EVENTING
Harry Meade becomes a second-generation Bramham winner on a talented mare he calls “a good person”
DEFENDER BRAMHAM
CCI4* -L and BE80 championships
IT was appropriate that Harry Meade – the epitome of an old-fashioned event rider, for whom the long format reigns as the supreme test – should win the Defender CCI4*-L in this anniversary year.
Much was said last week about the fact the short-format class had more entries and questions asked about whether the long format has a future – here and in general. But Bramham’s CCI4*-L is not only prestigious in its own right, it also remains a vital preparation for five-star, which every event rider still aspires to.
No one would value this victory more than Harry, whose father Richard won here in 1975.
“It’s a special event that I grew up wanting initially to ride at and then to win,” said Harry. “Without Bramham, we’d be completely lost – how would we produce horses for the big five-stars? Maybe some people avoid coming here, whereas I like every horse to come to Bramham. We do the sport to be tested. But also it’s so fun, beautiful, and horse-and competitor-friendly.”
Harry finished on his third-placed dressage score with Annaghmore Valoner, a 12-year-old Irish-bred mare owned by Dinah and Stephen Posford and their daughter Jules Carter.
“I totally love this horse; I feel like a 10-year-old girl who’s in love with her pony,” said Harry, who took over the ride from Sam Griffiths. “She’s got lots of talent but also she’s just a good person. She’s game, sensitive and hot, but she’s a trier – there’s no malice in her.
“She has all the ingredients to be a five-star horse – the speed, the stamina, the bravery, the scope. The only thing I’d be conscious of is that she can get rattled easily and the higher you go up the grades, the more resilient horses have to be in terms of coping with things going slightly wrong.”
WARBURTON STEPS UP
BRIT Max Warburton, 25, made a significant step up from his previous form when he finished on his dressage score for second on The Paske Syndicate’s Deerpairc Revelry.
“These are the things you hope and dream for – I work day in, day out and this is what all the hard work is for,” said Max, who also completed his first Badminton this spring.
“I think at Badminton I put m
