British-bred eventers lead the way in rankings

Home-grown talent is leading the way in British Eventing’s breeding tables for 2014.

Top mares

Out of the top 10 competing mares, 50 percent were bred on British soil, withKBIS Briarlands Matilda heading the rankings.

The mare has been competed by Izzy Taylor since 2008, helping the ridergain her first senior British cap at the 2013 FEI European Championships in Malmo. The pair also finished seventh at this year’s Burghley.

“I’ve always believed that she was good,” said owner Guy Avis, who backed and produced the 14-year-old mare. “She has a very trainable attitude and lots of ability, and seems to get better and better with Izzy, who is an outstanding rider.”

British boys

In second place is Borough Pennyz, who was bred by her owner Sally Bullen. Pennyz won the British Eventing seven-year-old championships in 2010. She is now ridden byVittoria Panizzon, representing Italy at the London 2012 Olympics, the 2013 European Championships and the 2014 World Equestrian Games.

Other British-bred mares in the top 10 are Classic Moet, Millthyme Corolla, and Faerie Dianimo.

The boys are also doing their bit for Britain, with Jumbo dominating the stallion tables. During his eventing career he won the seven-year-old championships in 1991 and competed up to Advanced level with Andrew Nicholson.

Top sire

Now aged 30, Jumbo was named the number one sire of all time, based on BE and foundation points earned by his offspring. He also headed the 2014 top sire table, and was the leading sire of grade one and two mares.

Jumbo was bought by Carolyn Bates as a six-month-old colt, who said she loved the way he moved.

“He is really active behind, and passes this on to the extent that I can almost always spot one of his offspring in a warm-up arena,” she said. “They take a bit of time to grow into themselves, as he did, but are tough and easy to do, staying calm even when three-day event fit.”

Competing stallion

Another British-bred stallion topping the leaderboard is Mill Law, who takes the overall top spot for sires of four- to eight-year-olds.

The top competing stallion was Christopher Stone’s Chilli Morning, ridden by William Fox-Pitt. While the 14-year-old is German-bred he is now very much a part of Team GB, having won individual bronze medals for Britain at the 2013 European Championships and this year’s World Equestrian Games.