequences in their first circular and surely not a something on their elegant holiday today.
It was a wonderful weekend for the climbers, and Tom Jackson and Billy Cuckoo were pleased to take credit for their competitors’ difficulties in the jumping phases. Their score of 30. 9 in the first phase had placed them at the bottom of the peloton in the jumping phase. They started, however, their neat and directed course on Pierre Michelet’s cross-country ski course earned them only 2. 4 time consequences, giving them their first significant touch and placing them in fourteenth before today’s final. Over time, they began their steady climb to seventh place, earning the talented British driver his first ten or five more sensible stars.
Selina Milnes also scored a productive five-star high in her return to the level, this time with the exceptional Iron, who made their five-star debut this weekend. The pair have proven at all times to be one of Britain’s top competitive combinations. , and although Selina was frustrated to start her week here with a 30. 1, her no-fault with 4. 4 consequence times took them from 23rd to 18th overnight. cast and moved them ten places to an eighth final.
The house team had something to be happy about, with two of their own to add the ten most sensible: Cedric Lyard occupied the ninth position, going from a 32 to 31. 6 after adding only 2. 4 times of consequences and 1. 6 today with Unum De’Or, while Sidney Dufresne and the cunning but talented mare Selle Français Swing de Perdiat overturned the final fence but still climbed a position to place in tenth place.
For the North American contingent as well, it was an exciting week of progression for two green but talented castrated men, either of whom was doing their second five-star year after the first educational tests.
Liz Halliday-Sharp and Cooley Quicksilver opted to do the feature from Ocala, Florida, to give Womanizer’s son a continuation of his Kentucky debut, where he finished with a 20 under his belt. This time, he seemed much more established since then. who came out of education and despite everything finished 21st after adding 8. 4 cross-country time consequences and 0. 8, plus 3 rails, today.
Canadian Mike Winter sent a hit back to the five-star level, completing at 25th place with El Mundo after adding 24 time consequences and 1. 6, plus one line, today to his first phase score of 31. 7. Mike, who passed away at the Bicton Five Star last month but retired after receiving twenty consequences: not only is he now back in the five-star after a 12-year absence, but he is also returning with a horse that is in the crosshairs. Although the neutered horse was originally conceived as a sales perspective, a serious injury at the age of five meant that Mike had to devote a lot of time and attention to the horse’s healing process. he told “Roberto” that he knew the horse could never be sold.
It has been a few days of ordinary festivals and a perfect complement to the 2021 European season, which has resembled, in recent weeks, anyway, more and more life as we knew it. This time, we head into the offseason. Full, satisfied and excited about what’s going to happen and how we’re going to get there, and getting back to that feeling, which is the one we all feel we’d lose, is something special. de Pau – and the last weeks of the European festival – in the coming days, but for now: Go Eventing.
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