Newly-married Ros Canter – the reigning eventing world champion – proved her excellence again at Hambro Sport Horses Burgham International Horse Trials today.
Ros, who married her long-term partner Chris McAleese last Saturday, won section A of the Howard Russell Construction Ltd CCI3*-S on Dr Mark and Wendy Egerton’s 10-year-old Cooley Copresenter on a finishing score of 30.5.
“Cooley Copresenter is a new ride for me this season,” said Ros. “We’ve been slowly getting to know each other, and this is the first time I have run him competitively. He’s a lovely horse – a really genuine, happy character and he’s getting better and better.”
The eventing season is unrelentingly busy for professional riders, and Ros explained: “I think my husband booked the church before he asked me to marry him – I think he knew if he didn’t tie a date down, it would never happen.
“We had a fantastic day. We did manage one night away together on Sunday night – Burgham would be our honeymoon, except Chris isn’t here. He’s coming [to Northumberland] tonight, but he took the opportunity to go scuba diving, which is his thing. We are going to have a good family holiday with our daughter Ziggy at the end of the season.”
Ros also holds the lead in the highly competitive Hambro Sport Horses CCI4*-S section I with an outstanding mark of 20.5 on her own and Alex Moody’s Izilot DHI. Close behind Ros in second and fourth are two of the three members of Britain’s Olympic gold medal-winning team at the Tokyo Olympics, Laura Collett (London 52, 21.6) and Oliver Townend (Ballaghmor Class, 22.5). Between them in third are last year’s winners and the current British Open champions Izzy Taylor and Monkeying Around on a score of 21.7.
Sarah Bullimore and Corouet – her individual European Championships bronze medallist of 2021, owned by Sarah, her husband Brett and the Kew Jumping Syndicate – lies in first place in CCI4*-S section H with an equally superb dressage mark of 20.6. In second is Oliver Townend on 22.6 with Swallow Springs, while Yasmin Ingham (Rehy DJ) are third with a first-phase score of 23.7.
And Piggy March was another top British rider to triumph at Hambro Sport Horses Burgham today when she took section B of the Howard Russell Construction Ltd CCI3*-S on Peter Harris’ smart seven-year-old Dassett Arthalent. They concluded the competition on a score of 28.2.
Piggy said: “This is his first CCI3*-S – I came up to Burgham with a couple of seven-year-olds to start the process of getting their qualifications for the World Young Horse Championships at Le Lion d’Angers in October, so I wasn’t really expecting a win. However, he was in that position before cross-country and, because the course was very fair and would be educational without giving them a hard run, we had a go.
“He grew in confidence the further round we went.”
Action at Hambro Sport Horses Burgham continues tomorrow with the jumping phases of the CCI4*-S. There are also British Riding Clubs team and individual jumping competitions, national British Eventing classes, the Holme Dodsworth Metals CCI2*-S – incorporating the valuable Northumberland Challenge – and a packed schedule of classes for ex-racehorses and thoroughbreds.
There are a great selection of tradestands and food and drink outlets to help spectators enjoy a great day out in the picturesque Northumbrian countryside.
Section leaderboards are below, full results here
