Kath Rhodes reports on the Festival of British Eventing at Gatcombe Park, held between 1st and 3rd of August.

Although many top British and foreign riders who would normally be fighting hard to win Gatcombe's coveted titles were already in Beijing making final preparations for their Olympic challenge, there were still plenty who wanted to gain some glory after their short-listed horses had been sidelined through injury, including Zara Phillips, Lucy Weigersma and Ruth Edge. Plus there were others, including our own Australian Matt Ryan, who wanted to show the selectors they'd made the wrong choices! Sadly for Matt his weekend did not go to plan...........  

Dodson & Horrell Novice Champion: Brook Staples riding DHI Vitesse 
Just one Welsh rider competed in the Festival of British Eventing Novice Championship. Riding for Australia, but now based in Abergavenny, Matt Ryan rode Maybee IV. Matt only took this ride on earlier this year for Welsh owner Lady Diana Hayman-Joyce and had previously ridden this horse into second place in the Intermediate Class at Rolleston Horse Trials in June. Here at Gatcombe Maybee IV lowered one show jumping fence and just 4.4 time penalties on the cross country to give them a final penalty score of 34.1. So from 92 starters the pair got a very respectable 8^th place.

Hamptons International Advanced Champion: Bill Levett riding Hippolyte
In the Advanced Section, we had more Welsh interest, Matt Ryan again, this time riding Slight of Hand, and also from Chepstow, Sara Squires riding Star Prospect. Sara has been eventing seriously since 1999 and competing her own Star Prospect since 2003. Possibly the combination's best result to date is winning the Aston le Walls CIC ** event last year, but they have also completed at Blenheim CCI *** and Chatsworth CIC ***. This weekend Sara and Star Prospect had a disastrous show jumping round with 12 penalties along with 12 time faults in the same phase. This dropped them 19 places to 31^st with a final penalty score of 77.6. Matt with Slight of Hand fared no better in the show jumping section either, with 20 jumping penalties and just the 1 time penalty. It was not an easy track as from the 71 starters there were only 11 clear show jumping rounds. Matt then had a refusal out on the cross country course at the first water, which left them with a final penalty of 82 and in 37^th place. Matt has ridden Slight of Hand for a number of years with some success, winning this class two years ago as well as many other good placings. Owned by one of Matt's long term owners, Tim and Anne Pople, Slight of Hand was originally bought as a riding horse for Tim but proved to have real talent so was transferred to Matt to ride and compete. 

EOHA - Martin Collins Intermediate Champion: Oliver Townend riding ODT Land Vision
The Ryan-Bonza event yard was represented again in the Intermediate Section, but this time by Matt's wife Marie. There was also further Welsh interest in this section with Eric Winter from the Severnvale Equestrian Centre. Eric was riding Mr Michael Reader and Mrs Doreen Winter's Rembrandt. Eric is now as well known as an Event Director and a course builder as he is for riding. Rembrandt is only 9 years old and has been competing with Eric since 2005, winning the Highclere Intermediate last year. Having completed the dressage and then having three fences down in the show jumping phase, Eric decided that this was not going to be Rembrandt's weekend and withdrew him from the competition.

Marie didn't fare much better than Eric, riding her own Steeling Time with 5 fences down in the show jumping. She too decided enough was enough and that they would be better off going home and coming out again at a future event. Steeling Time, who has been with Marie since 2002, has been progressing slowly though the ranks, wining Aston Le Walls Intermediate last year and is now moving to *** events.

British Eventing Open Champion: Ruth Edge riding Mayhem III
Additional Welsh interest in the final championship focussed on Chloe-May Saunders, from Hook in Pembrokeshire, riding her own Foxcourt Abbey; this pair had an unfortunate stop on the cross country to finish on a score 115.0 in 24^th place. Sadly the Ryan's luck didn't improve and they didn't end the weekend on a good note either. Marie was riding Sparrow Hall, which she owns with Jennie Sleet, but the pair decided not to go cross country, which was also Matt's decision with Bonza Puzzle. James Robinson, from Leominster, riding his mother Joy's Comanche, retired after a fall in the final water on the cross country course; James didn't just end up very wet and muddy but also very cross! This was particularly disappointing for James as he was in third place before he tackled the final cross country phase.