Puissance 2011 Equestrian: Olympia Horse Show


Puissance 2011

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It is the weekend before Christmas, the weather is dreadful. So outdoor

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sports don't look much fun. Our solution is come inside. Get a

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packed house for the Christmas show at Olympia and let's bring you one

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of the most popular classes here, it is all about the wall. Because

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this is the Alltech Christmas Puissance. A stack of wooden bricks.

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Do not be fooled. Puissance pushes competitors to the limit. Get it

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right, and you will soar like an eagle. Get it wrong and you will

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sink. We have the French to thank for the name. It means power. And

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these horses are courageous and powerful. As for the riders, they

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powerful. As for the riders, they must stay cool, calm and collected.

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He wants it to go up. In round one, you get three obstacles and then

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the wall. It starts off at 5'11", so imagine, say, Roy Keane, with

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horses sailing over his head. If you or the bricks come a Cropper,

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you are out. But if you go clear, you get to go again. As the wall

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starts getting higher, and higher, and higher. He is in big trouble.

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Last year Ben Maher and Noctambule Courcelle jumped seven foot three.

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That is the height of Peter Mayhew, chew backer from Star Wars. If you

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think that is tasty check out this, the dapper German holds the world

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record, jumping a staggering seven foot ten, back in 1991. That is

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about the same as the Olympic high jump record set by Charles Austin

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in 1996. But Charlie wasn't carrying round a jockey on his back.

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So if you keep taking off in style, don't knock your blocks off and

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land safely, you could take home first prize. Or, you may just want

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to curl up in a ball and pretend no-one's watching. Nick Skelton

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walked away from that fall but he knows too well, as do riders you

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are not always that lucky. The latest high profile casualty as

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this man Tim Stockdale. Explain this man Tim Stockdale. Explain

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what happened to you.. I had a bit of a prang off a young horse. I had

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a difficult fall and collided with a fence. I ended up resulting in

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three fractures of my vertebrae in the neck, C3, C4 and C5. And what

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is the general prognosis? Well, I have just come out of hospital two

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weeks' ago, I had five-weeks on my back. But the process of healing is

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working well. I have a scan in about three weeks time. If that

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goes according to plan we should start doing physio and be back

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riding by February. Hopefully jumping by March. So in your mind

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you targeting the London Olympics? Why not. Now, if anything, I have a

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bit more motivation, I mean, you know, this has been a major hiccup

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and two months later would have dented any plans, but the fact this

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has happened when it's happened. My horse will be rested. He is on a

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good rest while I'm in this situation. I should hopefully work

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myself into fitness. I want to be on that line that says please pick

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me. This has not done anything than fuel the furnace of desire. I know

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people are pleased to see you, your fellow rider, friends, everybody.

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In terms of the puissance class, you have won it a couple of time,

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how do you as a required approach this competition? Again, I think

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this is a horses for coarses competition. You wouldn't enter a

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competition like this unless your felt your horse was right for this

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class. This is all about big jumps, simple jumps, a big red wall, there

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is no point in taking a horse that is a coward, that is, too careful.

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You want a big bold jumper. Preferably one that uses his body

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in the right way. As a rider, you want to stay as cool and calm as

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you can, to give the horse every opportunity to jump when it gets

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big. It is not a big class. We only have eight Howe horses in it. Laura

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ren nick is riding two which is amazing says she hates the

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puissance. It is like she badgered herself into it. Don't you for get.

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When she gets in she is a competitor through and through.

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This being such a class for the real connoisseur type of horse. The

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fact there is only eight doesn't stop it being very good and one

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that could go very big. Tim has given you an idea of what the

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riders might be thinking going in, there but what about the horses,

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You might think we can't know what a horse is thinking but some people

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really can. Monty Roberts is the man about who the book the Horse

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Whisper was made and the leading horse psychologist here trained

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alongside him. Her name is Kelly Marks. What does a horse think when

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it comes in here? By the time they get here, you hope they have had,

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you would expect, they have had a lot of training, and a lot of good

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experiences. That is what is going to get them confident in themselves,

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and most importantly in the rider, so that when the rider asks them

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that question, they are ready to go forward. Just like the film the War

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Horse, that horse has to be ready and ready to go. In terms of the

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noise and the atmosphere, and there is a lot of excitement, it it must

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be such an adrenaline rush for the horse. I think the riders have to

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be able to focus totally. I think they can bring that through to the

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horse, we are here to do a job. That is what your train your horses

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to do, we are here to do a job now. This is a different class, because

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you are not coming in with lots of jumps and trying to find your way

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through, you are focusing on the wall. You have a couple of jumps

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before it, but this is your target. Now, this helps a lot, because this

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gives the horse almost something that splits the wall in two,

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doesn't make it look too daunting. Yes, with the classes you want the

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horse to get close in, and like that, because it is like when a

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horse jumps from a stand-still, if you have seen that, they go up, and

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really buckle in the air to get to clear over it. So they have

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incredible spring from the back end? Yes, the back end is where it

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is all happening. The other thing that is really interesting to watch,

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as they come into this fence. Some of them struggle to get their head

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up at a stage, so they can see exactly how they are going to jump.

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So watch out for that. If the horse brings its head up it is trying to

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get a good sight. So this is the beginning height. There is a

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maximum of five rounds, in an ideal world we will be left with one

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outright winner at the end. So let us join our team of Andy Austin and

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us join our team of Andy Austin and Mike Tucker. Good evening to you,

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and just look at that picture here in the grand hall. Absolutely

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packed. This is one of the dramatic nights of this famous show, which

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has now got such an enthusiastic following. It will be exciting I am

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sure, the Alltech Christmas Puissance, it has an interesting

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field. It is not a big one. Laura ren nick, then Robert Whitaker with

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one of the favourites, then Pius Schwizer. Geir Gulliksen for Norway.

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Laura ren nick her second, Guy Williams third last year and John

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Whitaker goes last in the first round with Casino. The young lady

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now, from Essex. It is Laura Renwick. Laura, with Parvati de

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Breve. This horse first time in a puissance. Now, Laura said she was

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quietly confident, only an eight - year-old horse. She describes this

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horse as brave and scopey, now that is two qualities you do need. Just

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talk you round this first round, we have four fences, the first two out

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of the way. This triple bar is going to get bigger and bigger and

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much wider as the rounds go on. can sometimes be an influential

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fence in this competition. Coming down to the wall, and this is the

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last fence to jump, in the first round and very well over it. Pony

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Club wall. You can see why she says it is scopey and brave. Really took

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it on. That was the confidence giver that she needed. You can see

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how easily she came down, she didn't have to put extra pressure

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on her horse and that is a great start. Certainly has the power to

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go a lot bigger. Well, here is a man who has been in a lot of

:10:55.:11:05.
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puissance. He had a horse call Saint Finbar. He jumped in a very

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interesting and unusual way, but jumps a lot of big fences. This is

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a new horse, only an eight-year-old, called Waterstone, he has done one

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puissance bareback. Where did he get, somewhere round the seven foot

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mark? Six feet 11 with no saddle. Saddle oner -- on, here we go. This

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is the first time he has been in a puissance with a saddle so that is

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a very strange statistic. A typical puissance horse. Big stride. Masses

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of power. That was very comfortable. As we watch the horses more and

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more, we will see the riders take their own type of approach. Steady

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canter here, into the bottom. Not too much pace. Effortless! Robert

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riding very confidently. Who wouldn't, after jumping six foot 11

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bareback. Must feel better when the saddle is on. Let us look at Robert

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here. Waterstone getting his head up a bit, makes a classic shape

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over the wall. Bends his back. Comes up at the shoulder, and there

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is a lot left in the tank. One of the stars from Switzerland. Pius

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Schwizer with Koby du Vartellier, a horse with loot of experience. He

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is a late entry to this, but he is a man in flying form at the moment.

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He has been placed or winning some of the big indoor competitions

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round the European circuit. This competition was won by the great

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Marcus Foulkes a few years ago. Schizophrenia's -- Switzerland's

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hopes on this man. He allows his horses to run forward. He has a

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very light touch. But they certainly do jump for him. This

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first round, we would expect most of the horses with puissance

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experience to pop over this wall fairly comfortably. No problems. He

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just gets some idea of what scope and how they are going to approach

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this. Some going a bit too quickly. Some slower. You get an idea of

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what is going to come. Watch him. He hasn't done a puissance for a

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while. Look at him on the last stride. He used extra leg and said

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"Come on, pick yourself up." Very nicely over. Good shape in the air.

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Now Ben Maher. And Ben Maher is another star. Winner last year Ben,

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with his horse he bought especially. Noctambule Courcelle. He did the

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job very nicely. He was very impressive. Not done too much since

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though. This is a horse that is a puissance specialist. There aren't

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so many round nowadays. Oh, and he has had the first fence. Now, you

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can see on Ben's face there, what a disappointment. That really is

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supposedly a schooling fence. He has made a big mistake. That

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certainly throws this competition very much up in the Gods. Some of

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the riders that possibly thought they were going for a school will

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be watching that with great interest. The wall so easy. What

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else is in store tonight? Out he goes. But just watch him come to it

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again. He is a puissance horse. He is not the most careful. He wasn't

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concentrating. Comes down to the wall and there you see the power

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and the scope, no problem at all, but that is a massive

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disappointment for Ben, he has brought that horse here especially

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Norwegian rider, Geir Gulliksen. The has spent a long time with the

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Whitakers in Yorkshire, a great character. He bought his tours of a

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great -- his horse of a great rider. Having heard foreshore, the News of

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Ben Maher going out, he could say, there could -- I might just stay in.

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Eric has been a terrific Server for Geir Gulliksen over the year. --

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L'Espoir has been a terrific servant. He has no bit in his mouth.

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He sticks his nose out in front of him. He is a very experienced

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campaigner. He said to me with a grin on his face that he might go

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run -- one round, but we will see. Are you going to take bets on that?

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If p Johns convincingly, he will be back in. -- if he jumps

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convincingly. It certainly is wide open now. I have a feeling Jimmy

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said, it could be made. He comes to that forward stride, very neat.

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This is a Grand Prix class horse, Last year's winner is out, and he

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had the very first fence down. Ben Maher, deeply frustrating? Yes. The

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same rules for everyone. It is always difficult as a specialist

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puissance Tours, he jumps the wall could and he doesn't jump the

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others could -- puissance horse. In this case, it did count. It was a

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difficult jump for him. I thought difficult jump for him. I thought

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III already had a winner earlier in in this class last year. -- he won

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in Geneva. I suspect he is probably the favourite now. The war though

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you would have to say Robert Whitaker would be close, as well --

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although you would have to save. Guy Williams said he thought he was

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third favourite. This horse has in the past been clumsy over the

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triple bar, and had the front rail down. It has got a little gate in

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the bottom. I think that will help to Richi Rich III get in the air,

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and that was very good, very neat. Richi Rich III is 10 years old, and

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a lot more experienced. And plenty of time, really pushed in the air.

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No problems for Guy Williams. Six Williams through. He has got the

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technique worked out, push into the bottom, moved slightly to the left

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over the wall. This course comes in over her shoulders. -- This Waltz

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already on the nature of course. -- on the 8-year-old horse. Laura said

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to me, she will probably go the one round and see how it went. She

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getting balance for the wall. has got two at the moment, we will

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wait to see what that decision is going to be. With so few in the

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field, it is a really tough call to pull out. Laura, such a competitor,

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have another look. Took her time, a quiet run down, and dumped it

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absolutely perfectly. -- jumps it. Very neat, really good in front in

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behind. I can see her coming back in again, we will see. 4th want to

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go in round one and this is the crowd favourite, without doubts --

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when Robert won the puissance. He is a horse that has got a good

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Grand Prix record, and a very good record in this arena. I think John

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will be looking to the big money later in the show. Casino has

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always gone well in the World Cup here. John was quite adamant when I

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spoke to him and said, look, I am schooling, it does in good to jump

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the war, get him in the air. -- it does him good. This horse is a

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credit to John, he always keeps his older horses fit and sound. This

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one is looking really well. Oh, just touched the front of it.

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might look at that again. I thought he rather dived at that. They

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rather throw themselves at it, rather than jumping off their hind

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legs. He didn't really push in the air, John got him French daily off

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it. -- fractionally off it. Probably did not get his stride

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quite as deep as he would have liked and moved to the left. He

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said he was in there to get him in the air. We probably won't see John

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Ben Maher is out because he had the first fence down. John Whitaker has

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retired. There is a cunning plan. I asked John, what is the script? For

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the last two years, he has gone one round in the puissance and then he

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has jumped double clear in the World Cup. Thinking, smart guy,

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keep doing the same plan. He is warming up for the World Cup. He

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said it is great to jump three or four jumps, no pressure, and a

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combination jumps, just riding down to them. It says it does get his

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mind a lot of good and gives him something to focus on. This

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compensation is being used as a foil for the World Cup -- this

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very odd horse for the puissance. Very young. With the first two

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fences, they have been removed. They just jump the triple bar. Here

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she is, coming to the wall. Fantastic leap over that. That will

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have given her a lot of confidence. She did say, quietly confident.

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That was outstanding. The great thing about Parvati de Breve, she

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is really careful. Laura can ride with a bit of extra pace, knowing

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she is going to come up in front. All down to Robert, now. With the

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8-year-old again, another Dutch- bred horse. Waterstone. We were

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talking about Marcus winning. In that year at Olympia, Robert shared

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it, John was in there, and the great markers, they all agreed to

:25:28.:25:37.
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share first prize at 7 ft 4 -- the his canter than Laura did. He gets

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his head up. He just touched the behind, but he got his body up high

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enough. Does not quite so impressive as Laura's walls.

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head and allow his back end to world, a real competitor. Not the

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best jump over the triple bar. He has to go right in the corner, to

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get balanced. He is working quite hard, but he has jumped it

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convincingly, well done. I would agree on that, nothing wrong with

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that. As so often, the higher the wall gets, the more the horses but

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the effort in. That was better than his first round. This horse has not

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done puissance for a while, he has done a few speed courses. He pushed

:26:59.:27:09.
:27:09.:27:19.

him into the bottom. Worked hard Geir Gulliksen for Norway, with the

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15-year-old, L'Espoir. Geir Gulliksen was laughing about his

:27:27.:27:32.

chances before it started, but looking very serious there. He is

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always looking to win a few quid. He is and he has a very talented

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Jimmy is in there, looking for the money, now. Four through to round

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three. In the end, if they get up to seven ft-plus, they have got to

:28:01.:28:04.

put the effort in, but this horse is making it very easy at the

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moment. The great thing about L'Espoir is his technique. His

:28:08.:28:13.

front legs are so neat, he doesn't have to get his body quite so high.

:28:13.:28:23.
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Very economical and tidy, he tucks his front legs right up. Now, the

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turn of by Williams. By a Williams, with Richi Rich III. -- Dai

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hunt a winner, gymkhana. The horse was pretty experienced but this man

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gave it such a ride. Ever since he has been part of the bronze medal

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team in Madrid. A great second round help Britain win the bronze

:28:54.:29:01.

medal. He really has grown of age. The great think that Guy Williams

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has got, apart from his that ability to enthuse horses to

:29:07.:29:13.

perform, he has depth, and he has courses for different classes. Into

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the bottom again, he has got the technique that he needs, and he

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knows what he is doing. Perfectly ridden. Let's have another look.

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Right into the bottom, gets the shoulders up, front and behind,

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outstanding. I think he ran quite a long way right. Yes, he moved to

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the right. Once the wall gets big, a lot of these was his don't stay

:29:40.:29:43.

too straight. He slithered a bit to the right but right into the bottom,

:29:43.:29:53.
:29:53.:30:01.

that is the way this horse likes to Her first ride Parvati de Breve the

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most convincing of the ones through to round three The younger horse

:30:07.:30:14.

but that was the one she tipped to go the furthest. It is very neat

:30:14.:30:18.

over the wall in the first round. He would be her Grand Prix horse,

:30:18.:30:28.
:30:28.:30:33.

or one of them. Not so much pace for this one. Oh brilliant! She is

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riding so well. Such a good eye and such a good eye against the clock.

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But that is not of much value tonight. She is turning into a top

:30:44.:30:48.

class competitor. We know she can go fast, but she is keeping her

:30:48.:30:58.
:30:58.:31:34.

cool brilliantly. Coming down to British showjumping has to look at.

:31:34.:31:39.

At the moment we don't have the circuit that gives the riders the

:31:39.:31:43.

really best chance to have the competition like they do on the

:31:43.:31:49.

Continent. And unfortunately, it is down to money. It is all about

:31:49.:31:59.
:31:59.:32:00.

prize money. So the eight-year-old Parvati de Breve, Laura Renwick.

:32:00.:32:07.

They don't want to go too fast, too soon. Oh got a bit closer and ran

:32:08.:32:16.

in a bit tight. Just a bit of inexperience there. When she jumped

:32:16.:32:20.

in the last round she was a bit further off. This is a young horse,

:32:20.:32:25.

probably slightly too brave. You watch, ran down, and you could see

:32:25.:32:30.

the mare try and check on the last stride. Fractionally too close.

:32:30.:32:36.

Laura knew that on the last stride, tried to check her, saw the wall,

:32:36.:32:40.

ran to it. A couple of feet too close on the take off. That was a

:32:40.:32:50.
:32:50.:32:55.

wonder what his thoughts would have been after that round two, because

:32:55.:33:04.

he just, to me, didn't look to have that jump he was looking for.

:33:04.:33:07.

difficult, because Waterstone does three strides out, just put his

:33:07.:33:15.

head in the air, and obviously Rob has to use his hands to stay

:33:16.:33:25.

"Stety." He has to do it with feeling. -- steady. Well ridden.

:33:25.:33:29.

Just the right feeling in his hands, he didn't overcheck him. Kept the

:33:29.:33:35.

balance and released him to make the jump. Class riding there from

:33:35.:33:40.

Robert. Did exactly the right thing. Just held him lightly then softened

:33:41.:33:46.

his hands on the last stride. Just softens his hands there, that is

:33:46.:33:56.
:33:56.:34:06.

Schwizer. Koby du Vartellier. He has a style very much of his own,

:34:06.:34:12.

but my word, it is effective. you watch he has tremendous empathy

:34:12.:34:16.

and feeling to ride his horses in this light forward style. You watch

:34:16.:34:21.

him in front of the wall. When he needs to use his legs and hands and

:34:21.:34:31.
:34:31.:34:42.

doesn't show too much emotion there, but he... He never does. Now he is

:34:42.:34:48.

going through his mind is "Am I going to come again?" He was a bit

:34:48.:34:54.

too far off. He knows he has to ride forward. He knows he was lucky,

:34:54.:34:59.

when he lands he has a look back. Watch him again. Slightly too far

:34:59.:35:09.
:35:09.:35:12.

off. Now Geir Gulliksen L'Espoir, Norway. So far we have three

:35:12.:35:19.

through. Robert Whitaker, two through rather, Robert Whitaker and

:35:19.:35:27.

Pius Schwizer through so far. don't think this horse has ever

:35:27.:35:32.

really gone the distance in a puissance. He is normally over

:35:32.:35:36.

jumped in Grand Prixs. I think, you know, Jimmy could be thinking there

:35:36.:35:43.

is money to be won here now. It is get ing towards the middle of the

:35:43.:35:53.
:35:53.:36:08.

competition, where it starts to It is the pound signs that could

:36:08.:36:14.

probably encourage this man to go again. Well, we said he can be

:36:14.:36:19.

hungry and he smiled and said maybe I'm going go one round but you

:36:19.:36:24.

never know. Very neat. Not getting a lot of height with his body.

:36:24.:36:28.

a bit on the last stride but this horse tries so hard to leave the

:36:28.:36:38.
:36:38.:36:41.

fences up. So one for Britain, one for Switzerland, and one for Norway.

:36:41.:36:47.

Can this man join them? Huge respect for Guy Williams, he has

:36:47.:36:54.

worked very hard, with lots of horses, he's always tries to be a

:36:54.:36:59.

winner, sometimes perhaps that is to his disadvantage, but he has the

:36:59.:37:04.

best team of horses he has had in his life, and my word he is very

:37:04.:37:11.

exciting. Thank goodness. He hasn't had the triple bar. He told me

:37:11.:37:17.

twice he has had it down and cost a lot of money. Ben Maher had a horse

:37:17.:37:24.

that did that too. Steady. He is so close, but he has jumped it. Just a

:37:24.:37:30.

touch in front. But that is the technique that works for this man.

:37:30.:37:34.

Quiet canter, makes her weight and gets right in the bottom. You have

:37:34.:37:39.

to have nevers of steel to do -- nerves of steel to do that. Right

:37:39.:37:46.

in the bottom. So close. Third last year, he is still in there. So the

:37:46.:37:51.

last one to go, round three, remember we can go five rounds, we

:37:51.:37:59.

can do two more rounds. Now, remember, she started with two,

:37:59.:38:04.

Parvati de Breve already out. Laura Renwick now with the horse that she

:38:04.:38:09.

thought she might only go one, perhaps two rounds, but here she is

:38:09.:38:19.
:38:19.:38:40.

Needs to keep the hocks underneath top of the wall. I thought she was

:38:40.:38:48.

going to hit it quite hard. She was slightly off it. Dived off it and

:38:48.:38:54.

caught it. She was a long way off Too far off. With a shorter

:38:54.:39:04.
:39:04.:39:09.

striding horse, could just do with they are building. It is going to

:39:09.:39:15.

go to two metres 11, and that is six feet 11. That is a big wall now,

:39:15.:39:22.

we are getting up there. And the crowd are getting in the mood! We

:39:22.:39:32.
:39:32.:39:42.

go. Robert Whitaker, Waterstone. Probably jumped his best round in

:39:42.:39:50.

round three, and remember, he jumped six foot 11 bareback in

:39:50.:39:56.

Stockholm two or three weeks' ago. Looks pretty serious. Getting down

:39:56.:40:02.

to the make or break rounds now. This horse has got the ability, but

:40:02.:40:09.

gets his head up in front of the wall. Rob has to ride him tactfully

:40:09.:40:19.
:40:19.:40:34.

Came up in front. Rob gave him a good ride there, he softened his

:40:34.:40:38.

hands. Tried to get him to use his Bann back end but he couldn't get

:40:38.:40:42.

it away. There is one of the favourites out. This is the all-

:40:42.:40:46.

important accurate take off, fractionally close. Got his front

:40:46.:40:56.
:40:56.:40:56.

end away, didn't have room to jump it behind. Pius Schwizer trying to

:40:56.:41:03.

follow in the footsteps of his colleague Marcus Foulkes, who has

:41:03.:41:06.

been taken on by the Swiss federation to get their team ready

:41:06.:41:14.

for the Olympics. Trained the Italians to go so well in 2009. --

:41:14.:41:24.
:41:24.:41:36.

Markus Fuchs. The last round, very AP McCoy jumping a fence at Aintree.

:41:36.:41:41.

He used the pace as you say, but he got crucially that bit closer than

:41:41.:41:45.

he did on the round before. It is so difficult to see that stride,

:41:45.:41:50.

from a long way out. Watch him, he is really riding and he has to do

:41:50.:41:55.

that. This horse jumps the wall with pace, and he has to drive him

:41:55.:42:00.

in there, and he got that absolutely right. Full commitment.

:42:01.:42:06.

He is such a great horse man. He knows what he is doing. He got the

:42:06.:42:14.

pace. He is smiling. He is happy. first. Goodness me! The smile is

:42:14.:42:19.

there. He is a great man at telling tales. He has a great smile. Now it

:42:19.:42:29.
:42:29.:42:32.

mouth. With all due respect to L'Espoir he is not a puissance

:42:32.:42:37.

horse. He looked like he was struggling for power. The horse

:42:37.:42:42.

jumped because he has such a great technique. Whether he has the power

:42:42.:42:48.

to go a bit higher, I am not sure. Two gone, one clear so far for

:42:48.:42:58.
:42:58.:43:22.

Switzerland. Now, it is Norway's didn't think he was going to get

:43:22.:43:29.

there. It was such a genuine horse, he gave it everything he has got.

:43:29.:43:33.

He has fantastic technique but lacks the power to get that high in

:43:33.:43:41.

the air. The crowd have appreciated his effort tonight. Jimmy

:43:41.:43:45.

Gulliksen's generosity won't undo him for the big competition.

:43:45.:43:50.

hasn't done the horse any harm. He has got in the right place to jump

:43:50.:43:55.

it. He has ridden it perfectly. Lacked the power and the push from

:43:55.:44:04.

his hocks to get the height. Now, Fourth Round of the Christmas

:44:04.:44:09.

puissance here. And it is very, very narrowly balanced. We have one

:44:09.:44:19.
:44:19.:44:28.

Williams, Richi Rich, third last year. Trying to join in round five,

:44:28.:44:34.

Pius Schwizer of Switzerland. Earlier this afternoon, we saw Guy

:44:34.:44:38.

Williams going flat out to win the speed class, this is completely

:44:38.:44:43.

different. He has to take his time. You will see him push this horse

:44:43.:44:47.

right in close. She is getting a bit quick, he is too far off it, he

:44:47.:44:55.

has got away with it! What a strange ride that was. She took it

:44:55.:45:01.

on, ran too early, and Guy Williams says, OK, we will have to take off

:45:01.:45:06.

from there. A bit of a rueful smile, he got away with that. I think he

:45:06.:45:11.

knew he had made a mistake, it was brave. For both of them. They knew

:45:11.:45:15.

they had got it wrong. She was are doing, she knows that the wall is

:45:15.:45:20.

coming. Guy Williams said, improvisation. That is what he can

:45:20.:45:24.

do. He knew he was in big trouble. He said, we are going to do it from

:45:24.:45:32.

there. He did what I did, shut his eyes and kicked! Sometimes it works.

:45:32.:45:37.

That is why he is so successful, he can ride by the seat of his pants

:45:37.:45:41.

and his horse is giving him there are things. It was a terrific

:45:41.:45:46.

effort but she was way too far off aid. Laura Renwick is not jumping

:45:46.:45:53.

in round four. -- too far off it. We go to round five, it is going to

:45:53.:45:58.

go the distance I think, Britain against Switzerland. We are over

:45:58.:46:08.
:46:08.:46:10.

seven food. That is a very decent You decided enough was enough?

:46:10.:46:14.

that one, I planned that one round would be enough. It was really for

:46:14.:46:18.

my other course. I was pleased with how she jumped. I think the

:46:18.:46:23.

swapping over got her appetite -- for my other horse. I was only

:46:23.:46:29.

planning to do one round. He has another class tomorrow, so save in

:46:29.:46:38.

it for that. So, round five, the last round, and it is a head-to-

:46:38.:46:41.

last round, and it is a head-to- head. It is between Pius Schwizer

:46:41.:46:51.
:46:51.:46:53.

and Guy Williams for Great Britain. Good luck to Pius Schwizer. But

:46:53.:46:59.

having come in as a late entry, he just might have one very decent pay

:46:59.:47:09.
:47:09.:47:15.

the right stride, to go for it. Just take his time here. Is going

:47:15.:47:21.

for it, working hard, and he has jumped it! Well done, Pius

:47:21.:47:27.

Schwizer! That is amazing. He rode it brilliantly. I think he is going

:47:27.:47:32.

to smile now, surely. He is waving to the crowd. He could not have

:47:32.:47:36.

ridden that better. He waited for the right moment, he saw the right

:47:36.:47:41.

stride. Look how determined he is. He picked the horse up, hands and

:47:41.:47:47.

heels, and as much as anything, he is producing the jump and the power

:47:47.:47:52.

from the pace, and the fact he has such a good eye for a stride. He

:47:52.:47:58.

had his bit of luck, but you need that. Absolutely. A brilliant piece

:47:58.:48:06.

of riding. We have eventually got a laugh! In the last six weeks, this

:48:06.:48:13.

man has been riding out of his skin, at every show he has been at. Can

:48:13.:48:22.

this man share the Alltech Christmas puissance? Guy Williams,

:48:22.:48:26.

trying to equal that performance by Pius Schwizer. He is in trouble

:48:26.:48:32.

already, she is seeing the fences and running at them. Guy Williams

:48:32.:48:39.

has got to quieten her down and take his time. He has got the

:48:39.:48:46.

stride, he has jumped it! Wow! That was another brilliant piece of

:48:46.:48:50.

riding. He could not have got a better shot if he had tried 20

:48:50.:48:56.

times. That was absolute perfection. Guy Williams, on top form, could

:48:57.:49:02.

not have ridden it any better. is going to be a day that this man

:49:02.:49:08.

is going to remember for a very long time. Look at this. Look where

:49:08.:49:13.

he got her to. That is where she needs to be. She makes that clean

:49:13.:49:17.

shape, she is so anxious to get to the wall. Drives her into the

:49:17.:49:20.

bottom, so much better than the round before, and didn't even touch

:49:21.:49:28.

it. Brilliant. The young horse won the speed class earlier, and now,

:49:28.:49:35.

with Pius Schwizer, Guy Williams on Richi Rich, at the joint winners of

:49:35.:49:45.
:49:45.:50:02.

There are the men of the hour, Pius Schwizer from Switzerland, now

:50:02.:50:08.

absolutely broad smile. And the man who really came of age in that

:50:08.:50:13.

final round of the European Championships, Guy Williams. The

:50:13.:50:19.

round of Titus is in Madrid we saw in -- was so special. And another

:50:19.:50:27.

great demonstration of his skill tonight. They very special evening.

:50:28.:50:33.

Let's say well done to both of the Williams -- the winners, Guy

:50:33.:50:39.

Williams and Pius Schwizer. Immense pressure going last? Yeah. I tried

:50:39.:50:43.

to jump the fence and she jumped at, so I am pleased. Is she difficult

:50:44.:50:49.

to ride? A little bit, she runs a bit, you have to be a bit quiet the

:50:49.:50:53.

first few times because she finds it very easy. The last few times,

:50:53.:50:57.

you can find some pressure, kicked her and tried to jump it. A good

:50:57.:51:01.

atmosphere in there? Brilliant, they love the puissance. It was

:51:01.:51:08.

really good. You enter a bit late, you are Babaji did? -- you entered

:51:08.:51:17.

it late, you are glad that you did? Thank you to the good people here,

:51:17.:51:22.

a good show. Olympia is top for the poor results, and I am very happy.

:51:22.:51:28.

The fantastic result, very good to watch, I am happy for both of you.

:51:28.:51:33.

That was a great class, it was only small but a really exciting finish.

:51:33.:51:37.

That was everything that puissance is. It is a competition about brave

:51:37.:51:42.

riding, brave horses. Very simple, contrasting styles. One horse

:51:42.:51:46.

jumping everything really big, another going over by a lick of

:51:46.:51:50.

paint. Two horses kept jumping and showing all the talent in their

:51:50.:51:55.

heart, it was fantastic. That looks a very difficult ride and I thought

:51:55.:51:58.

Guy Williams was disadvantaged, because Pius Schwizer jumped clear

:51:58.:52:03.

and he had to match him. When that happened, he thought, I am going to

:52:03.:52:07.

go out on a winner. The difference was, the horse stayed level. The

:52:07.:52:11.

time before, he got a bit of a joke on, like he had water in his car

:52:11.:52:21.

Beretta. Fay -- jerk. The last jump was perfection. Some are using it

:52:21.:52:30.

as a warm-up class for the World Cup? That is right. Some horses

:52:30.:52:34.

need competition. But tonight's jumping was fantastic to watch

:52:34.:52:41.

because we saw good heart. You can see a different competition but

:52:41.:52:46.

some of those riders and horses are involved tomorrow. It is live on

:52:46.:52:50.

BBC Two at 3:00pm. On Monday evening, the final class of the

:52:50.:52:54.

week is the Grand Prix. Life on the week is the Grand Prix. Life on the

:52:54.:53:02.

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