:01:10. > :01:14.It is the weekend before Christmas, the weather is dreadful. So outdoor
:01:14. > :01:18.sports don't look much fun. Our solution is come inside. Get a
:01:18. > :01:23.packed house for the Christmas show at Olympia and let's bring you one
:01:23. > :01:30.of the most popular classes here, it is all about the wall. Because
:01:30. > :01:35.this is the Alltech Christmas Puissance. A stack of wooden bricks.
:01:35. > :01:39.Do not be fooled. Puissance pushes competitors to the limit. Get it
:01:39. > :01:46.right, and you will soar like an eagle. Get it wrong and you will
:01:46. > :01:52.sink. We have the French to thank for the name. It means power. And
:01:52. > :01:55.these horses are courageous and powerful. As for the riders, they
:01:55. > :02:01.powerful. As for the riders, they must stay cool, calm and collected.
:02:01. > :02:08.He wants it to go up. In round one, you get three obstacles and then
:02:08. > :02:13.the wall. It starts off at 5'11", so imagine, say, Roy Keane, with
:02:13. > :02:19.horses sailing over his head. If you or the bricks come a Cropper,
:02:19. > :02:26.you are out. But if you go clear, you get to go again. As the wall
:02:26. > :02:31.starts getting higher, and higher, and higher. He is in big trouble.
:02:31. > :02:39.Last year Ben Maher and Noctambule Courcelle jumped seven foot three.
:02:39. > :02:43.That is the height of Peter Mayhew, chew backer from Star Wars. If you
:02:43. > :02:48.think that is tasty check out this, the dapper German holds the world
:02:48. > :02:54.record, jumping a staggering seven foot ten, back in 1991. That is
:02:54. > :02:59.about the same as the Olympic high jump record set by Charles Austin
:02:59. > :03:03.in 1996. But Charlie wasn't carrying round a jockey on his back.
:03:03. > :03:07.So if you keep taking off in style, don't knock your blocks off and
:03:07. > :03:13.land safely, you could take home first prize. Or, you may just want
:03:13. > :03:17.to curl up in a ball and pretend no-one's watching. Nick Skelton
:03:17. > :03:22.walked away from that fall but he knows too well, as do riders you
:03:22. > :03:25.are not always that lucky. The latest high profile casualty as
:03:25. > :03:30.this man Tim Stockdale. Explain this man Tim Stockdale. Explain
:03:30. > :03:35.what happened to you.. I had a bit of a prang off a young horse. I had
:03:35. > :03:42.a difficult fall and collided with a fence. I ended up resulting in
:03:42. > :03:48.three fractures of my vertebrae in the neck, C3, C4 and C5. And what
:03:48. > :03:51.is the general prognosis? Well, I have just come out of hospital two
:03:51. > :03:55.weeks' ago, I had five-weeks on my back. But the process of healing is
:03:55. > :03:59.working well. I have a scan in about three weeks time. If that
:03:59. > :04:05.goes according to plan we should start doing physio and be back
:04:05. > :04:10.riding by February. Hopefully jumping by March. So in your mind
:04:10. > :04:16.you targeting the London Olympics? Why not. Now, if anything, I have a
:04:16. > :04:20.bit more motivation, I mean, you know, this has been a major hiccup
:04:20. > :04:25.and two months later would have dented any plans, but the fact this
:04:25. > :04:31.has happened when it's happened. My horse will be rested. He is on a
:04:31. > :04:35.good rest while I'm in this situation. I should hopefully work
:04:35. > :04:40.myself into fitness. I want to be on that line that says please pick
:04:40. > :04:45.me. This has not done anything than fuel the furnace of desire. I know
:04:45. > :04:48.people are pleased to see you, your fellow rider, friends, everybody.
:04:48. > :04:53.In terms of the puissance class, you have won it a couple of time,
:04:53. > :04:58.how do you as a required approach this competition? Again, I think
:04:58. > :05:01.this is a horses for coarses competition. You wouldn't enter a
:05:01. > :05:06.competition like this unless your felt your horse was right for this
:05:06. > :05:11.class. This is all about big jumps, simple jumps, a big red wall, there
:05:11. > :05:15.is no point in taking a horse that is a coward, that is, too careful.
:05:15. > :05:19.You want a big bold jumper. Preferably one that uses his body
:05:19. > :05:23.in the right way. As a rider, you want to stay as cool and calm as
:05:23. > :05:29.you can, to give the horse every opportunity to jump when it gets
:05:29. > :05:33.big. It is not a big class. We only have eight Howe horses in it. Laura
:05:33. > :05:39.ren nick is riding two which is amazing says she hates the
:05:39. > :05:43.puissance. It is like she badgered herself into it. Don't you for get.
:05:43. > :05:47.When she gets in she is a competitor through and through.
:05:48. > :05:51.This being such a class for the real connoisseur type of horse. The
:05:51. > :05:55.fact there is only eight doesn't stop it being very good and one
:05:55. > :06:01.that could go very big. Tim has given you an idea of what the
:06:01. > :06:11.riders might be thinking going in, there but what about the horses,
:06:11. > :06:32.
:06:32. > :06:38.You might think we can't know what a horse is thinking but some people
:06:38. > :06:43.really can. Monty Roberts is the man about who the book the Horse
:06:43. > :06:46.Whisper was made and the leading horse psychologist here trained
:06:46. > :06:50.alongside him. Her name is Kelly Marks. What does a horse think when
:06:50. > :06:55.it comes in here? By the time they get here, you hope they have had,
:06:55. > :06:59.you would expect, they have had a lot of training, and a lot of good
:06:59. > :07:03.experiences. That is what is going to get them confident in themselves,
:07:03. > :07:09.and most importantly in the rider, so that when the rider asks them
:07:09. > :07:14.that question, they are ready to go forward. Just like the film the War
:07:14. > :07:19.Horse, that horse has to be ready and ready to go. In terms of the
:07:19. > :07:23.noise and the atmosphere, and there is a lot of excitement, it it must
:07:23. > :07:27.be such an adrenaline rush for the horse. I think the riders have to
:07:27. > :07:30.be able to focus totally. I think they can bring that through to the
:07:30. > :07:34.horse, we are here to do a job. That is what your train your horses
:07:34. > :07:39.to do, we are here to do a job now. This is a different class, because
:07:39. > :07:42.you are not coming in with lots of jumps and trying to find your way
:07:42. > :07:47.through, you are focusing on the wall. You have a couple of jumps
:07:47. > :07:52.before it, but this is your target. Now, this helps a lot, because this
:07:52. > :07:55.gives the horse almost something that splits the wall in two,
:07:55. > :08:00.doesn't make it look too daunting. Yes, with the classes you want the
:08:00. > :08:06.horse to get close in, and like that, because it is like when a
:08:06. > :08:10.horse jumps from a stand-still, if you have seen that, they go up, and
:08:10. > :08:13.really buckle in the air to get to clear over it. So they have
:08:13. > :08:17.incredible spring from the back end? Yes, the back end is where it
:08:17. > :08:21.is all happening. The other thing that is really interesting to watch,
:08:21. > :08:25.as they come into this fence. Some of them struggle to get their head
:08:25. > :08:29.up at a stage, so they can see exactly how they are going to jump.
:08:29. > :08:33.So watch out for that. If the horse brings its head up it is trying to
:08:33. > :08:37.get a good sight. So this is the beginning height. There is a
:08:37. > :08:42.maximum of five rounds, in an ideal world we will be left with one
:08:42. > :08:45.outright winner at the end. So let us join our team of Andy Austin and
:08:45. > :08:50.us join our team of Andy Austin and Mike Tucker. Good evening to you,
:08:50. > :08:55.and just look at that picture here in the grand hall. Absolutely
:08:55. > :09:00.packed. This is one of the dramatic nights of this famous show, which
:09:00. > :09:02.has now got such an enthusiastic following. It will be exciting I am
:09:02. > :09:08.sure, the Alltech Christmas Puissance, it has an interesting
:09:08. > :09:18.field. It is not a big one. Laura ren nick, then Robert Whitaker with
:09:18. > :09:19.
:09:19. > :09:23.one of the favourites, then Pius Schwizer. Geir Gulliksen for Norway.
:09:23. > :09:33.Laura ren nick her second, Guy Williams third last year and John
:09:33. > :09:43.Whitaker goes last in the first round with Casino. The young lady
:09:43. > :09:51.now, from Essex. It is Laura Renwick. Laura, with Parvati de
:09:51. > :09:55.Breve. This horse first time in a puissance. Now, Laura said she was
:09:55. > :10:01.quietly confident, only an eight - year-old horse. She describes this
:10:01. > :10:06.horse as brave and scopey, now that is two qualities you do need. Just
:10:06. > :10:10.talk you round this first round, we have four fences, the first two out
:10:10. > :10:15.of the way. This triple bar is going to get bigger and bigger and
:10:15. > :10:20.much wider as the rounds go on. can sometimes be an influential
:10:20. > :10:27.fence in this competition. Coming down to the wall, and this is the
:10:27. > :10:32.last fence to jump, in the first round and very well over it. Pony
:10:32. > :10:40.Club wall. You can see why she says it is scopey and brave. Really took
:10:40. > :10:44.it on. That was the confidence giver that she needed. You can see
:10:44. > :10:49.how easily she came down, she didn't have to put extra pressure
:10:49. > :10:55.on her horse and that is a great start. Certainly has the power to
:10:55. > :11:05.go a lot bigger. Well, here is a man who has been in a lot of
:11:05. > :11:08.
:11:08. > :11:15.puissance. He had a horse call Saint Finbar. He jumped in a very
:11:15. > :11:23.interesting and unusual way, but jumps a lot of big fences. This is
:11:23. > :11:28.a new horse, only an eight-year-old, called Waterstone, he has done one
:11:28. > :11:37.puissance bareback. Where did he get, somewhere round the seven foot
:11:37. > :11:41.mark? Six feet 11 with no saddle. Saddle oner -- on, here we go. This
:11:41. > :11:50.is the first time he has been in a puissance with a saddle so that is
:11:50. > :11:58.a very strange statistic. A typical puissance horse. Big stride. Masses
:11:58. > :12:03.of power. That was very comfortable. As we watch the horses more and
:12:03. > :12:10.more, we will see the riders take their own type of approach. Steady
:12:10. > :12:15.canter here, into the bottom. Not too much pace. Effortless! Robert
:12:15. > :12:21.riding very confidently. Who wouldn't, after jumping six foot 11
:12:21. > :12:26.bareback. Must feel better when the saddle is on. Let us look at Robert
:12:26. > :12:31.here. Waterstone getting his head up a bit, makes a classic shape
:12:31. > :12:39.over the wall. Bends his back. Comes up at the shoulder, and there
:12:39. > :12:44.is a lot left in the tank. One of the stars from Switzerland. Pius
:12:44. > :12:50.Schwizer with Koby du Vartellier, a horse with loot of experience. He
:12:50. > :12:58.is a late entry to this, but he is a man in flying form at the moment.
:12:58. > :13:08.He has been placed or winning some of the big indoor competitions
:13:08. > :13:10.
:13:10. > :13:15.round the European circuit. This competition was won by the great
:13:15. > :13:20.Marcus Foulkes a few years ago. Schizophrenia's -- Switzerland's
:13:20. > :13:30.hopes on this man. He allows his horses to run forward. He has a
:13:30. > :13:31.
:13:31. > :13:35.very light touch. But they certainly do jump for him. This
:13:35. > :13:45.first round, we would expect most of the horses with puissance
:13:45. > :13:51.experience to pop over this wall fairly comfortably. No problems. He
:13:51. > :13:55.just gets some idea of what scope and how they are going to approach
:13:55. > :13:59.this. Some going a bit too quickly. Some slower. You get an idea of
:13:59. > :14:05.what is going to come. Watch him. He hasn't done a puissance for a
:14:05. > :14:11.while. Look at him on the last stride. He used extra leg and said
:14:11. > :14:16."Come on, pick yourself up." Very nicely over. Good shape in the air.
:14:16. > :14:26.Now Ben Maher. And Ben Maher is another star. Winner last year Ben,
:14:26. > :14:29.
:14:29. > :14:37.with his horse he bought especially. Noctambule Courcelle. He did the
:14:37. > :14:45.job very nicely. He was very impressive. Not done too much since
:14:45. > :14:52.though. This is a horse that is a puissance specialist. There aren't
:14:52. > :15:01.so many round nowadays. Oh, and he has had the first fence. Now, you
:15:01. > :15:08.can see on Ben's face there, what a disappointment. That really is
:15:08. > :15:15.supposedly a schooling fence. He has made a big mistake. That
:15:15. > :15:18.certainly throws this competition very much up in the Gods. Some of
:15:18. > :15:27.the riders that possibly thought they were going for a school will
:15:27. > :15:35.be watching that with great interest. The wall so easy. What
:15:35. > :15:40.else is in store tonight? Out he goes. But just watch him come to it
:15:40. > :15:45.again. He is a puissance horse. He is not the most careful. He wasn't
:15:46. > :15:49.concentrating. Comes down to the wall and there you see the power
:15:49. > :15:52.and the scope, no problem at all, but that is a massive
:15:52. > :16:02.disappointment for Ben, he has brought that horse here especially
:16:02. > :16:10.
:16:10. > :16:20.Norwegian rider, Geir Gulliksen. The has spent a long time with the
:16:20. > :16:23.
:16:23. > :16:30.Whitakers in Yorkshire, a great character. He bought his tours of a
:16:30. > :16:40.great -- his horse of a great rider. Having heard foreshore, the News of
:16:40. > :16:40.
:16:40. > :16:45.Ben Maher going out, he could say, there could -- I might just stay in.
:16:45. > :16:53.Eric has been a terrific Server for Geir Gulliksen over the year. --
:16:53. > :16:59.L'Espoir has been a terrific servant. He has no bit in his mouth.
:16:59. > :17:07.He sticks his nose out in front of him. He is a very experienced
:17:07. > :17:16.campaigner. He said to me with a grin on his face that he might go
:17:16. > :17:22.run -- one round, but we will see. Are you going to take bets on that?
:17:22. > :17:29.If p Johns convincingly, he will be back in. -- if he jumps
:17:29. > :17:37.convincingly. It certainly is wide open now. I have a feeling Jimmy
:17:37. > :17:46.said, it could be made. He comes to that forward stride, very neat.
:17:46. > :17:52.This is a Grand Prix class horse, Last year's winner is out, and he
:17:52. > :17:56.had the very first fence down. Ben Maher, deeply frustrating? Yes. The
:17:56. > :18:01.same rules for everyone. It is always difficult as a specialist
:18:01. > :18:07.puissance Tours, he jumps the wall could and he doesn't jump the
:18:07. > :18:15.others could -- puissance horse. In this case, it did count. It was a
:18:15. > :18:25.difficult jump for him. I thought difficult jump for him. I thought
:18:25. > :18:40.
:18:40. > :18:47.III already had a winner earlier in in this class last year. -- he won
:18:47. > :18:51.in Geneva. I suspect he is probably the favourite now. The war though
:18:51. > :18:55.you would have to say Robert Whitaker would be close, as well --
:18:56. > :19:01.although you would have to save. Guy Williams said he thought he was
:19:01. > :19:06.third favourite. This horse has in the past been clumsy over the
:19:06. > :19:13.triple bar, and had the front rail down. It has got a little gate in
:19:13. > :19:21.the bottom. I think that will help to Richi Rich III get in the air,
:19:21. > :19:29.and that was very good, very neat. Richi Rich III is 10 years old, and
:19:29. > :19:39.a lot more experienced. And plenty of time, really pushed in the air.
:19:39. > :19:50.
:19:50. > :19:54.No problems for Guy Williams. Six Williams through. He has got the
:19:54. > :20:02.technique worked out, push into the bottom, moved slightly to the left
:20:03. > :20:12.over the wall. This course comes in over her shoulders. -- This Waltz
:20:13. > :20:26.
:20:26. > :20:30.already on the nature of course. -- on the 8-year-old horse. Laura said
:20:30. > :20:40.to me, she will probably go the one round and see how it went. She
:20:40. > :21:01.
:21:01. > :21:06.getting balance for the wall. has got two at the moment, we will
:21:06. > :21:10.wait to see what that decision is going to be. With so few in the
:21:10. > :21:16.field, it is a really tough call to pull out. Laura, such a competitor,
:21:16. > :21:25.have another look. Took her time, a quiet run down, and dumped it
:21:25. > :21:32.absolutely perfectly. -- jumps it. Very neat, really good in front in
:21:32. > :21:37.behind. I can see her coming back in again, we will see. 4th want to
:21:37. > :21:47.go in round one and this is the crowd favourite, without doubts --
:21:47. > :21:56.
:21:56. > :22:01.when Robert won the puissance. He is a horse that has got a good
:22:01. > :22:07.Grand Prix record, and a very good record in this arena. I think John
:22:07. > :22:11.will be looking to the big money later in the show. Casino has
:22:11. > :22:17.always gone well in the World Cup here. John was quite adamant when I
:22:17. > :22:23.spoke to him and said, look, I am schooling, it does in good to jump
:22:23. > :22:27.the war, get him in the air. -- it does him good. This horse is a
:22:27. > :22:32.credit to John, he always keeps his older horses fit and sound. This
:22:32. > :22:37.one is looking really well. Oh, just touched the front of it.
:22:37. > :22:41.might look at that again. I thought he rather dived at that. They
:22:41. > :22:46.rather throw themselves at it, rather than jumping off their hind
:22:46. > :22:52.legs. He didn't really push in the air, John got him French daily off
:22:52. > :22:56.it. -- fractionally off it. Probably did not get his stride
:22:56. > :23:00.quite as deep as he would have liked and moved to the left. He
:23:00. > :23:08.said he was in there to get him in the air. We probably won't see John
:23:08. > :23:17.Ben Maher is out because he had the first fence down. John Whitaker has
:23:17. > :23:21.retired. There is a cunning plan. I asked John, what is the script? For
:23:21. > :23:25.the last two years, he has gone one round in the puissance and then he
:23:25. > :23:29.has jumped double clear in the World Cup. Thinking, smart guy,
:23:29. > :23:33.keep doing the same plan. He is warming up for the World Cup. He
:23:33. > :23:39.said it is great to jump three or four jumps, no pressure, and a
:23:39. > :23:43.combination jumps, just riding down to them. It says it does get his
:23:43. > :23:47.mind a lot of good and gives him something to focus on. This
:23:47. > :23:57.compensation is being used as a foil for the World Cup -- this
:23:57. > :24:30.
:24:30. > :24:34.very odd horse for the puissance. Very young. With the first two
:24:34. > :24:39.fences, they have been removed. They just jump the triple bar. Here
:24:39. > :24:45.she is, coming to the wall. Fantastic leap over that. That will
:24:45. > :24:53.have given her a lot of confidence. She did say, quietly confident.
:24:53. > :24:58.That was outstanding. The great thing about Parvati de Breve, she
:24:58. > :25:08.is really careful. Laura can ride with a bit of extra pace, knowing
:25:08. > :25:09.
:25:09. > :25:16.she is going to come up in front. All down to Robert, now. With the
:25:16. > :25:23.8-year-old again, another Dutch- bred horse. Waterstone. We were
:25:23. > :25:27.talking about Marcus winning. In that year at Olympia, Robert shared
:25:28. > :25:37.it, John was in there, and the great markers, they all agreed to
:25:38. > :25:45.
:25:45. > :25:51.share first prize at 7 ft 4 -- the his canter than Laura did. He gets
:25:51. > :25:58.his head up. He just touched the behind, but he got his body up high
:25:58. > :26:08.enough. Does not quite so impressive as Laura's walls.
:26:08. > :26:27.
:26:27. > :26:34.head and allow his back end to world, a real competitor. Not the
:26:34. > :26:40.best jump over the triple bar. He has to go right in the corner, to
:26:40. > :26:44.get balanced. He is working quite hard, but he has jumped it
:26:44. > :26:48.convincingly, well done. I would agree on that, nothing wrong with
:26:49. > :26:53.that. As so often, the higher the wall gets, the more the horses but
:26:54. > :26:59.the effort in. That was better than his first round. This horse has not
:26:59. > :27:09.done puissance for a while, he has done a few speed courses. He pushed
:27:09. > :27:19.
:27:19. > :27:27.him into the bottom. Worked hard Geir Gulliksen for Norway, with the
:27:27. > :27:32.15-year-old, L'Espoir. Geir Gulliksen was laughing about his
:27:32. > :27:40.chances before it started, but looking very serious there. He is
:27:40. > :27:50.always looking to win a few quid. He is and he has a very talented
:27:50. > :27:55.
:27:55. > :28:01.Jimmy is in there, looking for the money, now. Four through to round
:28:01. > :28:04.three. In the end, if they get up to seven ft-plus, they have got to
:28:04. > :28:07.put the effort in, but this horse is making it very easy at the
:28:08. > :28:13.moment. The great thing about L'Espoir is his technique. His
:28:13. > :28:23.front legs are so neat, he doesn't have to get his body quite so high.
:28:23. > :28:24.
:28:24. > :28:32.Very economical and tidy, he tucks his front legs right up. Now, the
:28:32. > :28:42.turn of by Williams. By a Williams, with Richi Rich III. -- Dai
:28:42. > :28:44.
:28:44. > :28:50.hunt a winner, gymkhana. The horse was pretty experienced but this man
:28:50. > :28:54.gave it such a ride. Ever since he has been part of the bronze medal
:28:54. > :29:01.team in Madrid. A great second round help Britain win the bronze
:29:01. > :29:06.medal. He really has grown of age. The great think that Guy Williams
:29:07. > :29:13.has got, apart from his that ability to enthuse horses to
:29:13. > :29:19.perform, he has depth, and he has courses for different classes. Into
:29:19. > :29:26.the bottom again, he has got the technique that he needs, and he
:29:26. > :29:29.knows what he is doing. Perfectly ridden. Let's have another look.
:29:29. > :29:35.Right into the bottom, gets the shoulders up, front and behind,
:29:35. > :29:40.outstanding. I think he ran quite a long way right. Yes, he moved to
:29:40. > :29:43.the right. Once the wall gets big, a lot of these was his don't stay
:29:43. > :29:53.too straight. He slithered a bit to the right but right into the bottom,
:29:53. > :30:01.
:30:01. > :30:07.that is the way this horse likes to Her first ride Parvati de Breve the
:30:07. > :30:14.most convincing of the ones through to round three The younger horse
:30:14. > :30:18.but that was the one she tipped to go the furthest. It is very neat
:30:18. > :30:28.over the wall in the first round. He would be her Grand Prix horse,
:30:28. > :30:33.
:30:33. > :30:37.or one of them. Not so much pace for this one. Oh brilliant! She is
:30:37. > :30:44.riding so well. Such a good eye and such a good eye against the clock.
:30:44. > :30:48.But that is not of much value tonight. She is turning into a top
:30:48. > :30:58.class competitor. We know she can go fast, but she is keeping her
:30:58. > :31:34.
:31:34. > :31:39.cool brilliantly. Coming down to British showjumping has to look at.
:31:39. > :31:43.At the moment we don't have the circuit that gives the riders the
:31:43. > :31:49.really best chance to have the competition like they do on the
:31:49. > :31:59.Continent. And unfortunately, it is down to money. It is all about
:31:59. > :32:00.
:32:00. > :32:07.prize money. So the eight-year-old Parvati de Breve, Laura Renwick.
:32:08. > :32:16.They don't want to go too fast, too soon. Oh got a bit closer and ran
:32:16. > :32:20.in a bit tight. Just a bit of inexperience there. When she jumped
:32:20. > :32:25.in the last round she was a bit further off. This is a young horse,
:32:25. > :32:30.probably slightly too brave. You watch, ran down, and you could see
:32:30. > :32:36.the mare try and check on the last stride. Fractionally too close.
:32:36. > :32:40.Laura knew that on the last stride, tried to check her, saw the wall,
:32:40. > :32:50.ran to it. A couple of feet too close on the take off. That was a
:32:50. > :32:55.
:32:55. > :33:04.wonder what his thoughts would have been after that round two, because
:33:04. > :33:07.he just, to me, didn't look to have that jump he was looking for.
:33:07. > :33:15.difficult, because Waterstone does three strides out, just put his
:33:16. > :33:25.head in the air, and obviously Rob has to use his hands to stay
:33:25. > :33:29."Stety." He has to do it with feeling. -- steady. Well ridden.
:33:29. > :33:35.Just the right feeling in his hands, he didn't overcheck him. Kept the
:33:35. > :33:40.balance and released him to make the jump. Class riding there from
:33:41. > :33:46.Robert. Did exactly the right thing. Just held him lightly then softened
:33:46. > :33:56.his hands on the last stride. Just softens his hands there, that is
:33:56. > :34:06.
:34:06. > :34:12.Schwizer. Koby du Vartellier. He has a style very much of his own,
:34:12. > :34:16.but my word, it is effective. you watch he has tremendous empathy
:34:16. > :34:21.and feeling to ride his horses in this light forward style. You watch
:34:21. > :34:31.him in front of the wall. When he needs to use his legs and hands and
:34:31. > :34:42.
:34:42. > :34:48.doesn't show too much emotion there, but he... He never does. Now he is
:34:48. > :34:54.going through his mind is "Am I going to come again?" He was a bit
:34:54. > :34:59.too far off. He knows he has to ride forward. He knows he was lucky,
:34:59. > :35:09.when he lands he has a look back. Watch him again. Slightly too far
:35:09. > :35:12.
:35:12. > :35:19.off. Now Geir Gulliksen L'Espoir, Norway. So far we have three
:35:19. > :35:27.through. Robert Whitaker, two through rather, Robert Whitaker and
:35:27. > :35:32.Pius Schwizer through so far. don't think this horse has ever
:35:32. > :35:36.really gone the distance in a puissance. He is normally over
:35:36. > :35:43.jumped in Grand Prixs. I think, you know, Jimmy could be thinking there
:35:43. > :35:53.is money to be won here now. It is get ing towards the middle of the
:35:53. > :36:08.
:36:08. > :36:14.competition, where it starts to It is the pound signs that could
:36:14. > :36:19.probably encourage this man to go again. Well, we said he can be
:36:19. > :36:24.hungry and he smiled and said maybe I'm going go one round but you
:36:24. > :36:28.never know. Very neat. Not getting a lot of height with his body.
:36:28. > :36:38.a bit on the last stride but this horse tries so hard to leave the
:36:38. > :36:41.
:36:41. > :36:47.fences up. So one for Britain, one for Switzerland, and one for Norway.
:36:47. > :36:54.Can this man join them? Huge respect for Guy Williams, he has
:36:54. > :36:59.worked very hard, with lots of horses, he's always tries to be a
:36:59. > :37:04.winner, sometimes perhaps that is to his disadvantage, but he has the
:37:04. > :37:11.best team of horses he has had in his life, and my word he is very
:37:11. > :37:17.exciting. Thank goodness. He hasn't had the triple bar. He told me
:37:17. > :37:24.twice he has had it down and cost a lot of money. Ben Maher had a horse
:37:24. > :37:30.that did that too. Steady. He is so close, but he has jumped it. Just a
:37:30. > :37:34.touch in front. But that is the technique that works for this man.
:37:34. > :37:39.Quiet canter, makes her weight and gets right in the bottom. You have
:37:39. > :37:46.to have nevers of steel to do -- nerves of steel to do that. Right
:37:46. > :37:51.in the bottom. So close. Third last year, he is still in there. So the
:37:51. > :37:59.last one to go, round three, remember we can go five rounds, we
:37:59. > :38:04.can do two more rounds. Now, remember, she started with two,
:38:04. > :38:09.Parvati de Breve already out. Laura Renwick now with the horse that she
:38:09. > :38:19.thought she might only go one, perhaps two rounds, but here she is
:38:19. > :38:40.
:38:40. > :38:48.Needs to keep the hocks underneath top of the wall. I thought she was
:38:48. > :38:54.going to hit it quite hard. She was slightly off it. Dived off it and
:38:54. > :39:04.caught it. She was a long way off Too far off. With a shorter
:39:04. > :39:09.
:39:09. > :39:15.striding horse, could just do with they are building. It is going to
:39:15. > :39:22.go to two metres 11, and that is six feet 11. That is a big wall now,
:39:22. > :39:32.we are getting up there. And the crowd are getting in the mood! We
:39:32. > :39:42.
:39:42. > :39:50.go. Robert Whitaker, Waterstone. Probably jumped his best round in
:39:50. > :39:56.round three, and remember, he jumped six foot 11 bareback in
:39:56. > :40:02.Stockholm two or three weeks' ago. Looks pretty serious. Getting down
:40:02. > :40:09.to the make or break rounds now. This horse has got the ability, but
:40:09. > :40:19.gets his head up in front of the wall. Rob has to ride him tactfully
:40:19. > :40:34.
:40:34. > :40:38.Came up in front. Rob gave him a good ride there, he softened his
:40:38. > :40:42.hands. Tried to get him to use his Bann back end but he couldn't get
:40:42. > :40:46.it away. There is one of the favourites out. This is the all-
:40:46. > :40:56.important accurate take off, fractionally close. Got his front
:40:56. > :40:56.
:40:56. > :41:03.end away, didn't have room to jump it behind. Pius Schwizer trying to
:41:03. > :41:06.follow in the footsteps of his colleague Marcus Foulkes, who has
:41:06. > :41:14.been taken on by the Swiss federation to get their team ready
:41:14. > :41:24.for the Olympics. Trained the Italians to go so well in 2009. --
:41:24. > :41:36.
:41:36. > :41:41.Markus Fuchs. The last round, very AP McCoy jumping a fence at Aintree.
:41:41. > :41:45.He used the pace as you say, but he got crucially that bit closer than
:41:45. > :41:50.he did on the round before. It is so difficult to see that stride,
:41:50. > :41:55.from a long way out. Watch him, he is really riding and he has to do
:41:55. > :42:00.that. This horse jumps the wall with pace, and he has to drive him
:42:01. > :42:06.in there, and he got that absolutely right. Full commitment.
:42:06. > :42:14.He is such a great horse man. He knows what he is doing. He got the
:42:14. > :42:19.pace. He is smiling. He is happy. first. Goodness me! The smile is
:42:19. > :42:29.there. He is a great man at telling tales. He has a great smile. Now it
:42:29. > :42:32.
:42:32. > :42:37.mouth. With all due respect to L'Espoir he is not a puissance
:42:37. > :42:42.horse. He looked like he was struggling for power. The horse
:42:42. > :42:48.jumped because he has such a great technique. Whether he has the power
:42:48. > :42:58.to go a bit higher, I am not sure. Two gone, one clear so far for
:42:58. > :43:22.
:43:22. > :43:29.Switzerland. Now, it is Norway's didn't think he was going to get
:43:29. > :43:33.there. It was such a genuine horse, he gave it everything he has got.
:43:33. > :43:41.He has fantastic technique but lacks the power to get that high in
:43:41. > :43:45.the air. The crowd have appreciated his effort tonight. Jimmy
:43:45. > :43:50.Gulliksen's generosity won't undo him for the big competition.
:43:50. > :43:55.hasn't done the horse any harm. He has got in the right place to jump
:43:55. > :44:04.it. He has ridden it perfectly. Lacked the power and the push from
:44:04. > :44:09.his hocks to get the height. Now, Fourth Round of the Christmas
:44:09. > :44:19.puissance here. And it is very, very narrowly balanced. We have one
:44:19. > :44:28.
:44:28. > :44:34.Williams, Richi Rich, third last year. Trying to join in round five,
:44:34. > :44:38.Pius Schwizer of Switzerland. Earlier this afternoon, we saw Guy
:44:38. > :44:43.Williams going flat out to win the speed class, this is completely
:44:43. > :44:47.different. He has to take his time. You will see him push this horse
:44:47. > :44:55.right in close. She is getting a bit quick, he is too far off it, he
:44:55. > :45:01.has got away with it! What a strange ride that was. She took it
:45:01. > :45:06.on, ran too early, and Guy Williams says, OK, we will have to take off
:45:06. > :45:11.from there. A bit of a rueful smile, he got away with that. I think he
:45:11. > :45:15.knew he had made a mistake, it was brave. For both of them. They knew
:45:15. > :45:20.they had got it wrong. She was are doing, she knows that the wall is
:45:20. > :45:24.coming. Guy Williams said, improvisation. That is what he can
:45:24. > :45:32.do. He knew he was in big trouble. He said, we are going to do it from
:45:32. > :45:37.there. He did what I did, shut his eyes and kicked! Sometimes it works.
:45:37. > :45:41.That is why he is so successful, he can ride by the seat of his pants
:45:41. > :45:46.and his horse is giving him there are things. It was a terrific
:45:46. > :45:53.effort but she was way too far off aid. Laura Renwick is not jumping
:45:53. > :45:58.in round four. -- too far off it. We go to round five, it is going to
:45:58. > :46:08.go the distance I think, Britain against Switzerland. We are over
:46:08. > :46:10.
:46:10. > :46:14.seven food. That is a very decent You decided enough was enough?
:46:14. > :46:18.that one, I planned that one round would be enough. It was really for
:46:18. > :46:23.my other course. I was pleased with how she jumped. I think the
:46:23. > :46:29.swapping over got her appetite -- for my other horse. I was only
:46:29. > :46:38.planning to do one round. He has another class tomorrow, so save in
:46:38. > :46:41.it for that. So, round five, the last round, and it is a head-to-
:46:41. > :46:51.last round, and it is a head-to- head. It is between Pius Schwizer
:46:51. > :46:53.
:46:53. > :46:59.and Guy Williams for Great Britain. Good luck to Pius Schwizer. But
:46:59. > :47:09.having come in as a late entry, he just might have one very decent pay
:47:09. > :47:15.
:47:15. > :47:21.the right stride, to go for it. Just take his time here. Is going
:47:21. > :47:27.for it, working hard, and he has jumped it! Well done, Pius
:47:27. > :47:32.Schwizer! That is amazing. He rode it brilliantly. I think he is going
:47:32. > :47:36.to smile now, surely. He is waving to the crowd. He could not have
:47:36. > :47:41.ridden that better. He waited for the right moment, he saw the right
:47:41. > :47:47.stride. Look how determined he is. He picked the horse up, hands and
:47:47. > :47:52.heels, and as much as anything, he is producing the jump and the power
:47:52. > :47:58.from the pace, and the fact he has such a good eye for a stride. He
:47:58. > :48:06.had his bit of luck, but you need that. Absolutely. A brilliant piece
:48:06. > :48:13.of riding. We have eventually got a laugh! In the last six weeks, this
:48:13. > :48:22.man has been riding out of his skin, at every show he has been at. Can
:48:22. > :48:26.this man share the Alltech Christmas puissance? Guy Williams,
:48:26. > :48:32.trying to equal that performance by Pius Schwizer. He is in trouble
:48:32. > :48:39.already, she is seeing the fences and running at them. Guy Williams
:48:39. > :48:46.has got to quieten her down and take his time. He has got the
:48:46. > :48:50.stride, he has jumped it! Wow! That was another brilliant piece of
:48:50. > :48:56.riding. He could not have got a better shot if he had tried 20
:48:57. > :49:02.times. That was absolute perfection. Guy Williams, on top form, could
:49:02. > :49:08.not have ridden it any better. is going to be a day that this man
:49:08. > :49:13.is going to remember for a very long time. Look at this. Look where
:49:13. > :49:17.he got her to. That is where she needs to be. She makes that clean
:49:17. > :49:20.shape, she is so anxious to get to the wall. Drives her into the
:49:21. > :49:28.bottom, so much better than the round before, and didn't even touch
:49:28. > :49:35.it. Brilliant. The young horse won the speed class earlier, and now,
:49:35. > :49:45.with Pius Schwizer, Guy Williams on Richi Rich, at the joint winners of
:49:45. > :50:02.
:50:02. > :50:08.There are the men of the hour, Pius Schwizer from Switzerland, now
:50:08. > :50:13.absolutely broad smile. And the man who really came of age in that
:50:13. > :50:19.final round of the European Championships, Guy Williams. The
:50:19. > :50:27.round of Titus is in Madrid we saw in -- was so special. And another
:50:28. > :50:33.great demonstration of his skill tonight. They very special evening.
:50:33. > :50:39.Let's say well done to both of the Williams -- the winners, Guy
:50:39. > :50:43.Williams and Pius Schwizer. Immense pressure going last? Yeah. I tried
:50:44. > :50:49.to jump the fence and she jumped at, so I am pleased. Is she difficult
:50:49. > :50:53.to ride? A little bit, she runs a bit, you have to be a bit quiet the
:50:53. > :50:57.first few times because she finds it very easy. The last few times,
:50:57. > :51:01.you can find some pressure, kicked her and tried to jump it. A good
:51:01. > :51:08.atmosphere in there? Brilliant, they love the puissance. It was
:51:08. > :51:17.really good. You enter a bit late, you are Babaji did? -- you entered
:51:17. > :51:22.it late, you are glad that you did? Thank you to the good people here,
:51:22. > :51:28.a good show. Olympia is top for the poor results, and I am very happy.
:51:28. > :51:33.The fantastic result, very good to watch, I am happy for both of you.
:51:33. > :51:37.That was a great class, it was only small but a really exciting finish.
:51:37. > :51:42.That was everything that puissance is. It is a competition about brave
:51:42. > :51:46.riding, brave horses. Very simple, contrasting styles. One horse
:51:46. > :51:50.jumping everything really big, another going over by a lick of
:51:50. > :51:55.paint. Two horses kept jumping and showing all the talent in their
:51:55. > :51:58.heart, it was fantastic. That looks a very difficult ride and I thought
:51:58. > :52:03.Guy Williams was disadvantaged, because Pius Schwizer jumped clear
:52:03. > :52:07.and he had to match him. When that happened, he thought, I am going to
:52:07. > :52:11.go out on a winner. The difference was, the horse stayed level. The
:52:11. > :52:21.time before, he got a bit of a joke on, like he had water in his car
:52:21. > :52:30.Beretta. Fay -- jerk. The last jump was perfection. Some are using it
:52:30. > :52:34.as a warm-up class for the World Cup? That is right. Some horses
:52:34. > :52:41.need competition. But tonight's jumping was fantastic to watch
:52:41. > :52:46.because we saw good heart. You can see a different competition but
:52:46. > :52:50.some of those riders and horses are involved tomorrow. It is live on
:52:50. > :52:54.BBC Two at 3:00pm. On Monday evening, the final class of the
:52:54. > :53:02.week is the Grand Prix. Life on the week is the Grand Prix. Life on the