The winners of the Martin Collins Enterprises Puissance Jumping Competition 2,12 m
The famous Puissance wall took centre stage in the Castle Arena on the opening day of Show Jumping. Of the seven starters, five combinations made it through to the fifth and final round. Defending champion Derek Morton, riding KBS High Quality, was first to clear the 2,12 m wall to guarantee a minimum of joint first place in his first Puissance since last year’s Royal Windsor. Next up, Nici Wilson – in her first ever Puissance – was not able to match Morton’s feat in this final round, however it was an impressive performance for a combination more used to the field of Eventing. It was Commandant Geoff Curran, the only other to clear the imposing wall, who scored the joint victory aboard Bishops Quarter.
A delighted Morton said: “The last time I jumped a Puissance was here in 2022. I had a fall last July and broke my hip, so this is only the second time I’ve ridden the horse since. He’s twelve-year-old Irish-bred and we’ve had him since he was a six-year-old. I originally went to look at him as a Working Hunter, but he’s got a big jump, so is perfect for this. I’m very lucky.”
Earlier in the day, the national Show Jumping got underway in The Martin Collins Enterprises Frogmore Arena with the Senior Foxhunter – First Round sponsored by Al Shira’aa. Of the 96 starters, it was Hollie Pearce with the eight-year-old El Macho Van Plockroy Z who jumped double clear in a time of 33.49 seconds (almost a second faster than Haitham Salahuddin Albastaki in second) to take the win. The 12 highest placed six-year-olds from this class qualified for The Walwyn Novice Jumping Championship supported by Al Shira’aa in the Castle Arena. Of these, four made it through to the jump-off against the clock, with Nicole Lockhead Anderson coming out on top riding Quanthargos.
The win concluded a successful day for Lockhead Anderson, who had earlier secured fourth place in the The LeMieux National 1.40m Open, a class won by Sally Goding and her homebred mare Spring Willow for the second consecutive year. Goding clinched the class with a double clear in a time of 30.63 seconds, 0.34 seconds ahead of Emily Sage in second, with Adrian Whiteway back in third.
Classifica completa: https://online.equipe.com/en/class_sections/810421
Photo @RoyalWindsorHorseShow/Peter Nixon/Louie Gonzalez – Commandant Geoff Curran clearing the Puissance wall at a final height of 2.12m, crowning him joint Champion of the Martin Collins Enterprises Puissance Jumping Competition