US rider leads after the dressage at Blenheim

USA’s Clark Montgomery is in the lead after the dressage at Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials.

Advantage

Clark was riding Holly and William Becker’s Loughan Glen. The 12-year-old produced a great test to score a 33.8pen – which sees Clark take the lead by almost four points.

“He’s put these scores in before and this is what we were aiming for, but you never know on the day,” said Clark, who is based in Gloucestershire. “The atmosphere seems to help him.”

Clark has a definite advantage going into the cross-country tomorrow as he has competed at Blenheim three times before with Loughan Glen, coming third in 2013.

Influential

“Each time he has been here the cross-country course has been in this direction, so we know he likes it,” he said. “I think the double of corners [the Kent & Masters Brush Corners, fence 12ab] will be influential.”

World Champion Sandra Auffarth is second with 37.2pen riding Ispo. Just behind her on 39.3pen is Pippa Funnell and Carol Toliver’s Billy The Biz.

Bred by the Billy Stud, Pippa showjumped him at the start of his career, but said he loved the Hickstead Eventing Grand Prix so much, she decided to event him instead.

Sit tight

“He’s moved up quickly through the grades, because he had the mileage with the jumping,” explained Pippa, who has won Blenheim a record four times.

“But I’ve had a couple of little blips where he’s been enthusiastic and over-jumped into the water and we’ve had a dunking. There is a big jump into water here so I’m going to have to sit back and sit very tight tomorrow.”

The cross-country starts at 9am tomorrow (Saturday 19 September).