A rare showjumping clear round, one of only two in the class, propelled Wills Oakden to the top of the leaderboard in the CCI4*L at Blair Castle International Horse Trials in Blair Atholl, Scotland. “It’s unbelievable,” he said. “I thought winning one class here last year was massive, but to win two is beyond belief. We’ve been telling A Class Cooley’s owners all summer that we’ve been prepping at one-days for a big win, and now we’ve pulled it off – I’m not sure how, but we have.”
Two rails down for Toshiyuki Tanaka and Jefferson JRA dropped the pair below Wills, but it’s still a good result in terms of him achieving his bigger goal of of securing individual qualifying points for Paris 2024. He admitted, “I’m happy, but angry with myself – the two rails down were my mistakes, the horse is a good jumper. I have enjoyed my trip to Blair.”
Past Blair 4*L winner, Rosie Fry, took third place on Romantic. “I came here hoping for a good run, so a podium finish is the icing on the cake. It’s very special to have another horse here after winning with True Blue Too, who I subsequently lost to injury. I knew she’d enjoy the course here, I’m so proud of her.”