The Rutman completes his first CCI5*L with Simon Grieve
Images courtesy of Lucy Hall Photography – all rights reserved and are subject to copyright
Simon and The Rutman, started out with a very positive entry into the dressage arena and down the centre line. This is The Rutman’s very first time in the Dressage arena at Burghley and his first CCI5*L so we will say the dressage is perhaps a working progress. The test was very consistent and they had some lovely Extended Canters however the Flying Changes were costly as it looked like The Rutman didn’t particularly care for being collected after the Extended canters and he seemed to then get a bit ‘hot’ in all the changes.
Overall this combination certainly have shown they are capable of a very respectable dressage score at this level as there was some very nice moments. I did have the distinct feeling Simon was managing his temperament and I thought he rode very The Rutman very sympathetically and contained his exuberance well. They scored 44.4 penalties so they currently sit joint 65th with George Hilton-Jones going into the cross country day. as we know though this horse is a very good jumper and he could very well climb the leaderboard considerably as Burghley is not for the faint hearted and can catch both horses and riders out.
We caught up with Simon to find out his thoughts on his Dressage performance and his thoughts on the cross country…….
Interview with Lloyd Bell Productions..
Talk me through your test..
Vinnie is a quirky character when it comes to Dressage and he find the flying changes very difficult so they didn’t happen at all today, I was kind of expecting that you know but the rest of the work I was really pleased with he tried really hard, he is a trier. He just gets quite worried because he is trying so hard to do it right. The rest of it I was really pleased with , he was really good and he’s a really good jumping horse, brave and bold so I am really looking forward to tomorrow.
What are your initial thoughts of the cross country course?
Its really big and bold and very technical the whole way round so I think you can make a mistake anywhere, there is no let up at the final few fences Mark has been a bit kinder which is nice but the rest of it, its a serious serious track, big and bold and you have got to be really accurate and they have to be with you the whole way so hopefully mine will be!
We wish Simon and The Rutman the very best of luck cross country tomorrow
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