Tom McEwen slips two spots in Kentucky cross-country: ‘I was dead set to make the time, but sometimes you have to ride what’s in front of you’

Tom McEwen holds fifth place after the Kentucky Three-Day Event cross-country, having finished with 10.4 time-faults on Brookfield Quality.

“‘Norris’ is incredible and he was brilliant,” said Tom. “He’s unique in every way and there were some individual moments, but he’s as straight as the day is long and he’ll sort his legs out and do anything he can for you.”

Tom McEwen was third after his dressage but his 26 seconds over the 11min 20sec optimum time on the Kentucky Three-Day Event cross-country course meant he dropped two ranks on the scoreboard, with Michael Jung (FischerChipmunk FRH), Boyd Martin (Commando 3) and compatriot Harry Meade’s two horses (Et Hop Du Matz and Grafennacht) in front of him.

Tom and Brookfield Quality had an awkward jump at the ditch at the Care Credit Question, where the horse almost landed with his back legs before his front, and Tom said that rather set the tone of their round.

“I was dead set after trying to make the time, to be as smooth as I imagine Harry [Meade] was and I saw Mickey [Michael Jung] be, but sometimes you have to ride what’s in front of you,” said Tom.

“The only thing that I was disappointed with was my own decision to go long at the last water [Cosequin Cove] – maybe I should have gone straight, but I just felt that he was getting a little bit tired at that point. So I thought, you know what, he’s tried hard enough. Let’s give him a nice journey home and actually he jumped brilliantly all the way home.”

Tom was “riding a finish” much of the way home and joked he’s now looking for a job with trainer Willie Mullins.

The rider said Derek di Grazia had “designed another brilliant track”.

“I thought the ground might have been a bit dead, but for me personally, it rode really well. I know our British horses are possibly more used to it than some others, but I thought it rode really good,” he concluded.

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