EQUESTRIAN:GREAT BRITAIN'S Oliver Townend strengthened his hold on the Johnson Perrott Land Rover CIC** in yesterday's second session of the dressage phase by achieving the day's best score of 43.5 penalties.
This was on the Diamond Mine 10-year-old ODT Sonas Rovatio, another Irish-bred in the rider’s Shropshire yard, who was retired on the cross-country course at Burghley at the start of the month.Townend now occupies the top two placings in the 29-runner class having received a score of 40.2 with Imperial Master on Thursday.
The good run of Italian rider Vittoria Panizzon continued here as she moved into third position on 44.4 with the 17-year-old Rock King where her compatriot, Giulio Guglielmi, was in second place overnight in the Buccas international junior on Porche Renkum (49).
All other riders in the eight-starter junior class are Irish, the lead on 48.5 penalties being held by south Co Dublin’s Ellen Fitzsimons and First Night, winners of the one-star combined training competition at Lisgarvan last Sunday.
The Ryan husband and wife team of Michael and Patricia is well-placed in the CIC**. The latter currently tops the leaderboard on a score of 47.5 with Lady Chatterbox while Michael, who was on the Olympic team, is in third place with 11-year-old Ballylynch Sky High.
The USA’s Elisabeth Halliday-Sharp is in second and fifth positions with two Irish-bred horses, Newmarket Malt (48.1) and HSS Cooley (50.8).
The equestrian section of the recent Paralympic Games has continued the clean sport success of the London 2012 Olympics with all human and equine samples taken during the competitions at Greenwich Park having tested negative for prohibited substances.
