Waylon Roberts finished in 13th place in the Greenwich Park Eventing Invitational CIC 2*, held July 4–6, 2011 in London (GBR) held on the site of the equestrian events for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Roberts, of Port Perry, ON, riding Blockbuster III, a 14-year-old British- bred bay gelding that Roberts co-owns with Boogie Machin, earned the pairs best ever dressage score, a 55.20, to kick off the competition in 17th place out of 39 starters representing 23 nations. Roberts and Blockbuster III navigated Sue Benson’s cross country course through historic Greenwich Park adding just 2.8 time penalties to their score which moved the pair up to 16th place. Using the Games system of individual final place scoring, Roberts and Blockbuster III piloted two rounds of jumping, having only the last rail on the second course down, to finish as the top North American competitor in 13th place overall with a score of 62.
“I loved the competition. From the stables, to the way it was organized all the way to the last day of jumping, it was a fantastic event,” said Roberts, who has been based in England for two years. “Any improvements will make it even better.”
“I will be returning to Canada in mid-August, and hope to bring with me everything I have learned over here,” he added.
Canadian Kathryn Robinson, who currently resides in England, partnered with Let It Bee, her own 10-year-old German-bred gelding, finished in 18th place. With a dressage score of 62.40, Robinson added only 3.20 additional cross country time penalty points followed by two flawless rounds of jumping to finish with a score of 65.60.
The competition was won by Great Britain’s Piggy French and DHI Topper.
Final results are available on the Federation Equestre International website at http://www.fei.org/disciplines/eventing/press-releases/greenwich-park-eventing-invitational-cic-final-day.
At London 2012, Greenwich Park will be the site for all the equestrian events, with the discipline of eventing taking place from July 28 – 31.
The Canadian Eventing Committee is grateful to Own the Podium, Sport Canada, Canadian Olympic Committee and all of its sponsors, supporters, suppliers and friends for their continued support of the Canadian Eventing High Performance program in its quest for excellence.
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