‘The best day I could ever imagine’: a British rider’s dream result and why is the world number one riding in a brace?

In this week’s international showjumping news round-up, we head straight to Spain where Great Britain’s Will Fletcher celebrates “the best day I could ever imagine” with the “feisty” mare Iwalinde who “tries her heart out every time she goes in the ring”.

Then at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida, USA, a 24-year-old beats an Olympic gold medallist and the world number one to post her first ever five-star success. What a moment!

Read on for all this week’s international showjumping news and results.

Showjumping news: ‘The best day I could imagine’

Great Britain’s Will Fletcher and 12-year-old mare Iwalinde secured a victorious double on the CSI4* Andalucia Sunshine Tour in Spain this week. They started the week by topping the 1.50m Hipotels Trophy and concluded with victory in the 1.55m Dunas de Barbate Trophy grand prix.

“I can’t believe it,” said Will. “It takes an army and Iwalinde was fantastic – she’s a feisty girl and she tries her heart out every time she goes in the ring. She just gave me the best day I could ever imagine.”

Iwalinde is by VDL Zirocco Blue and Will co-owns her with John Walter. In the grand prix the pair beat French rider Penelope Leprevost (Baloubet De Talma), with Great Britain’s Simon Crippen third on Handsome. Matt Sampson produced what would have been the winning time in the four-way jump-off having taken the reins on Tim Gredley’s championship partner Medoc De Toxandria, but it came at the expense of eight faults.

• CSI4* Andalucia Sunshine Tour results

Aimez Moi posts another likeable performance

Sameh El Dahan and WKD Aimez Moi continued their winning form by heading a CSI3* 1.45m classic at Desert Circuit 9 in Thermal, California. Nine riders contested the jump-off and, from penultimate draw, the British rider rocketed to victory.

“She was brilliant. She was very, very quick on the turns,” said Sameh of the 15-year-old mare he co-owns with Joanne Sloan-Allen. “She covers a lot of ground at speed. I didn’t watch anybody else because I know she’s fast. I just stick to my plan and don’t get too distracted with the number of strides that other people are doing.”

• Desert Circuit results

Five-star debut success and why is the world number one riding in a brace?

THE $500,000 Bainbridge Companies CSI5* grand prix at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida, USA, was won by 24-year-old Belgian rider Emilie Conter riding Portobella Van De Fruitkorf. In a seven-way jump-off she beat Olympic gold medallist Harry Charles (Sherlock) and world number one Henrik von Eckermann (King Edward) to post the first five-star victory of her career.

“I didn’t think I would beat these other riders, but I looked up and saw that I was in first,” she said. “It hasn’t sunk in yet. I’m super happy with my horse and my team for making this happen.”

Emilie revealed she saw a really long distance to the final oxer during the jump-off.

“I heard Helena Stormanns scream ‘Go get it!’, so I took it,” she said. “We’ve come a long way. We took it very slow in the beginning because I always knew she was special. When I first started riding her, she was a bit colder but always had massive scope. When she was younger, she was not so impressed with the small jumps but now the bigger the fences, the better she jumps.”

“There are no words for her,” added Emilie, whose groom Lisa Sorg earned the $500 Double H Farm groom’s award.

Runner-up Harry Charles credited WEF for having “nearly as good an atmosphere as anywhere in the world”.

“I didn’t plan on jumping Sherlock in too many of the bigger classes under the lights; he’s still quite green at night, but tonight he jumped better than I could have hoped,” he said of the 12-year-old owned by his father Peter Charles and Stall Zet. “I thought the course-builder did a great job – you saw the perfect amount in the jump-off. I’m very happy with second place.”

Third-placed Henrik von Eckermann has been working hard behind the scenes to rebuild the confidence and turn around the fortunes of showjumping megastar King Edward.

“He jumped a very good indoor season but in the jump-offs that were full speed, I’m a guy who wants to win and pushed a little too much and we lost a little confidence,” said Henrik. “He feels good and is jumping better and better with every show.”

Henrik has also been recovering from a hand injury incurred in a fall which means he’s currently riding with a brace.

“In the ring, adrenaline is going and you want to do it and then afterwards you feel it, but it could have been worse and I’m happy that I’m able to continue riding,” he said. “Emilie did a fantastic job tonight and I’m very happy for her.”

• WEF results

Showjumping news: grand prix glory

Closer to home, Jack Whitaker (Equine America Valmy De La Lande) and Mark Edwards (Royale Tale) were CSI2* grand prix winners on the Italian Champions Tour and Jumping Gassin International in France respectively in another successful week for British riders on tour in Europe.

Zero is a “misunderstood” hero

Irish showjumper Darragh Kenny won WEF’s Adequan WEF Challenge Cup round nine with new ride Zero K in Florida.

“The first rounds have been pretty good, jump-offs haven’t been perfect,” he said. “I knew it was going to be very fast today, and she has a big stride, so a lot of the lines were connected. I could use her big stride and hopefully not make mistakes.”

Darragh describes Zero K as “very sensitive”.

“She’s special in her own way, but in the ring, she wants to do her best,” he said. “Sometimes she tries too hard, but it’s always in the right way, and that’s what I really like about her. She’s a little tense sometimes but for the most part she’s just misunderstood. She wants to be the best she can.”

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