Amateur rider John Westmore scored his first-ever international eventing victory in the Forsters LLP CCI2*-S at Belsay today.
Riding his father Michael’s Oughterard Quality, John was third after dressage with a mark of 29.1. He added nothing to that in the jumping phases to finish 0.2 of a penalty ahead of second-placed Belgian rider Jade van der Meerschen (Impuls).
“It’s gone great!” said John, who lives near Stroud in Gloucestershire. “I felt he could have had a little more energy in the dressage yesterday, but he didn’t make any mistakes and he jumped very well today.
“This is my first visit to Belsay and it definitely won’t be my last. The organisers have done a lot of work to the ground, and it rode so well. I had a lovely ride across country – it was a really flowing track.”
John works in his family business running care homes in Cornwall.
“I have three horses on the go at the moment, which is quite a lot for me – I normally just have one. We bought this horse as a five-year-old – he was sourced for me by Ginnie Wellings, who helps me with my dressage – and he’s a bit cheeky, but incredibly talented. He was very successful earlier in his career – I think he was advanced as an eight-year-old with me – and we’ve just hit a few bumps in the road. We had a fall in the water in the CCI4*-S at Hartpury a couple of years ago and it knocked our confidence a bit, so we are trying to rebuild and it was great to win here.”
John trains with Rowland Fernyhough for showjumping and has just started to go to Capt Mark Phillips for cross-country help. He is now aiming Oughterard Quality for the CCI3*-S at Nunney in Somerset next month.
Runner-up Jade van der Meerschen works for Bubby Upton, who led the CCI2*-S after dressage and showjumping on Auckland 7, but collected 2.4 time-penalties across country for eventual fifth place.
Third was Australia’s Isabel English, riding Cil Dara Dynamic, and Hector Payne took fourth aboard N-Icsibalia.
British Olympic team gold medallist and former world champion Ros Canter, fresh from her second Badminton CCI5* victory last weekend, is in the lead in Belsay’s inaugural RBC Brewin Dolphin-sponsored CCI4*-S after dressage on her own and Alex Moody’s Izilot DHI. Ros’s excellent mark of 21.6 on the 2023 Pau CCI5* winner gives her half a penalty in hand over Piggy March (Halo, 22.1), with Sarah Bullimore in third aboard Corimiro on 24.4.
Local rider Katie Magee won the Falcons Events novice section B with Margaret Sunter’s Springhead Jupiter, while Lucy Stimson took Cussins Homes section B riding her own Tilly.
Samantha Lissington is currently on top in the Chaser Communications advanced class on Quantas R with a dressage mark of 29.6. Showjumping for the advanced starts at 9am tomorrow (Sunday, 18 May), followed by cross-country at 11am. Showjumping for the feature CCI4*-S commences at 11am, while the riders will tackle Adrian Ditcham’s “big, bold and flowing” cross-country track from 12 noon.
To purchase tickets for Belsay and to find out more information, please visit www.belsayhorsetrials.com.
All the cross-country at Belsay will be shown on Horse & Country TV’s livestreaming platform H&C+.
IMAGES OF JOHN WESTMORE AND ROS CANTER © ATHALENS