“I’ve by no means met a horse who enjoys showjumping as a lot as me,” mentioned a grinning Matt Sampson after extending his London Worldwide Horse Present profitable steak on Thursday (19 December) with the flying gray Daniel..
The British showjumper teamed up with James Davenport’s 16-year-old stallion to win the CSI5* Christmas Pudding Stakes, constructing on his large success in recent times and his Mini Main victory the day before today.
“We purpose for the London Worldwide Horse Present all yr – we’re very fortunate to have this present in our nation,” mentioned Matt. “That is the perfect present on the planet for us British riders – to get to trip right here is one factor, to win a category right here… Yearly it will get higher. I couldn’t be happier.”
Matt Sampson on profitable on the London Worldwide: “Daniel makes my job simpler”
Matt and Daniel rocketed around the 1.50m observe set by Bernardo Costa Cabral for this pace class, hovering to the highest of the chief board with a stunning clear in 60.47sec. A high-calibre worldwide area tried and did not topple the British rider and ultimately Matt received with an enormous 3sec benefit over the runner-up, Frenchman Kevin Staut (Visconti Du Telman).
“Whether or not it’s 1.60m or 1.50m, Daniel all the time tries his coronary heart out,” mentioned Matt, who was joined on the ExCeL London on Thursday by his “fortunate mascot”, his eight-year-old nephew Max, who hopes to comply with in his profitable uncle’s footsteps.
“Daniel is a pleasure to trip and he makes my job so much simpler. At this time I simply tried to do a spherical which I believed would swimsuit him, as a result of he’s doing the grand prix tomorrow [Friday, 20 December]. He’s probably not a horse who likes to go in and do a sluggish, education spherical. He likes to go in and revel in it. So I did a spherical I believed was comfy for him, however with out pushing too many boundaries, and by chance it was sufficient, it was nice.
“It walked as fairly a simple course however the fences got here up much more shortly than it regarded – it was a great course, there have been faults in all kinds of various areas. So it ended up not being as quick a pace class as we thought it’d.”
A prime class showjumping horse
Daniel, a 16-year-old son of Heartbreaker, has been with homeowners James Davenport and Angelie von Essen since a two-year-old and Matt solely began driving the flying gray final yr.
“Daniel is unbelievable and I’m very lucky to trip him, so thanks to James and Angelie for permitting me to have him,” mentioned Matt.
Whereas the flying gray is buzzy within the accumulating ring and actually lights up within the prize-giving together with his ears pricked ahead, Matt defined that he’s tremendous straightforward at house and within the ring he’s simply eager to get on with the job he loves.
“He will get so excited when he’s going within the ring or for the prize-giving, something like that, however when he’s doing his job, he’s completely focussed,” revealed Matt. “He’s only a prime class horse. All the things about him.
“He’s 16 years previous now, in order that’s only a large credit score to Davenport Stables for the way in which they’ve sorted him and produced him. I’m very fortunate.”
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The London Worldwide showjumping kicks off with a win for Matthew Sampson and Lilly McBride within the GS Equestrian Pony Membership Mini Main Relay.
Credit score: LIHS / Peter Nixon
Credit score: LIHS / Peter Nixon
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Credit score: LIHS / Peter Nixon
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Credit score: Peter Nixon
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H&H showjumping editor
Jennifer is passionate at showjumping and her position as H&H’s showjumping editor has taken her all over the world reporting from exhibits and interviewing riders, connections and people concerned behind the scenes. Since becoming a member of H&H from BBC Sport in 2005, she has written on each topic throughout the equestrian sphere — from turnout rugs to secure administration — and has interviewed gold medallists, world champions and winners galore. She additionally has first-hand expertise of working within the equestrian business as a driving teacher and yard supervisor.