Live Equestrian: Olympia Horse Show

What a competition, my word. This

horse has been brilliant.

Such a

partnership these two, exceptional.

What a fabulous combination, pure

class as a rider. That was easy.

He's way over it!

Hello and welcome to the London

International horse show, one of the

highlights of the equestrian

calendar, today we bring you live

coverage of the World Cup, a class

that has brought in so many of the

top show from around the world here

at Olympia.

The Olympic gold medalist Foro

Switzerland, Steve Guerdat. He's

done it and he will take silver,

Harrie Smolders. He's really put

down the mark, Ben Maher. Lorenzo

showing his class. Van der Vleuten,

that is clear. Kevin Staut has

ridden out of his skin. Greg Dewar

till it winning the silver medal

with a clear round under pressure.

Peder Fredricson, European champion.

That's the magic of Scott Brash.

We are set for a thrilling World Cup

but there is plenty more coming up

too. Olympic gold medalist Charlotte

Dujardin and Carl Hester tell us

about their latest dressage

superstars in rating. There was a

gold rush for Great Britain at the

European Championships this summer.

We catch up with the eventing team

and para- dressage riders. And there

is highlights of the puissance, the

best we have had in years. Who could

tame the huge Olympia Wall? We are

backstage here at Olympia in our

usual spot and normal service

resumed, Tim Stockdale beside me.

Always great to see you, Tim.

Olympia has thrown up some wonderful

classes and attractive yet again so

mini of the world's top riders.

It

has been a fabulous week's jumping,

some wonderful classes and fabulous

jump offs, seven of the world's top

ten are here this week so it shows

the level of competition and also

the horses and riders are bouncing

off the surface this week, jumping

out of their skins so we have a

treat in store.

There are so many

top price shows these days and for

people at home who might not watch

much equestrian but tune in for

Olympia these are the gold card

holders, these horses crisscross the

globe at every opportunity. Will

they feel tired at this stage of the

season, or are they already ready

for action?

Horses always bring

themselves up for this type of

environment, these are show horses,

the adrenaline gets punching but you

are right, showjumping is a global

sport and these horses are on

aeroplanes going to Mexico,

Shanghai, Hong Kong, they are used

to this environment and lift

themselves for it.

The riders love

to come to Olympia. What is it about

the show? It's not the easiest time

of the year to come to London to

compete.

It is not but it's a very

traditional mark on the calendar,

they know this show is quality, the

facilities are outstanding for the

horses and riders on the level of

competition throughout the week and

there is good prize money. There is

a lot of good reason for the top

riders to be.

Tipp of the top

favourites of the crowd are former

world number ones Scott Brash and

Ben Maher. This British showjumping

chose not to send a team to the

European Championships, it was

hugely controversial and was a

decision that led to the resignation

of Tim from the British showjumping

International committee and we will

speak to him and by Lampard in a

moment but Let's hear from Scott and

then.

You are doing a look back at 2017,

how would you sum it up?

A building

year for me, we have a lot of new

horses in the stable, we have been

struggling a little bit since the

days of world number one, and the

results haven't been quite what I

was expecting this year.

A bit mixed really from my side. I

had a few injuries with some horses

so that has been a bit of a downer.

At the same time we won global tour,

Doha, second in the top ten last

week.

We must talk about what

happened in the summer, Great

Britain decided not to send a team

to be European Championships. Was

that the right decision, do you

think?

I don't think so, no. I think

we should have sent a team. There is

plenty of riders that need

experience at Championships. And

also older riders that have been

going well on the county circuit

that, you know, I feel should have

had a chance, Keith Shaw, Nigel,

these guys have been solid all

summer. It's disappointing because

looking towards Tokyo helps when

people have done a championship

already.

It is no secret it's been a

difficult year for our sport,

probably since the London Olympics,

it has a bit of a downward spiral.

We didn't have a team. If you look

at the statistics, in the riders

meeting they said 23% clear rounds

yesterday, in the second division

nations cup this year. They want to

send a team to the European

Championships. If we can't jump

clears in the second divisions

Nations cup it's not going to get

any better for the European

Championships. I think sometimes

sending younger riders, some people

might say it's experience but if

it's not a positive it can lead onto

a negative.

Why did you rule

yourself out of the Europeans?

I

didn't rule myself out, my horse was

on the list to go and she got

injured and Hello For ever was

deemed not reliable enough for a

championship but I didn't rule

myself out.

Do you feel an

obligation to have horses at the top

of their game so you can go to these

competitions?

Absolutely, yes. We

love jumping for our country and

want to jump for our country and

want to win medals but me and Ben

are realistic, we know what it takes

and there is no point going just to

make up the numbers and destroying

your horse for years to come.

Everybody says Scott should have

gone, then should have gone, they

didn't go because a bigger prize

money in other places. But it's not

the case, it is unfair to keep

relying on Scott, or are likewise

asking my owners to give my

students' horses to borrow for the

show when they are not quite ready.

Hopefully we can build another pool

of horse rider combinations and get

through next year with a qualifying

spot for Tokyo.

Back to the fun side

of Olympia, how special eight show

is it for you as a British rider to

be here finishing off what is a long

and arduous season?

I always say

it's one of my favourite shows of

the year. The time of the year, it

gives the show a magical feeling and

the crowd is on another level to

many of the other shows we go to.

It's amazing to jump here and we all

want to win and give our home crowd

something to cheer about, it puts up

a good competition.

I'm delighted to

say that the performance manager

from British showjumping Di Lampard

is alongside us and it shows you

what a divided decision it was that

even Ben May and Scott Brash can

decide whether it was right to send

a team to the European

Championships. Explained the

decision not to send one.

Our

priority this year was to get GB are

into division one and that was our

priority and we succeeded doing

that. We have a small pool of horses

and to be able to cover everything

is impossible. Come the end of the

year when we still had accounting,

Nations cup to go to the week after

the European Championships,

priorities had to be made and we

achieved our milestone target for UK

Sport, got back into division one

where GB should be.

Tim, you felt

strong enough to resign from the

committee had been on for over a

decade. Why were you so upset with

the decision?

I sat on the

international committee which is not

a selection committee, it's a

committee to dictate policy on the

way we plan forward for the season

for the international for the

senior, Junior and Young Riders. At

no point in any of the meetings I

attended, which was all of them,

100% record going to the beatings,

was it ever mooted or talked about

that we would not attend. So to hear

that we would not send a team after

consultation with all the people

involved, I felt was not correct. As

a result of which I felt so strongly

about the fact I thought it was the

right decision that there was

nothing else I could do but

resigned.

Have you ever been on a

team where it was better to go and

gain any form of experience, and

maybe quash the doubters that there

might have been, and is it ever

worth taking that chance?

There is

nothing like experience, you can't

beat experience. You do want a good

experience. I haven't been on a team

but I've seen bad experiences in the

past. And we don't want to do that.

Either with the athlete or the

equine. We have to think of the

welfare of the horse. We keep going

back, let's look forward, we have

some lovely horses that will be ten

years old next year and that nine

years old the riders made the call

not to take their nine-year-old

horses this year. Looking forward to

Olympia here, what we are all here

for, we are going to C4

nine-year-olds today in the World

Cup.

In terms of the state of

British Showjumping, Tim, where do

you think we are going forward?

We

have to start getting some clear

plans on what is going to happen, we

need a pool of riders that know

which end of the rope we need to be

pulling so that we pull in the right

direction and also talk about giving

riders experience and that will not

happen when we don't go to

Championships, and even if we'd been

in the situation where we would have

taken a younger rider for

experience, actually that might have

been something that would have led

going forward.

Two Young Riders went

to the under 25s, there was a

Canterbury there this year. N has

already said, so as not worth

repeating, the percentages of the

clear rounds that were jumped this

year but look at the other

Europeans. We had two European

Championships in August, whatever

mastic medal haul the young riders

did -- what a fantastic medal haul.

You can only win the Lottery if you

buy a ticket and not going with a

team there was no chance.

If you

only target one championship a year,

you either opt for the senior or the

young Rider.

It's going backwards a

little bit but going forwards can we

very clearly state we are going to

send a team?

Of course we are.

A

great place to end unforced I feel

this discussion could go on for the

next three hours but thank you for

your input. It's a different

discipline but a similar problem for

the British para- dressage team.

Venue if they headed to the European

Championships there would have to do

so without some of their big names

but they sent a team and gave the

opportunity to three new riders to

make their senior debut alongside

the experienced Olympian Sophie

Wells. It was team gold, a host of

individual golds and yet another

heist. Good to see so many medals,

you have another three to add to

your already huge medal collection.

Just look back on the European

Championships and tell us how

special they were.

It was really

special this time. We went in a

little bit as underdogs and it was

maybe a bit of a tense time but that

made it more special when we came

out on top and everyone achieved

their best and I knew that if

everyone did their best we would

have a good shout at the team medal.

Obviously when you are on the team

no one lets you forget that we have

never lost the team medal. So I

think people were under pressure but

I think it's the sign of a good

competitor if you can thrive under

it.

You are vastly experienced as a

horsewoman. How special was it for

you to be part of this team?

This

has been the most important thing of

my life. It's been an absolute

dream. I think I've been more

excited about competing at paras

than any of the able-bodied things

I've done.

This is something you

would never have envisaged that you

would be part of.

Never, ever. I'm

this able-bodied, I was healthy and

well, so I never thought I be part

of a para team to start off with

health-wise, and certainly at my

age, so to come in and be selected

to go to Gothenberg was just

unbelievable.

You had come close in

previous years, so when you got the

chance to show when you could do and

showcase your talents, how special

was that?

Like you say, there have

been so many sort of near misses and

coming close and all of a sudden I

had the opportunity and I thought

I'd better make the most of it so it

was a huge relief to come away with

the medal.

Uhr three golds around

your neck and now you have had a

taste of it, even though there are

plenty of top riders in para

dressage in the UK, I bet you

wouldn't mind too much if you get

them out of their spot.

I'd be lying

if I said I didn't want to go to the

worlds and be on that next year so

I'm looking to that now. But

obviously with horses and us as

athletes it's keeping at the top of

our game. It's easier said than done

but we have a good support team so

we are very lucky.

What another

fantastic result for British para

dressage. It wouldn't be Christmas

if we didn't show you a collection

of extremely brave but slightly

bonkers riders hurling themselves at

a huge wall that stands taller than

them and their horse put together.

It's the puissance and my goodness

what a competitive puissance it was.

Sit tight and enjoy.

We have a going forward to the third

round and the crowd is starting to

get pumped up now.

This is one of

the best puissances we have seen in

many a year. The decision has been

made to raise the wall to two

metres.

Here we go, round three, and

into the arena Karline De Brabander.

She has been a terrific pathfinder

in both rounds so far.

This horse

has just come in, big powerful

stallion, made it look very easy so

far.

And again we are going to keep going

bigger and bigger tonight. Just too

good. However hard these course

builders choose to go she hasn't

even nudged the top of that brick

wall. Louise say well and Dassler.

The atmosphere is just starting to

get to Dassler -- Louise Saywell.

But Louise is a very calm rider.

She's got to keep him hocks under

him, get right in the corner, slow

the pace. You can see her slowing

everything right down, take your

time.

Well, I have to say Louise did

absolutely everything right. She got

to the right place and Dassler

didn't quite make the height. So

that 1's gone, but just didn't quite

get the shoulders in the hair.

Padraic Judge and Citi Business, all

so assured so far for this veteran

combination.

It's always interesting when you add

up the rider's age and horse's age,

66 years between them. But full of

running.

He's had to change his mind, but

well done! Brilliant piece of

riding. . It a bit close, held his

horse together. What a fantastic bit

of riding, improvised on the last

stride and made it happen. Now,

Louis Deforche and Gladstone.

This

is the one you've been looking

forward to. He's missed his stride

to the triple bar, it's gone, he ran

it to close.

What a shame.

He can

still get someplace money if he can

jump the wall. He's jumped the wall!

Goodness me! Is either too far off,

or to close, but he has still jumped

the wall.

That's got to be so

frustrating. Here she is, the horse

known as George, Quality Old Joker,

Holly Smith.

A complete contrast here. Everything

under control. Nice and quietly and

slowly into the corners.

It's a stroll in the park. In a hand

canter down to an enormous fence,

two metres and popped it as if it

was nothing.

So, now, Christopher

Megahey and Seapatrick Cruise

Cavalier. This one will raise your

pulse a little. Keep an eye as he

comes down to the wall.

No!

The

dreaded triple bar. Is he going to

retire? He's not going to bother.

Would you?

You can understand why,

he is an older horse, he's jumped a

lot of big things in his time and

he's not going to win tonight so you

have to congratulate him on his

decision to save he's had enough,

you don't have too jump the wall as

you made a mistake.

Three through to

the next round so far. Will Laura

Renwick add her name? Top Dollar VI

and Laura Renwick for Great Britain.

Top Dollar is a horse with a lot of

blood. Laura is going to settle him

right down. He's fighting a little

bit there. But what a jump. That was

absolute class. The younger horse

pops through the air through his

shoulders. That was good to watch.

We need to see that one again. Our

final competitor in this is Anthony

Condon riding Cavalier Rusticana for

Ireland.

Fantastic horse, we could

do with him into the next round to

keep the momentum of this class

going.

Beautifully done. He is through.

We

are going to get full value tonight.

The maximum five rounds will be

reached, I'm sure.

I would say so.

The crowd are really buzzed up now

with that massive wall raised to six

2.1 metres, last year the winner

jumped 2.15. Round four, Karline De

Brabander, Fantomas de Muze who has

been foot perfect so far, as has

this 12-year-old stallion. What can

they do here?

She has looked all

night like she is just having fun,

and the horse is still looks relaxed

and happy.

He is a proper jumper. He's still

making a beautiful shape over the

triple bar. A bit strong. But he's

done it again! A little bit more

untidy, had to struggle to get the

back end over but he's through.

She's done it, Karline, and Fantomas

de Muze is through to the final

round of the puissance, if indeed

that final round is necessary. We

will find out.

You can see that to

Fantomas de Muze knows where the

wall is. The shape of the jump is a

bit too high, slightly inverted in

his jump, went over to the

right-hand side but he fought really

hard.

Look at the smile on her face.

It just gets broader and broader

each around.

This is the horse that

this family bread from their own

stud. So he's obviously part of the

family.

Padraic Judge and Citi Business in

the second round.

These other senior

members in this class tonight. This

horse is really brave and very

powerful. Just doesn't want to run

in quite so close this time.

Perfectly done, he got a much better

stride that time. That was

fantastic.

We have a real contest on

our hands and it may take a good bit

more winning than last year, that's

two through.

Padraic Judge and Citi

Business, look at this again.

Padraic Judge looked cool after

jumping it but I wonder what is

going on inside his mind because

that was a very good jump. He made

exactly the right place on his

take-off. He ran into close Last

Time.

CHUCKLES

Connections there. He's not smiling

much, maybe he is just about

smiling.

He knows he has more work

to do.

He has more work to do but

he's going into another round. Here

we go then. Bidding to defend her

crown, Holly Smith and Quality Old

Joker for Great Britain.

So, is Holly going to have to put a

little bit of pressure on this

horse, or is she just going to pop

over this wall as quietly as she has

been doing all night? Really taking

her time, using the arena. Quietly

does it.

APPLAUSE

Exactly the same again, at a canter.

Even to the untrained eye that never

looked in doubt.

No pressure, no

fuss, no stress, quite canter, into

the bottom, pop to jump.

Extraordinary. You won't see that

very often. Very quiet. I love the

way she takes her time. Holly Smith

is so cool.

The horse known as

George, and he is a gentleman,

George, as well.

He never question

is what Holly's telling him. He

stays in the balance that she wants

and that makes her life so much

easier. What a lovely brain that

hopes has got. -- lovely brain that

paws has got.

So, two more to jump

in this round and the next is Laura

Renwick also for Great Britain on

Top Dollar VI, just an

eight-year-old, and this horse has

looked some proposition with some

scope this evening.

The fascinating

thing is he has almost been jumping

a bit too high. He tapped the triple

bar, it's still there.

He does it again! Brilliant.

This is

sensational puissance jumping, and

four have cleared this height in the

fourth round without any bother

whatsoever.

Just have another look

at that. Into the right place,

giving it a lot of air, making it a

classic shape, and getting those

shoulders so high and finishing it

off behind. Making 6'11" just for

fun. A little wry smile. Laura's

husband, John, said tongue in cheek

to me would might just go one or two

rounds.

They are going to go all the

way. And will it be a fifth in the

final round?

It would be great if it

were, really put some pressure on

the course builders here. Anthony

Condon for Ireland and Cavalier

Rusticana.

It has been such a

brilliant decision by the Olympia

show to bring in these puissance

specialists. We are getting the

benefit of this class. And there we

lose one in the most annoying way,

that triple bar going with a lazy

jumper. The wall has been the easy

one in this round. Well, they are

such specialists, but not this time,

the wall going as well. It's all

over for Anthony Condon tonight,

he's given it a go, but we still

have another fantastic round to

come. We have, because four

competitors are eligible for the

fifth and final round, and they are

Karline De Brabander for Belgium.

By

Greg Judge for Ireland, Holly Smith,

Laura Renwick, and what frustration,

going three times. Whether his

frustration just went, Anthony

Condon, just ran into the wall.

Confirmation of the fifth and final

round in this Cayenne Puissance at

Olympia, first to go will be Karline

De Brabander for Belgium and then

add rate judge, Holly Smith and then

Laura Renwick. -- Padraic Judge.

Here we go then. Karline De

Brabander with Fantomas de Muze.

7'3", the wall now.

Over the triple

bar he is very loose with his act

end, but just at the wall he gets a

bit tight, he's going to have to

free it off. He hit it front and

back. Really brave effort there.

From Karline De Brabander. But as it

stands, until any of the others

clear it she is still in pole

position.

She is.

There is no

guarantees the others will clear.

You can see he threw himself at it a

little bit. His head comes up, the

shape of the jump goes and he has

just pushed himself beyond where he

can keep the shape of his jumper. He

is a very brave horse and he has

given it a go but he got his head up

a bit too high -- the shape of his

jump.

She is ensured the top four

spot if the others don't make it.

At

this height there is no guarantee of

anybody clearing it.

Next to go Citi

Business, 15-year-old, and Padraic

Judge, winner of the horse of the

year show puissance.

Padraic Judge

looks, when he comes in but I wonder

what's really going on inside his

head.

Make him wait. Oh! Great effort, he

hit the right spot and couldn't

quite get the height, fantastically

brave horse, gave it everything he

had got at couldn't quite make the

height. Nothing wrong with the

approach at all.

Those ten

centimetres really making the

difference in this final round.

This

is very serious territory now.

Brilliant ride, got to the right

place. Couldn't quite make the

height. Just maybe a fraction of it

if you are being a bit picky. But

horse and rider giving it absolutely

everything, they just couldn't quite

jump it. We're just seeing how

difficult it to jump 2.2 metres.

And

two chances left for a rider to

accomplish that mission. The first

of those will be last year's joint

winner, could she get a share of the

spoils to night? Could she win it

out right on Quality Old Joker, it's

Holly Smith.

oxers will she have the nerve to

come as high as two metres 20.

So

far she has not come out of a

canter.

far she has not come out of a

canter.

Got to approach this the same. Into

the quiet canter and trust the jump.

Maybe a little too quiet, a super

slow canter, that's the tactic she

is used all night but so far none of

them have jumped it.

Will it be a

four way tie for victory or can

Laura Renwick come in and claim this

boils alone. -- spoils.

Fascinating,

Holly Smith sticking to her tactics,

very quiet, didn't want to use any

pace gave it a go but couldn't get

his body high enough. We thought

220, with a bit elevation would sort

them out, sorting it out a bit too

well. 220 is massive. When you have

those horses coming into the last

round, what can you do?

Laura, it's

on you.

Yamahas. Top dollar. Fourth

last year. Winner last time. None of

the other horses have been able to

get their front like high enough,

this one has been going high enough

all night.

She's done it.

Extraordinary. Terrific finish. That

was something special, that force

for every inch of the way, got too

close. Had a bit of a clout but what

a fighter. He just wouldn't give in.

What a magnificent way to finish

what has been a spellbinding event

and the crowd are rising to their

feet. A standing ovation but Laura

Renwick has done it.

This horse

fights all the way, Laura says, on

and a massive effort and flicked his

back end away. He tried so hard,

runs in a little bit close and then

he fights. Laura is a tough

competitor.

What a brave for us. We

were in for a treat all the way

tonight and what a finale. And how

close was this brick to toppling?

You need a bit of luck but the horse

deserved it because he tried so

hard, the only horse to get his

front end that high.

The previous

round he had the greatest elevation.

Just got so high with his shoulders

and John Renwick said he might only

go one round. You didn't believe

him, did you?

Not for one second.

Confirming the result. What a climax

it was. Saving the very best to the

last possible nanosecond. The crowd

absolutely loved it. Laura Renwick

winning for Great Britain. The

eight-year-old might be back next

year and the year after.

That was such a competitive class.

We know you are one of the stars of

the show last year, you got so close

this year?

My house was really

close, jumped fantastic in the first

four rounds and jumped well and the

last one, just robbed a break and

didn't have luck but we are

delighted with him, he does it all

with a smile on his face, he is not

a one trick pony, there is space to

keep him for longer.

Laura,

congratulations, we have a

conversation every year seeing you

are not a huge fan of Puissance and

now you have jumped seven feet three

inches to clear this.

He jumped

three rounds then and jumped it very

well. I'm not a fan of this class

but he is very good at it and then

do this year we had a real shot. I

was there was going into the last

round. He tried his heart out.

Comes

down to confidence, that's as big as

you have ever jumped and you have

depressed he can do that?

Everybody

saw him up until the round, the

wasn't within an inch of touching

that brick, the last one I didn't

have the greatest stride. He tried

everything to get his body and legs

out of the way and we were lucky,

I'm not saying we weren't bad I will

take that.

You could hear the crowd

were so on-site for you, crowd

favourite and you came out,

everybody was clapping. A lot of

well-wishers.

That was my son, he

was laughing because you say if I go

and I don't ball and he tells me to

go. He was actually quite proud of

me tonight to keep going that far.

Really pleased.

Laura Renwick

acknowledges the crowd, one more

time. The heroine of this evening's

Puissance representing Great

Britain. The youngest horse in the

line-up. Laura Renwick is your

winner.

What a wonderful Puissance and Laura

Renwick is hugely popular here.

It's

always a great crowd pleaser at

Olympia. Thursday night was a

classic.

What is it that the drug

can associate. She was on the

shopping village and talking to

everybody.

And she goes in the ring

she gives it everything. Puissance

Or speed class, she is brave even

though something she gives the

impression she is worried. She goes

like anything.

We will take a walk

round is huge World Cup course in

just a minute but in showjumping,

those jobs might be a bit smaller

than these mines but you need to

have such accuracy in eventing when

it comes to all three phases over

showjumping, dressage and

cross-country. That is exactly how

Great Britain got their hands on yet

another team gold at the European

Championships.

Great Britain takes

Great Britain takes the gold.

Kina, I imagine it was much more

pleasant for you instead of working

for us and the BBC. To get back onto

that team, how important was that

for you?

It was really important for

me, as much as I enjoyed working for

the other side, I would love to have

been competing. It's an exciting

young horse was very much that

future ahead of him and he was very

good at Badminton and when I

finished tenth and I was going it

see what sort of horse I got and how

exciting he is and to have that

opportunity to go to the European

Championships was fantastic.

You set

it all out for yourself and sadly

you horse couldn't compete on the

Sunday, explain the background to

that?

On the Sunday, there's a

veterinary inspection, the girl 's

horses looked ready to jump on my

horse was a little bit sore, the

first time he has been rattled

around on that sort of terrain, so

we decided it was best in the

long-term for him not to jump that

day.

I imagine the aim is always the

same, to have a clear round of

showjumping but it wasn't just any

clear round, there was an awful lot

stake?

It becomes a lot more

important, he hadn't had a pull-down

for 99 years. He's a great jumper.

It was all about me making sure the

preparation was right and it all

paid off.

COMMENTATOR: Nicola Wilson

of Great Britain takes the bronze.

You're left with two medals. Some of

your memories and emotions of that

whole time.

Going into the

championships I knew she was in a

good place physically and mentally

and to come away with gold and

individual bronze was a dream come

true and lovely to get the

individual medal.

The whole. Medals

to your name but he does this one

compare what might really important

for Britain to come home with a

medal and gold. In our personal

bests and we could be vying for the

medal but coming back with the goods

met a huge amount for the lottery

funding and everything for the whole

nation.

It was incredibly important.

Here are, it is coarse wok time,

anything can happen if you have

watched as the last couple of years,

Tim has destroyed some fences, we

will try not to let that happen

again. Yet another big, foreboding

course, as you would expect, it is a

World Cup and my goodness this first

fence is tricky alongside the crowd

and in a corner.

Tricky, I am seeing

big. That's a big first fence, if

you didn't realise how serious this

is, we are now finding out. Straight

at parallel. Straight into the

crowd. You have got 50 metres before

the audience. People sat right on

the edge, that can be distracting

for horse and rider, so make sure

they are on the ball.

How often do

you get in competitions and run the

world the crowd so on top of the

horses and riders.

This is unusual,

two in the world that have this

arena that is so close access for

the crowd and the horses. Number two

just round the corner. Have to try

to keep out. Number two. Again at

parallel, fairly straightforward.

This is quite a nice fence. Good

definition. The horse can see that.

We are now in the course. How

important is

that. We are going into

the arena. These are big and bold

colours, is that important for

horses going on in here. Easier for

the horse to jump the fence if he

can see the definition it is a

general rule, the more definition

the more the horse can work and see

it and be able to visualise it but

that is then used as a challenge and

I will point that out as we walk

around the course.

I will stride it

out. Where is the horse going to

land? Just joining in there, about

here. It shows you the sort of

league they are having to do and

four got my strides is one horse.

Four of ten strides is one horse

stride. This is where you take off

from.

Half-hour stride away.

Vertical, vertical, five strides,

you're going past two fences in the

horse's I like, so the horse must

concentrate and not focusing on the

wrong one. That is about the rider,

with his skill to tell the messages.

These first fences have a lot of air

in between.

They are all about being

more careful, then the old days they

would have all these things in

there. The shallow crutch and the

rounded end, so these fall off very

easily.

This is when I start to get

nervous.

Through the gap.

We are

going all the way around the top

end. All the way around and we have

the combination. This is number

four.

Dellit he has put this in a tidy

place, this is OK because he is a

loving the horses to go run that

fence.

That will hold the horse in

the balance and it gives him a nice

bit of room to get this combination.

The way this course is done, it has

used the colours, all the same and

then what happens, if you look at it

from this angle, down here, just

looks like a mass of polls. The

horse is not sure what he can see

and how many strides are in between

because it looks like a massive

black and white bar.

The width of

this one and you have to get this

one right before your heading onto

the others. If the camera shows us

the width here. You have to have a

pretty good wingspan for that.

You

have to be solid and there, the

right at of power but not too much.

Then I vertical, I don't know the

distance. That is a normal one

stride in there, so as long as you

get nice balance, the horse stays in

the current rhythm and you have one

stride in the middle and that's not

too bad. Could be taller but that's

OK. Just one hole left to go up but

that is maybe for the jump off.

If

the horses are getting things wrong

by this stage they are in all sorts

of trouble in the third element.

If

they get to the wrong balance, too

much in front or behind, they can

pull it up, so they have to get in

their balance and stay there. We

will go through this gap here.

I

cannot see one! There is one.

Just walking around these riders so

I don't get in the way. I didn't

want to walk in front of riders.

Two

strides in the centre, a little bit

short, sought the horse has to back

off, jump the front real because

that would be quite close button

still hadn't noticed as a back real

to it as well. You see why they call

it at parallel. From the horse's

point of view they have to judge not

only the front rail but also the

back real and it's a little bit

short, so if you go with too much

pace in this aspect because you

think this is why,.

Have you marked

this down as a trouble spot?

This

will fold down quite a lot in my

opinion. The first oxer could be a

problematic jump.

A lot of fences to

be jumped at this point.

We are heading down to number five.

It is actually bigger than Edwina

Tops-Alexander who is standing in

front of it.

Laura is looking at it

as well. Problem is right by the

entrance, the horse will be a bit

concentrating wondering what's

happening here, by the entrance.

These horses know where they have

come from. That will fall them,

that's a difficult job not because

of the high but the positioning and

delicate nature.

Sharp turn.

A lot

of riders ruling that Pole to see

how steady it is. Big solid fence,

very different to the fences we have

had so far.

News had big solid fence

but if you look at these, this is

not a time for Django. --

slightest little tap and it falls

off and that goes very quickly.

There will be hardly any time to

breathe as you call down that

corner. The other thing, really

important to point this out, as the

horse is turning, he is looking at

11 and two. Not that one, not that

one, this one.

There has been such a

different looking fence on the first

we have seen from this on the

course. Will that surprise any of

them or are they so used to seeing

it so used to it but they are

careful horses, they would view that

with trepidation, this is a leap of

faith, they cannot see the other

side.

There could be a ditch, they

just trust the riders.

I'm trusting

you. We are actually breaking into a

canter now. We are striding these

fences out as the riders are

spreading these fences out and this

is a very different one.

What do I

think so far? Lorenzo, my friend

from Italy.

Big cause, very

technical, everything comes very

quickly.

Good chance today?

I hope

so.

Very different looking fence,

six big strides but what is

important, the water trail.

The

simulated water tray, there is one

horse and rider in this field, the

horse doesn't like these. Olivier

Robert. He said the horses by

jumping these and there are two of

these.

We will try to find him and a

minute! We are at seven, 16 jumping

on this course. We go down to

another big upright. A lot of air in

between it and so much for the

horses to be looking at. The horses

can see the crowd and everything

going on.

This is not me really

thinking, I have got that walk down,

three or four? Four. There is a

really long three strides and it's

really long, out here. A really

short four strides which here.

Christian Ahlmann things four. Most

of the competition will do four.

This is difficult, really short and

will test the concentration of horse

and rider. Turning back on yourself.

Lets you run round to this one. Very

bold fences, big wide triple bar.

We

are taking off from here.

What is

that this is a horse will have to

cover in the air to clear this.

The

jump is two meters wide, 1.5 metres

from here and two metres the other

side. We looking at a leap of about

18 feet. Nine metres in new money.

Seven metres. That's a big jump,

really big stretchy jump and I will

walk the distance and you can see,

just again, this one, if anything

happens, that can go down and it

will fall. Horse and rider will not

get hurt.

It's important that they

think of horse and rider welfare.

Scurrying on. A snowman fence. The

horses look at things like that, do

they actually see what's going on

around the jump?

Not really. They

are concentrating on these fences

and we have three polls nothing to

distinguish. They don't normally

jump wide rails very well. Normally

a little bit wary of a white rail.

That tent set.

Coming down to the

entrance of the arena. We are

turning back away from the entrance

and look at this. Looks like a pole

but it is a little plank and light

weight and it could be a problem.

This is a related distance?

One

stride in there so you have to get a

good solid jump in and hope the

horse sees the back rail and goes

forward. We have got one and their

high line just there.

Here is the

other water tray you were talking

about.

Three strides, committed three

strides but where that is, that is

pulling the horse closer to that

because he is set behind the line,

that could follow very easily on the

three strides and we have the last

fence, just when you think. You have

no time to think.

A bit of a

discussion between Cian O'Connor and

then. What do you make of the

course?

Very careful, a lot of

poles, told verticals, I think there

will be falls all around the course,

difficult enough.

Have a good one.

Committed five strides to the last,

so you have to get yourself

organised and make sure you

concentrate and go right to the

corner, this is the signature of the

courses this week. The defence but

it looks like the horse are leaping

into the crowd. Very difficult to

jump. You not clear until you jump

that one.

A lot of jumps in corners

on the angle.

The positioning, as

well as the height of the jumps is

all about control and to focus on

the jumps. I think it's that the --

this is a difficult course. They are

going to come up at you very

quickly. The horse had to get into a

rhythm and hope horse and rider are

working together.

That is what Ben

was seeing, it is technical.

Technical and quickfire. There is no

respite in this course. They are

going to comment you like bullets.

Thanks for your expertise. Speaking

of expertise, these two were not

competing this began but much to the

crowd get into like they did turn up

to deliver a dressage masterclass

and showcase some of their

youngsters.

You have been in a massive this

year, not competing.

The horse was

in the masterclass which was

slightly under the age of experience

to compete here. Such high hopes for

them and we thought maybe we would

bring them here, showcase them and

see how they felt and next year we

intend to be back here, it's ever

favourite sure, we love it. We

managed to get a piece of the

atmosphere by bringing the horses

here.

People love to see you here on

that horse, but not any more, does

feel different on a different horse?

Guess it's not the same because I

had such a partnership with them for

so many years and is excess we had

was unbelievable but the nice thing

is that Freestyle is a very exciting

horse, gets Karel riding for longer,

as he keep tellingly, he has turned

50 and he wants to slow down. --

keeps telling me. It's great for us

that we can still go out there and

bring back some medals, hopefully.

Carrying British talk for a long

time and coming along the right time

on the right ages, especially for

the next Olympics.

These are the

stars of the future, we hope. How

different are the?

Mount Sinjar on,

Khan freestyle, never been in this

environment before and can cope so

well with everything. Real

performer.

Very talented and calm.

He's a little bit of a chicken where

I have to give him the confidence to

say it's OK but tonight he was

fantastic. I had a really good right

so feel very lucky to have these two

after my last horse.

What is the

NextEv for a horse like this.

We

would like to start the Grand Prix

career in March. Maybe the World Cup

series after that. Hopefully coming

back here to Olympia.

Great to see

you here. Great to see so many stars

from all equestrian disciplines here

over the last few days. Not long

until World Cup showjumping but

dressage has its own World Cup and

two classes here and on Wednesday

night it was the Grand Prix

freestyle which is essentially

dressage to music and the honours

went to Sweden's Patrick Kittel.

Good to start off with, last by the

horse got a little bit deep and

behind it. The interesting to see if

they can keep him up and open in the

canter work tonight.

Showing lots of expression.

Quite careful into that extended

trot, didn't rush the horse out of

balance.

Correct in the positioning.

Actually

had more reach and stride.

Wasn't as

spectacular as some we have seen but

very correct, like you say.

What do you think? 7.5 for me.

I

would agree.

There he goes, changes

the bend and into the right trot and

that's quite difficult to do and he

did it very well, maintaining the

horse's balance.

It was really nice.

Seven and three quarters?

Gone up a

bit!

Horse just swinging a little bit.

Tending to sway a little bit at the

front. Surprised he did it on the

centre line in front of the judge.

Could have chosen a better place to

cover that up.

Little bit tense on

the walk. But relaxing once the

reins let longer. Good extended wok.

Good length of frame and I think he

was brave to allow the horse out

knowing that he might be a bit

tense.

I would like to see just a bit more

activity, slowed down a bit too

much. The changes you can see the

horse is starting to get his head

down a bit again, which will cost

him small marks. But it's all about

margins, isn't it? Competitive

classes. Better frame in the

extended canter.

And in comparison with last night,

the overall frame has much improved.

Is it a harder test? Not so far

particularly.

Quite a lot of swinging from the

rider there.

it's not a hard test but so far

everything is coming off and that's

the difference, isn't it?

It is a funny combination of being

elastic but without energy, got

energy but not quite put in the

right place.

What he doesn't do is

support himself enough with his hind

leg which is why he tends to splay a

little bit.

Then the outline of the

frame goes and he drops down. Lovely

all the same. He can be very pleased

with that.

I think the smile says it all,

congratulations. Did you expect to

win this class this evening?

Not at

all I didn't expect anything, just

wanted to do a good and he went

really well, it was really close. To

night I came out on top.

This is a

very special arena and the crowd are

absolutely on top of you when you

are in there. Is this something you

knew your horse would appreciate and

settle or was it an unknown?

He

loves it, I love the people so

close, they can almost touch the

horse, I love that because we need

the crowd to feel the riders and the

horse. I love that about London.

It

was a mammoth journey to get here,

tell is about the journey and what

you had to do to compete at Olympia.

The planes were cancelled because of

the weather and I took the car and

it was thing was cancelled, we drove

from Germany and it took 13 hours to

get to London but once settled in it

was such a show and I would travel

three days to get here.

Congratulations, well-deserved.

Great result for Patrik Kittel.

Fabulous result for ML Fourier who

was second with his new horse delay

sheer. He said he wasn't a surprise

to be second, it was a miracle. Ones

to watch for the future. It is time

for World Cup showjumping, we can

join our

COMMENTATOR: Anticipation is

building in the Grand Hall at

Olympia ahead of the Longines FEI

World Cup Andy Austin is alongside

me, you have walked the clause, what

can we expect? -- walked the course.

Right into the big box, we start

with two oxers, two Power fencers

and into this difficult related

distance. This is a moment on the

course when they can relax but now

here is the real deal, huge

combination, big oxer, short stride

through vertical, and then a very

difficult oxer coming out and soon

you jump that you've got to go over

the left-handed one over another 160

vertical, a big wall here, quickly

off the corner, six floaty strides

up to the water tray. A very short

light distance to this vertical,

that's going to be a difficult fence

to jump in the corner. Here is the

triple bar, Tim talked about how

wide this was earlier. They love

having a wide vertical after a

triple bar, always difficult to

jump. The horse is tiring towards

the end of the course. The big

double, you need a lot of power to

jump out of the double, and then

that last fence coming round the

corner very quickly. They will be

tired at the end of this course.

Are

you surprised by the cause, or is it

what you expected?

It is a typical

Olympia World Cup, technical, very

light and plenty big enough.

We want

it to be difficult, it is after all

the Longines FEI World Cup. 13

nations represented, 36 competitors,

nine of them representing Great

Britain. The first of those 36 comes

in in front of this packed house in

this intense arena now. This is

Anna-Julia Kontio riding the Bay

nine-year-old gelding Lorenzo of

oxer.

Always interesting the first

competitor in, we want to see how

other course will write and what the

distances looked like and crucially

the time allowed which is 70

seconds.

Finland, our first competitor,

Anna-Julia Kontio riding Lorenzo.

Lovely Holstein Kiel gelding by

Landos. Coming into that first big

oxer, the first two fences should be

relatively straightforward. Five

level strides into the third. This

is the big line we talked about now.

Huge combination. Very well ridden.

There is a lot of very quickly. Six

strides seemed to be OK but they've

just got to sit up. Beautifully

ridden there. So, so far, really

good round. Oh! Got too close, and

extra stride into the vertical after

the triple bar, that's going to be a

difficult problem for everybody. You

can see, I said horses would tire at

the end of this course, this one

definitely losing a bit of shape and

jump. It's a really tough course at

the end.

It all started so well but

ended rather in disappointment.

Three fences down, four faults for

each fence, so 12 faults for

Anna-Julia Kontio and Lorenzo, 12

penalties, just inside the time

allowed as you can see. Started

well, Andy.

This is where it all

went wrong, instead of keeping

moving ran in too close to the

vertical and that rather unsettled

her horse, you could see the shape

of the jump went quite badly over

the next double. So, the end of the

course is crucial, it's very hard

for the horses to keep concentrating

for so long.

The first now of the

nine British competitors in this

Longines FEI World Cup. This is

Robert Smith riding his own and

Karina Reily's Ilton. Great to see

Robert Smith riding at the top

level, such an experienced

competitor, he has run this three

times but the Last Time he ran it

was in 2005.

He's had a very long

career.

Down.

This Ilton is only a

nine-year-old and this would be one

of the biggest classes this horse

has jumped.

Robert Smith, son of the very famous

Hadi that so many riders of my

generation were inspired to get into

the sport by Harvey. The first two

riders are finding this course is

tough enough. I think the first

group of riders that we've got are

not the biggest names, not the most

fancied horses. We are not going to

see too many clear rounds in the

first ten.

The first part of that double is

really sticking up in the air when

the horses are tired. And another

horse really struggling at the end

of the round.

And one time penalty

as well, just over the time allowed

of 70 seconds, so 21 penalties in

total for Robert Smith and Ilton.

Just picking up on what you were

saying, Andy, it seems the course

builders are testing scope and power

early and then they are asking for

precision later which makes it

doubly difficult.

Exactly. When

horses are tiring and the reason it

is tiring is not because it is a

long course, it's because there is

no breather. If jumping outside

Exton with a huge arena you can

relax in some of The Open spaces but

this is incredibly intense. The

first two accommodations finding it

tough.

Extreme level of

concentration required here as our

third competitor comes into the

arena are representing Spain riding

Cuidam this is Manuel Fernandez

Saro.

Manuel riding for Spain, he is

based in Holland. This is a Dutch

bred horse by Verdi, the famous

Italian Maikel Van der Vleuten has

won so much on, so this one

certainly has the breeding. Manuel

is a very experienced rider. He

competed in the Olympics last year.

This is a horse with a lot of scope.

So we have seen quite a few

competitors get to this point in the

course and they look reasonably

comfortable but the pressure now

really starts to come on towards the

end. That's exactly what I'm talking

about. Complete lack of

concentration, four sure strides

running straight into that one. Just

four slightly open strides there.

Can't really add an extra one. This

is the fence they have found so

tough. Super careful there. That was

really good.

Oh! That was hard luck.

That's a

shame. Tipped that poll at the last

meaning two down and ate penalties

for Manuel Fernandez Saro. In the

context of what we have seen, quite

a respectable round.

Yes, it was a

good round but quite a bad mistake

if you watch the vertical, ran in

way too close, it was with a big

stride and found it hard to shorten.

Unlucky if you watch him at the last

fence. Just slightly tired, couldn't

quite get the back end away.

At this

very early stage Manuel Fernandez

Saro and Cuidam are out in front,

but so much to enjoy. This man, at

Olympia once again riding the form

horse Callisto blew, Michael

Whitaker.

This is one of the best

horses Michael has got his hands on

in the last few years, still

inexperienced, lovely ten-year-old

gelding by Chacco Blue and he has

been picking up a few points in the

World Cup qualifiers, eating placed

in Oslo, Madrid. Currently 14th in

the league.

Just made everyone's heart flutter.

That's his inexperience. You see how

brilliantly talented he is but for a

young horse this is such an intense

atmosphere and he just took his eye

off that fence and caught Michael

out. He gets four faults for that

refusal, and also he's going to get

a load of time faults and he's going

to be well over the 70 seconds so

that's Michael's chance is gone

today. But let's keep watching this

horse because this is a super

talented jumper. Is the kind of

horse that in the future would like

to see Michael riding on British

teams with.

But I love the fact that Michael is

such a professional he hasn't

allowed that upset to faze him. He's

kept up and back into his rhythm,

giving the horse confidence.

Obviously a mistake there. But this

is a horse to keep your eye on. It

has a lot of talent.

APPLAUSE

Well, that early run out and

obstacles down mean a total of 12

penalties for Callisto blue.

And

Michael Whitaker. Watch this.

Michael knew what he was doing but

the horse thought, and I meant to

jump that one? It comes so quickly

on an angle. That was just a bit of

a novice mistake going into the

double and then he has to use his

vast experience and presence of mind

to ensure this ultimately is a

positive experience for this horse.

Which it actually was in the end.

12

penalties for Michael Whitaker, as

the next competitor comes in, also

for Great Britain, and another

familiar name indeed, riding Denise

Stamp's Billy Mccain, this is

William Funnell.

This is a great

campaigner, William Funnell, a

stalwart of the British team for

many years, he breeds hundreds of

horses. This is one he has bred out

of an Irish mother. The owner,

Denise Stamp, I spoke to her earlier

in the week and she was very nervous

and excited about this horse jumping

for the first time in the World Cup.

This one is only nine years old. He

will need all of William's

experience to get him round.

You can see only a young horse but

very talented indeed.

Shortening up there. That was the

difficulty for all these younger

horses, to be able to shorten

quickly after such a wide oxer.

William Funnell is using all of his

experience. He is such a lovely

rider to watch. I think it's

important to remember, although you

are seeing a few fences coming down

there, these younger horses are

going into a completely different

level of competition so we mustn't

be too hard on them.

12 penalties,

three fences down for William

Funnell and Billy Mccain. You heard

from Di Lampard earlier saying they

want young and exciting horses in

British hands to try and rebuild

teams for the future.

We just seemed

two horses, I know they have had a

couple of problems, but they are

horses back and have a future on

British teams and give them another

year or two with these top riders

they will be there or thereabouts.

More to come, for sure, as William

Funnell heads back out to the

collecting area and we welcome our

next competitor. And this for Spain

riding Kaliyuga's Rokfeller de

Pleville Bois Mar, Eduardo Alvarez

Aznar.

Eduardo Alvarez Aznar, the

son of the great Olympic showjumper

and event rider, which is one of

those very rare combinations, one or

two people like Sir Mark Todd have

achieved that. This young man,

lovely rider, very stylish. You have

to say at the moment we are a long

way off seeing a clear round. This

is a long way off what we expected.

A lot of fantastic top combinations

still to come towards the end of the

field. That seems to be the hardest

line at the moment, early on in the

course. The horses have put so much

effort in. By little white delicate

vertical is very hard to jump on a

short distance. -- light vertical.

Four faults would definitely put him

into the lead at the moment. Inside

the time allowed as well

comfortable, so into the lead with

those four faults goes Eduardo

Alvarez Aznar.

There was a lovely

rhythmic stillness to his riding

this week.

He is a classic course

man, a lot of feel for what is going

on. Just watch here, very tight

distance, it means the horses must

shorten their stride very quickly.

That seems to be a fence that is

going to take a lot of jumping.

Eduardo Alvarez Aznar into the lead

with just the one fence down. As

into the arena now riding Ugo

Pisani's grey stallion kasbah,

Emanuele Gaudiano for Italy --

Caspar.

Great big strong stallion by

a good stallion, Berlin. Emanuel

Gaudiano has won this class in 2015

but it doesn't look like he's going

to win today. Early fence down.

Very interesting to see how Italian

showjumping is having a fantastic

renaissance at the moment. We have

another couple of great Italian

riders to come in this class. They

are right at the top of the sport.

He is one of the riders who has been

able to get the shore distanced to

that vertical. Very annoying early

fence down.

That double. The horse is tiring

again towards the end of the course.

So, disappointment for Emanuel

Gaudiano, 12 penalties and three

down.

Michael Whitaker, Ron Howard, you

didn't expect that, did you?

I

didn't, I don't think even got his

eye on the fence, he didn't expect

it to be there and saw it at the

last minute -- run out.

We can take

a look at it now.

He is flying now.

He just jumps out, I think he was

surprised by the fence being there.

How tricky is this course?

It is

tricky, a tricky big cause,

everything has to be bang right,

everything has to be dead right

otherwise you will not jump clear.

Bad luck today.

COMMENTATOR: Michael Whitaker has a

lot of context to judge the course.

Goodness knows family thousands he

has jumped in his career. Another

experienced competitor riding

S.C.E.A. De Lillebec's Rouge de

Ravel, this is Guy Williams for

Great Britain.

Seven riders gone. The best score so

far, just eight faults. 12 faults

plus the rest. It is a tough course.

It's what we expect. We will see

what Guy Williams can do.

Guy is riding with his normal strong

determination, he is a strong rider.

He will have to work hard at the end

of this course. You can see he's

already kicking and pulling a bit.

He was unlucky there.

Another competitor towards the end

of the course, you can see the

horses that are slightly outside

their comfort zone, they really get

tired down the last line.

Five

fences down in the end including all

three parts of the final

combination, 20 penalties for Guy

Williams and Rouge de Ravel. He was

riding with dynamism at the

beginning but the horse could not

sustain that pace.

The guy is a

talented rider, no mistake about it,

but you can't ride around this track

on a horse that is less than 100% on

his job. There is only so much the

rider can do.

So, next, riding his own hand Maria

Traber's Bay gelding from

Switzerland, Lord Pepsi, Paul

Estermann.

Paul Estermann is a very

experienced Swiss team member, he's

been around the sport for a very

long time. This horse has come

through in the last year or so. It's

one of those horses that on his day

can jump any track. He does have the

ability.

This horse is 11 now.

Just

coming into his best years.

Is that

the sweet spot for a showjumper?

Between ten and 15 is the best

years. This horse over the last

couple of years has been finding his

feet at 5-star level and he is

capable of jumping round here. That

was unlucky. Nothing Paul could have

done differently, he got his

distance and his rhythm right. That

last double is proving hard. It is

such a light plank. I think horses

are a little bit shot away by the

time they get to that part of the

track.

Two down, one of the better

rounds we have seen so far puts him

into second place, Paul Estermann,

behind Eduardo Alvarez Aznar with

eight penalties. We saw on the

course walk with Tim and Lee how

these polls really needed just a

breath to come off those shallow

cups.

They are incredibly light. The

plank going into the double, just

breathe on it and it's going to come

down.

The first part of that

competition has caught so many

outcome is that because of the

proximity to the bend, there is no

room of a corner?

It is partly that

but also because it's at the end of

the course when the horse has been

under so much intense pressure to

keep jumping.

OK, next in, a horse

who has been competing extensively

in the United States but ridden by

the Britain Amanda Derbyshire,

Luibanta, owned by Tim feat.

Great

to see Amanda here at Olympia. --

owned by Gochman Sport Horse. He

said I could get you a job in

America and one thing led to another

and now she has a great team of

horses and worked her way up to the

top of the sport. She is a very

talented young lady and it's great

to see her making the trip from the

states where she is based to command

jump at Olympia.

You've been excited

to see this horse jumping here

today, haven't you?

We really wanted

to see this horse jump this track.

Is this a horse that could jump on

British teams? Very unlucky there.

Still jumping a good round.

Just to put this round into context,

this is the tenth rider in. The best

we have had is eight faults. We have

had one on four faults. It is a

really tough course.

And again,

started promisingly but the wheels

gradually began to fall off a little

bit.

We are getting a pattern here,

aren't we? They start off well. The

horses are finding it OK. Very often

that early vertical comes down and

the first part of this double is

incredibly hard to jump. The horses

have to be so accurate and careful

when they are a little bit tired.

So, 12, three down for Amanda

Derbyshire and Luibanta. Great to

see her at Olympia. Next, into the

arena the 11th competitor in this

Longines FEI World Cup, riding his

own Uno de la Roque, for Belgium,

Francois Mathy.

This horse is

technically French but the breeding

is Dutch, the famous Dutch stallion

is Numero Uno and the mother is the

great Kannan so very good blood. He

is well over six feet. He was born

and bred in the saddle, his father

was a brilliant rider in his own

right and one of the world's leading

horse dealers so he is sort of born

and bred into the job.

We have seen Francois Mathy in

England earlier this year, fourth in

the Grand Prix at bowls worth. He

writes a number of different horses

around the European circuit. I like

the way that big horse was able to

quickly get over that tricky

vertical. He has had that annoying

early fence down but well worth

concentrating to see if he can stay

on four faults. Not to be.

Into a

share of second place with eight

faults, Francois Mathy junior.

Having the Katiba the first two part

of that tricky, nation effectively

it was the final part of the water

tray underneath that caught him out

-- having negotiated.

Most of the

horses have been finding it OK.

Again, you can jump a good round

around here and still have two down.

The water tray possibly took his eye

off the top rail. So, 84 Francois

Mathy and next for Great Britain,

riding his own and Elisan's

Fandango, one of the most

experienced horses in this field, it

is William Whitaker. great to watch

William Wright. Very elegant and

stylish. He was our only represented

in the Europeans at Gothenburg this

year. Fandango, 14 years of age,

very experienced horse. Still

looking for our first clear round

and it is not going to be this one.

It's always interesting to note that

it's not was the biggest fences that

cause problems, it's just that

vertical, which is not the biggest,

in a difficult place on a short four

strides after a big oxer.

Brilliant

round. Very unlucky.

Into a share of

the lead. We will have a jump off

whether it is four faults or clear

is remains to be seen. We are in the

early stages. William Whitaker one

down and that was arguably the best

round we seen.

Here is the short

stride distance, jumped a bit on the

right-hand side. Great round from

William Whitaker. Fit perfect

everywhere else. The back foot

winces a little.

But you never know,

you might have done enough. We will

see some clears, I will stick my

neck out.

We have a really exciting

clutch of four in her role in ten

horses time but let's not forget

those in between times and this is

our next competitor. Wilm Vermeer.

A

rider with lots of wins and lots of

form, mostly at sea and four star

shows. He won the Grand Prix this

year. Only a nine-year-old.

Those of you interested in pack and

bridles. Have a look, it less

bridal, nothing in his mouth. How

would you like to ride round there

was no bit in the horse's mouth.

Some horses are happier if you just

leave them alone.

Tell me the different sensation of

riding with that bridal especially

on a course like this. What happens

is you don't get anything like the

same feeling. You have to give the

horse a bit more trust and freedom.

Very often horses are a bit

sensitive in the mouth and they will

jump better if you have nothing at

all on it. Two baldie fences, if we

can call them that and come down

again. Tough round. Wilm Vermeer,

four down, 16 penalties.

again. Tough round. Wilm Vermeer,

four down, 16 penalties. Amanda

Berisha, just watching all these

rounds and to get a clear is so

tricky and it seems like you're

around, a lot of the horses are

coming towards the latter stages,

why is that what might a lot of big

jumping efforts and by the end of

the course the horses are getting

tired.

The jumps are massive

tonight, come down very easily.

Hopefully there will be a couple of

clears near the end.

How technical