Whitaker and Chad on winning form as September Tour gets underway

The opening days of the All England September Tour saw a cluster of top riders come forward for the two qualifying competitions for this Sunday’s ClipMyHorse.TV Sussex Cup.

The first of the two Breen Equestrian 1.40m Open classes on Thursday went to the reigning Al Shira’aa Derby champion William Whitaker, and brand-new ride Old Celui de Semily. Despite only taking on the ride a few weeks ago, William produced a quick clear on the 10-year-old to finish 0.75sec ahead of Canada’s Kara Chad and Frigard Zara.

“To go in the big grass ring like that, you never quite know with a new horse how they're going to adapt to the surroundings and settle in there,” said William. “But he felt really comfortable right from the word go, and everything came up as I planned in the jump-off, so I was really pleased.

Old Celui de Semily is owned by Emerson Tough, whose daughter Angel produced the horse up the ranks to Grand Prix level. “I’m still getting to know him, but he’s well capable of producing the goods. I went in with a bit of an open mind, thinking I'd jump the first half and if he felt good and settled, I'd move him on more in the second half.”

Having finished runner-up on Thursday, it didn’t take long for Kara Chad to claim her winner's sash when she finished top of Friday’s 1.40m qualifier. This time it was Ciao Bello NVE Z who took the top spot, finishing more than half a second faster than Carmen Edwards and Vigo Cruz.

It was Kara’s first win in the International Arena at Hickstead. The Canadian rider has recently moved to the UK to set up a new base with her British fiancé, Matt Sampson. “We actually just moved down to this area in the beginning of this year, so Hickstead's only 25 minutes from home now, so it's great to have this as our local show. We're pretty spoiled to have these facilities just around the corner,” she said.

Ciao Bello NVE Z is a nine-year-old gelding owned by Nicolas Mignon.

“He always jumps really well here,” added Kara. “I came for the Derby Meeting and jumped a few 1.40m and 1.45m classes with him, and he felt great, so I was excited to come back for the September Tour with him.”

Both riders will be in action in Sunday’s ClipMyHorse.TV Sussex Cup, which will be streamed live on ClipMyHorse.TV.

Friday also saw young equine stars compete for honours in the Star of the Future Finals. The Five Year Old section was won by Ireland's Michael Morrin and the Barnwell family's Billy Pie, with Louise Pavitt taking second and third spots with HHS Big Time and Fury 19. In the Six Year Old class, Lucy Townley made the most of her late draw on Billy Downtown to take the title. "He's so clever, he's quick and he's careful, and it's great to have this lovely title to his name," said Lucy, who is using the show as a warm-up for the upcoming FEI World Breeding Championships in Lanaken. 

Eight horses jumped clear in the Four Year Old Final to share first place. 

For full results click here.