2009 UNEX MASTERS - SPECIAL REPORT
Dan so close to Grand PRIX win
Anyone who was present at the 2009 UNEX MASTERS CSI** International show at Towerlands Park last weekend (13th - 17th November 2009) was given a close up view of why Dan is one of the top young riders in the country. The facts speak for themselves. One hundred and seventy eight fences jumped, one hundred and seventy four cleared successfully. Nine International classes entered six placing's, including forth in the Small Grand PRIX and a hugely impressive second in the UNEX MASTERS GRAND PRIX.
Dan came out with all guns blazing on day one of this four day International show. The first International class was a 1.40m two phase contest. Dan jumped both Iolanthe and Lorca de Caryan and both gave excellent displays of smooth and accurate jumping with both going clear. Iolanthe, who has been on the upgrade all year long, was particularly impressive and had the look of a horse in top form. The second class on day one was the first International 1.45m jump off contest with Dan jumping his scopey mare Milena 8. After two more very impressive clear rounds of showjumping Dan and Milena 8 finished in an very good forth place, with both giving due notice that they would be competitive the whole show.
Day two was another excellent day for Dan. The first class, a two phase 1.40m speed class saw Dan and Lorca de Caryan jump a smooth and quick double clear finishing a good 9th place. The big class of the day was the Silk Stakes with Dan and Milena 8 taking the first round in their stride with another excellent clear round. In a very competitive and fast jump-off (Dan was chasing the ultra competitive Laura Renwick on Limelight de Breve) Dan was into touch coming to a very tall and tricky upright, and unfortunately for Dan Miliena 8 flicked the top rail off and the chance was gone. The final class of day two was the International Accumulator class. It was evident from the first stride Dan and Iolanthe were in it to win it. Taking all the turns very smooth and quick, Dan came down to the Joker fence (1.70m upright) in touch and a huge leap by the inform Iolanthe saw Dan take the lead with only three riders remaining. Unfortunately one of those riders was Shane Breen and the inform Camblin who managed to get in front of Dan by half a second to secure the victory. "That was really unfortunate, Iolanthe jumped great and she's competitive in every class she's in. I would have liked to have won but when you jump like that you can't complain" said Dan
Dan gave both Milena 8 and Iolanthe a day off on the Saturday getting both ready for the Small Grand PRIX and Grand PRIX on the Sunday. It was left to Lorca De Caryan in the two phase speed class and although jumping very well they had one pole in the second phase in finish in fifteenth place.
The final day of the UNEX MASTERS was one of those nearly days for Dan, which with a little better luck could have seen him come away with wins in both the big classes. The first class of the final day Dan and Lorca de Caryan competed in the Speed Derby but with Dan chasing another fast time by Laura Renwick, Lorca de Caryan lowered a couple of poles to finish in the pack. Lorcan de Caryan is the least experienced of Dan's horses at this level and this show will give invaluable experience to this talented gelding.
The final two classes of the final day saw Dan at his very best. Iolanthe, who had been foot perfect in all her other classes, looked really competitive in the Small Grand PRIX and was very impressive in the first round jumping a top class clear round. Dan didn't have a good draw in the jump off and was very keen to set a competitive time and that's exactly what he and Iolanthe did. Dan was at his trademark smooth best in the jump off and with Iolanthe jumping with great enthusiasm they set a really good time for the rest of the field to chase. With over half of the jump off over, Dan was still in top spot, however, by the end of the class a few riders had managed to chase down Dan's time and he had to settle for an excellent forth place. Iolanthe has done nothing but improve this year and should be competitive in every class she jumps. "Iolanthe just keeps getting better" said Dan "She's jumped clear every day and she jumps with such enthusiasm, we could have won that class but we didn't have a time to chase and I think the draw just beat me. She really is in great form at the moment and hopefully her consistency will continue into next year"
The final class of the show the UNEX MASTERS GRAND PRIX was a heartbreaker for Dan. Dan and Milena 8, who had hardly touched a pole during the show show were in superb form over this big and technical track built by International course builder Bob Ellis. Dan and Milena 8 were hugely impressive in the first round and took their place in the jump off along with only ten other riders. Again, Dan didn't have a good draw in the jump off but he again showed his class with a top class clear round in the jump off to take the lead. With only two riders to go Dan was still on course for this International Grand PRIX win but Scott Brash had that extra bit of luck over the last two fences to beat Dan's time by four hundredths of a second. "That was disappointing" said Dan. I thought we'd done enough, Milena jumped fantastic all week and it would have been a much deserved success for her. That's showjumping, but she's in great form and I'm sure she'll win plenty of good classes over the coming months. We'll have a go a stepping her up to some really big stuff if we can find some suitable show's over the next few months."
See the video from the UNEX MASTERS here...