OXFORDSHIRE GIRL OUT & ABOUT
OliverTownsend
ClaireDeuten
OSBORNE HOUSE HORSE TRIALS
A
brand new equestrian event took place on the Isle of Wight last month in the grounds of Queen Victoria’s beloved Osborne House. The rolling seaside parkland was
transformed into asuperbly challenging course of cross country jumps which tested the riders who made the short ferry trip over to the Island during Britain’s hottest heatwave since 1976. Osborne House was the impressive summer residence
of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and boasts some of the most spectacular parkland on the Isle of Wight. The undulating grounds at Osborne House lends itself perfectly to the two day event that took place on the 25th and 26th July this year, the event was to showcase eventing and attract more people to enjoy the sport. This was an idea that was many years in the planning so to see it finally come together must feel like a fantastic achievement to those who organised it. The event was attended by top British riders including Oliver Townsend, Alex Bragg, Nana Dalton, Emily King, Izzy Taylor, Matt Heath and Olympians Ludwig Svennerstal from Sweden and Austin O’Connor from Ireland It is the first affiliated horse trials to be run on the Isle of Wight and was supported by British Eventing under the banner of a ‘special event’ with a huge £60,000 prize fund in the pot. The beauty of this venue is that 70% of the action on the cross country course is visible from the ample terraces at the house, so you need never leave your chosen seating place to see what is happening. The competition at Osborne is much shorter and fast paced
compared to traditional horse trials. There is a shorter dressage test which is approximately four minutes long. The showjumping is also a shorter course offering riders the opportunity to choose alternative jumps and various routes. With a Classical Dressage display, Dog Agility and a Victorian Funfair This provides a truly action packed day where there is never a dull moment. The cross country course began with a downward sweep
toward the Solent with spectacular views toward Portsmouth, every fence was cleverly created by Adrian Ditcham to either
Writtenby JoMonck
have a backdrop of the sea or the house. It really was bliss to walk the course even in the heat of the day. We settled for a while by the water jump where Ibumped into everyone Iknew! Warwickshire based event rider Claire Deuten made
the trip over with her horse Ustinov Van Elsenham, I asked her how she dealt with the heat, the journey and how she found the course and the event in general. ‘The journey over was very easy and the people
on the ferry were very excited about the event! The setting was spectacular, organisation was amazing, views were picturesque, all in all it was a fabulous experience. I’ll be back next year! The course was strong, well planned out and educational causing it’s fair share of problems. Icouldn’t wait to attack it even with a very unlucky unscheduled dismount coming out the water when Tonto dodged a tree! I’m still kicking myself Ishould have sat it!’ The weather.... it was lovely and warm which made it lovely
for spectators, horses coped very well as we had been prepared due to the weather in England being so warm in the build up. The sponsors were so friendly and generous London Capital Finance’s terrace really made every other event Ihave been to seen dull! The free flowing bubbles and gin and tonic went down very well with friends, owners and my parents! Who very rarely get to watch me compete due to them being based in Dubai. Other local riders who made the sea trip over to the
Island to compete were Addington based Matthew Heath, Bicester based Izzy Taylor and Wiltshire based Vicky Brake. A walk round the grounds at Osborne is always a pleasure
but it was increased tenfold on this occasion, what a fabulous two days, time just flew and all too soon we saw the crowds walking back to the house and realised that it was over and we wandered up to watch the prize-giving on the terraces with huge stone planters giving a splash of colour, almost as if Queen Victoria was still in residence and if she had been I’m quite certain that she would have been very amused and pleased to see her beautiful home put to such great use.
MatthewHeath 24
IzzyTaylor SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER2018
VickyBrake
OliverTownsendand LudwigSvennerstal
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