I had a fantastic time at Olympia Saturday evening and have loved following it all week! Since I failed to take lots of photos for you all, I decided that my Olympia post would be a bit (very) different to how I originally planned it. Instead of this post being all about my day, this post will now be your quick guide to all the top dressage, show jumping and driving results as well as giving you a second post with an insight to many of the other amazing extras at Olympia this year!
Dressage
Let’s start with the dressage, which took place over the first two days of Olympia with the FEI World Cup. The Grand Prix took place on the Tuesday (which wasn’t broadcast on TV) and the Freestyle on the Wednesday, which was on BBC red button (and still on the Iplayer if you missed it!) I actually watched all of the freestyle this year, despite having to share the TV with the non-horsey family members, which was fantastic. The top 3 placings were:
- Carl Hester (GB) with Nip Tuck 84.669%
- Hans Peter Minderhoud (NED) Glock’s Flirt 81.880%
- Edward Gal (NED) Glock’s Voice 80.467%
I was so pleased with Carl’s result, especially with it also being Valegro’s big night! I think he is a fantastic rider and coach and really deserved to win. But I also have a bit of a soft spot for Rubins Nite, ridden by Hayley Watson-Greaves who came 5th. I’m not sure what it is about this horse, I just really enjoy watching him and suggest you all keep your eyes peeled for him and see what you think!
Driving FEI World Cup
There were 2 classes at Olympia going towards the Driving World Cup and they were so exciting to watch! I loved them. The skill needed to not only remember the complicated turns in the course, but also drive 4 cantering horses round it is truly amazing. I don’t know how they manage to steer horses which are facing the opposite way to them! The first class was on the Friday and the top 3 were:
- Koos de Ronde (NED) 106,29 sec
- József Dobrovitz (HUN) 106,51 sec
- Boyd Exell (AUS) 107,67 sec
The second class was Saturday evening, so I got to watch it and as I already said, it was just truly amazing! The results of the second night were:
- Boyd Exell (AUS) 87,34 sec
- Koos de Ronde (NED) 94,15 sec
- József Dobrovitz (HUN) 101,11 sec
Boyd Exell really was fantastic to watch and particularly on the Saturday stood out from the rest. Which explains why he is currently leading the World Cup after the 5th leg!
Show Jumping
Now we start the first of the many, many, many show jumping classes we had at Olympia this year (and every other year!) So get ready for them all!
Thursday
WARM UP Competition (1.40m)
- Anthony Condon (IRL) Fiona v/h Lemmenshof
- Laura Renwick (GB) Dominant H
- Marcus Ehning (GER) Comme Il Faut
Santa Stakes (1.55m)
- Daniel Deusser (GER) Hidalgo VG
- Ben Maher (GB) Don Vito
- Malin Baryard-Johnsson (SWE) H&M Cue Channa
Christmas Pudding Stakes (1.50m)
- Lorenzo De Luca (ITA) Halifax van het Kluizebos
- Philipp Weishaupt (GER) Catokia
- Maurice Tebbel (GER) Camilla PJ
*The Italian Lorenzo is a very memorable rider! But I will talk about him in a bit more detail a bit later!
The Cayenne Puissance
The Puissance is the most recognisable event at Olympia due to the huge red wall which the whole class centres around. I’m sure all of you at some point have seen the riders try and scale this massive wall which goes up each round and it is often a firm fan favourite at Olympia! It did not disappoint this year!
I watched it on demand and loved every second of it. (I have even watched it again since!) The top 3 riders were:
- Holly Smith (GB) Quality Old Joker and Christopher Megahey (IRL) Seapatrick Cruise Cavalier
- Rebekka Lie Andersen (NOR) Want to Do
The joint winners were both incredibly young and talented riders and are definitely names to look out for in the future. However, the horse which stood out the most for me was Laura Renwick’s Top Dollar VI. He is a gorgeous chestnut 7 year old who I just loved. He seemed to have a great attitude and I really enjoyed watching him!
Friday
The Snowflake Stakes (1.45m)
- Darragh Kenny (IRL) Fixdesign Funke van ‘t Heike
- Malin Baryard-Johnsson (SWE) H&M Second Chance
- Robert Bevis (GB) Courtney Z
The Snowman Stakes (1.45m)
- Laura Kraut (USA) Cavalia
- Lorenzo De Luca (ITA) Halifax van het Kluizebos
- Maurice Tebbel (GER) Camilla PJ
Christmas Cracker (1.60m)
- Steve Guerdat (SUI) Corbinian
- Anthony Condon (IRL) Balzac
- Manuel Fernandez Saro (ESP) U Watch
Saturday
Father Christmas Stakes (1.45m)
- Laura Renwick (GB) Con Chilli
- William Funnell (GB) Billy Angelo
- Anthony Condon (IRL) Fiona v/h Lemmenshof
Christmas Masters
- Bertram Allen (IRL) High Valley
- Malin Baryard-Johnsson (SWE) H&M Indiana
- Laura Renwick (GB) Dominant H
Although I didn’t watch this class, I was really pleased that Bertram Allen won a class at Olympia this year after being disqualified in a big class last year. (Find out why he was disqualified) I also noticed that this year all the horses he rode and nice big unclipped squares on their sides where is feet rest to help prevent a repeat of last year!
The Christmas Tree Stakes (1.55m)
- Lorenzo De Luca (ITA) Halifax van het Kluizebos
- Daniel Deusser (GER) Hidalgo VG
- Ben Maher (GB) Don Vito
This is one of the classes I saw when I was there and it really was tense! It seemed to be quite a tricky course but Lorenzo De Luca really stood out, although maybe not for the right reasons! He has a very erratic riding style which has you biting your lips hoping he somehow makes it! I don’t know how he manages to get round as he always looks like he won’t make the turn… or the jump… but he is so entertaining to watch and I love that he has been so successful this week with Halifax!
Sunday
Pony Club Mini Major (Pairs relay)
- Anna Power and Annie Gibson
- Lorenzo De Luca and Harriet Birkby
- Laura Renwick and Amy Morris
*Fun fact, Anna Power gave signings at the My Horse Box stand on the Sunday and competed in the 6 bar challenge wearing a Husk and My Horse Box saddle pad!
FEI World Cup (1.60m)
I watched the world cup Sunday evening and really enjoyed it. There was a good number of riders through to the jump off with some truly world class riders coming towards the end, putting pressure on everyone before them. It was a really exciting display with fantastic results for Great Britain!
- Scott Brash (GB) Hello M’lady
- Ben Maher (GB) Diva II
- Nicola Philippaerts (BEL) H&M Harley vd Bisschop
Mistletoe Mini Stakes (National)
- Madison Heath (GB) Red Alert III
- Isabella Snowden (GB) Penchwintan Glyne
- Rosie Collins (GB) Bradmore Mystique
The Ivy Stakes (1.50m)
- Harrie Smolders (NED) Corrada
- Kevin Staut (FRA) Unna de Kerglenn
- Michael Whitaker (GB) Jb’s Hot Stuff
Monday
The Six Bar
- Geir Gulliksen (NOR) Arakorn and Laura Renwick (GB) Top Dollar VI
- Cian O’Connor (IRL) Happy Day ter Putte
I’m really pleased that Top Dollar VI who I saw in the Puissance did well in another class this week!
Holly Speed Stakes (1.45m)
- Darragh Kenny (IRL) Fixdesign Funke van ‘t Heike
- William Funnell (GB) Billy Angelo
- Cian O’Connor (IRL) Be Gentle
Mince Pie Stakes (National)
- Jodie Hall McAteer (GB) Tixylix
- Bobbie Heath (GB) Air Flow
- Georgia Taylor-Jones (GB) Kingstown Rebel
Grand Prix (1.60m)
The Grand Prix was really exciting to watch and with top riders getting poles down all over the place in the first round! There were only 6 clears out of the 31 starters, making for a very exciting jump off. The first riders aimed for the fast time in the jump off and with poles coming down it looked like it could be a joint win between Scott Brash and Steve Guerdat, both with 4 faults an identical times and only 2 riders left to go. But Edwina Tops-Alexander rode a very tactically steady, but clear round, securing her at least second place and putting pressure on the final rider, Daniel Deusser, to go clear and faster!
- Daniel Deusser (GER) Equita van T Zorgvliet
- Edwina Tops-Alexander (AUS) California
- Scott Brash (GB) Hello Guv’nor and Steve Guerdat (SUI) Corbinian
As you can see, Daniel rode a fantastic clear round and got home nearly 3 seconds quicker than Edwina, putting him in first place!
Other Highlights
Other highlights from Olympia this year include; Valegro retiring, the flat v NH jockey show jumping, Sheltand Pony Grand National and more! However, I think this post has become long enough with the lists and lists of results and my commentary. So I think I will leave the Olympia extras for another post, hopefully be out not too long after this one!
Last Updated on 07/08/2018
