Localrider Magazine
Dressage • Showjumping • Eventing • Showing • Endurance www.localrider.co.uk
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September 2014
Packed full of Summer Show Reports ●
Longines Royal International Horse Show
● Cranleigh Show ● Chilham International Horse Trials ● Endurance GB Hornshill Ride ● Sunshine Tour ● Hursley Pony Club Open Show
and many more…
PLUS
All our usual local News & Features 09
September 2014 • VOLUME XIV NUMBER 8
, s e g a p 0 Ovecrlu3ding: in
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SPOTLIGHT Francis and Easy Target finished second in the British Eventing Open Championship and claim the National Championship
Francis Whittington
crowned National Champion Words and pictures by Fiona Rafferty, additional pictures courtesy of Kit Houghton/ Festival of British Eventing
“Smokey is a lovely character and a lot of fun to ride”
S
ussex-based event rider Francis Whittington is the new British Eventing National Champion, a title he won at the Festival of British Eventing, which was held at Gatcombe over the weekend of 1st to 3rd August 2014. Partnering Catherine Witt’s wonderful grey, Easy Target, the combination produced a beautiful dressage test to lead with a score of 35.6. Only three other riders produced tests in the 30s: Andrew Nicholson on Avebury tucked in behind Francis with 38.1, Oliver Townend and Armada scored 39.8 and Australian rider Paul Tapner and Kilronan scored 39.2, but withdrew before cross country.
Praised at Badminton Francis and Easy Target (Smokey to his friends) have been consistently producing leading dressage tests this season. At Badminton they led the first day of competition and started the cross country in third place. Social media went crazy praising Francis’s decision, when he retired Smokey in Huntsman’s Close, just four fences from home. Commenting on his decision at Badminton, Francis said: “Smokey has the most enormous heart and I knew he
would keep on trying to jump. The ground conditions had not been ideal and I had ridden him strongly until that point in the course. I knew if we continued I risked breaking his heart. I don’t regret it. I am always thinking about the longer term and his results have proven I was right to pull-up.” At Gatcombe a few frustrating time penalties resulted in the combination finishing second behind Andrew Nicholson and Avebury in the British Eventing Open Championship. Andrew Nicholson may have lived most of his adult life in the UK, but he is from New Zealand and so Francis Whittington and Easy Target took the title of National Champions. Francis said: “We had a few time faults, which resulted in Nicholson winning. It was important to me to jump a good round and I took some wider lines to give Smokey a better round. I am over the moon with his performance and our result.”
Produced from a five-year-old Francis bought the now 13-year-old, when he was five and has produced and competed him ever since, passing ownership to Catherine Witt, who also owns Park Lane Hawk, during that time.
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The combination contested their first event in a Pre Novice section at Firle Place Horse Trials in August 2006. Francis knew from the start Smokey was a special horse and has run him carefully over the years with the bigger picture of team events in mind. Francis said: “Smokey is special. He will try his heart out and give you the earth and he has been like that since I first got him. Smokey is a lovely character and a lot of fun to ride. He has a sense of humour and can be quite cheeky out hacking.”
Dressage Training
Francis is renowned for his quick clean rounds across country, particularly with the now retired, Sir Percival III, which saw him move up the leaderboard, even when they had started lower down the running after dressage. Something changed at the beginning of this year, we started seeing Francis and his horses consistently at the top after dressage. Francis credits this change to two trainers, James Burtwell and Ian Woodhead. Francis said: “James is absolutely fantastic. He did an amazing job helping me to understand the technicalities of riding. Ian has been pushing me harder and further. He has raised my expectations of what I expect from my horses.” Talking of his Badminton test, which saw him start the cross country in third position, Francis said: “Smokey has a lot of natural ability and is ready now for me to ask more of him. I can feel now when I trot down the centre line, that the test will be good.”
National Champion Francis Whittington receiving his prizes from HRH Princess Anne Francis and Easy Target competing at their first ever event at Firle Place in 2006
Thinking of the future
Their consistently confident dressage tests since Badminton have seen them win the Advanced Intermediate at Salperton Park, finish second in the CIC*** at Barbury and second in the Open Championships at the Gatcombe Festival of Eventing, the result which led to them taking the title of National Champions. Francis and Smokey now head to Blenheim, with the longer term goal being selection for the European Championships at Blair in 2015. Francis concluded by saying: “I strongly believe Easy Target is an Olympic horse. All the decisions I have made, have been with the aim of preparing him to be producing his best possible work when the selections for the Olympic Games in Rio are made.”
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