Brits Lister, Williams, Hindle Sweep 2018 CDI Nice

Sun, 10/14/2018 - 09:49
2018 CDI Nice
Kate Lister and World Exclusive at the 2018 CDI Nice

Kate Lister, Sarah Williams and Emma Hindle, the three British riders who travelled to the South of France for the 2018 CDI Nice autumn edition on 4 – 7 October 2018, have each returned victorious from the French Riviera venue.

Prolific Grand Prix rider Emma Hindle has been ‘on tour’ this year with Romy Del Sol to give the horse experience in the show environment and it’s certainly paying off. So far this season, Emma and the 12-year-old Blue Hors Romanov mare have shown excellent results with consistent high placings and wins at CDIs across Europe including Keysoe, Aalborg, Mannheim, Wiesbaden, Rotterdam and Waregem.

Maintaining this form, their campaign in France last week resulted in two personal best scores for the combination. A super mark of 71.522% gave them victory in the Grand Prix, with Germany’s Alexander Matthias Rath who made his international Grand Prix debut on Foundation (by Furst Romancier) taking second and Russia’s Tatiana Miloserdova and Florento Fortuna completing the top three.

Then on to Saturday, Emma held her domination to win once again, this time on 72.660%, with Miloserdova taking second and Rath, third - the ground jury of Alban Tissot (FRA) at H, Thomas Lang (AUT) at E, Eduard De Wolff Van Westerrode (NED) at C, Maria Colliander (FIN) at M and Magnus Ringmark (SWE) at B in total agreement of their placing of each competitor in the class.

In the Small Tour divisions, Great Britain’s representatives both rose to the fore. In Friday’s Prix St Georges, Kate Lister and World Exclusive (World of Dreams x Rohdiamant) and Sarah Williams with Georgina Howard’s mare Bohigas W (Breitling W x Fabriano) delivered solid tests for 69%-plus for third and fourth place respectively, while the class was won by Belgian Laureen Poncelet on Andretti. 

Kate and World Exclusive then claimed the next day’s Intermediaire I just ahead of second-placed Sarah, who went on take the Inter I Freestyle with 70.775%.

“It’s a fantastic feeling,” Kate told British Dressage after her return home to Warwickshire. “This has finished my year beyond expectations.” Talking about her rides in Nice, Kate describes the PSG as a good, clean test. “He’s a good at pulling off a good, clean test on the first day. Then on the day of the Inter I it was very hot. I tried to keep the warm up short, and I rode him a bit harder as the heat was getting to him a little. But he just tried his hardest for me! The pirouettes we’ve been working hard to improve, and they really came off which I was very happy with.”

Kate acquired 12-year-old ‘Wex’, a former ride of Lesley Peyton-Gilbert, in February of this year and quickly formed a good partnership with the handsome chestnut gelding.

“He came in to Henry’s [Boswell who is based at Kate’s yard] to be sold. When I rode him we clicked immediately - I’ve never clicked with a horse that quickly before. The minute you get on it’s a wonderful feeling. To start with I tried to ‘ignore’ the horse but one day as I was riding, Henry shouted ‘you’ve got to buy him!” said Kate who credits Lesley as having done ‘a wonderful job’.

This year, the new partnership has competed only in Premier Leagues, being placed in the top five each time. “We then went to the Nationals, being placed fifth in the Inter I and seventh in the Music. It’s taken me 18 years to get back to the Nationals so this was such a big boost.”

Sarah Williams' 17-year old Westfalian mare Bohigas W (by Breitling W x Fabriano) is no stranger to the international scene. Almost ten years ago, the mare was campaigned by British Elizabeth Corrie at small tour level. Bred by Wolfram Wittig, Bohigas was first trained and competed by Brigitte Wittig, who finished fifth at the 2006 Bundeschampionate and 10th at the 2007 Bundeschampionate. Wittig last campaigned her in 2008 after which she sold to the U.K. Williams made her CDI show debut on the seasoned mare in 2018.

"I'm just totally blown away by Chloe’s ease, calmness, fluency (especially in her lateral work) and power in her extensions. She has just performed probably one of the best Inter 1 tests as a combination to date with a score of 70%+. Thus leading to finishing a very close second by a 0.06% to Kate Lister on World Exclusive; but extremely pleased," Williams took to Facebook. "Chloe, aka Bohigus W, is as bright as a button and equally totally at home in the international environment in every way from travelling, the stabling, the routine. She truly is a genuine contender at this level and hopefully, when she’s ready, at big tour/mid tour. I can hold my hand on my heart and say she is absolutely a happy athlete and enjoying her job."

Text by British Dressage, edited by Eurodressage

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