Dutch star Harrie Smolders underlined his quality as the HOYS Accumulator class thrilled a full house at Horse of the Year Show on Saturday. Harrie, the world-ranked number six rider who is fresh from being part of the Netherlands team that won last weekend’s FEI Nations Cup final in Barcelona, shared first place with Britain’s Mennell Watson.
The class sees riders collect points for each fence jumped, with a maximum score of 65. Any combinations finishing on that figure are then separated on time. Harrie, riding Cas 2, and Mennell on Whisper in the Wind, could not be split as they both clocked 49.12 seconds and each collected £5,900 for their efforts. Louise Saywell and Feigtling finished third, posting 65 points in 49.50 seconds, while Phillip Miller and Sussex Caretino were fourth.
“It’s always good to be here at Horse of the Year Show,” Harrie said. “It is a great atmosphere, a great show and we love coming here. With the crowd here, you always want to be competitive, and I wanted to see how fast my horse could go. I am pleased with the win. This is a real show, which is why I like coming here. We cannot simulate this at home. Last weekend was fantastic, with the Nations Cup final – one of the highlights of our sport. I have had an amazing year, with the Nations Cup and also winning the Global Champions Tour series.”
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Image credit: 1st Class Images
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