Graham Lovegrove showcased his skill and experience to claim an impressive victory in Friday’s feature two-star class at the Equerry Bolesworth International Horse Show.
The two-phase competition, sponsored by Gaskells Waste, attracted a bumper entry of more than 70 starters, and it was Graham and Alfie 192 that came up trumps.
Ireland’s Matt Garrigan set the early pace, but Paul Barker and Happy Boy clipped 52 hundredths of a second off his time, although that did not prove enough to secure a top-three finish.
Graham’s time of 29.37 seconds proved too much for the rest, despite Graham Gillespie and Andretti going close on 30.06 seconds to finish as runners-up, with Emma Stoker and Townhead Tallulah V finishing third.
The day began with a victory for Russia’s Sofia Abramovich, who landed the amateur B two-phase class sponsored by Bolesworth Estate with Sacree du Rouet.
A jump-off time of 31.42 seconds proved enough for victory in the International Arena ahead of Bobbie Heath and Floretta, while Jenna Cairns took third place aboard Wonderfull.
There was British success in the amateur A two-phase competition, sponsored by NFU Mutual, with Gabriella Spencer and Duke of Tell taking top honours in a time of 31.73 seconds.
It was a dominant display as they finished almost six seconds clear of the field, beating South African challenger Savannah Price, riding Fanadwest Dancer, into second place, while Emily Sage and Coromiro II was third.
Bolesworth’s Castle Arena also saw a busy start to the day, opening up with the two-star 1.30-metre class, sponsored by Alessandro Albanese, and it proved a British clean sweep of the podium places.
Paul Barker and Sandors Legacy led the way in the one-round competiion, clocking 60.34 seconds and claiming a winning margin of almost four seconds from Annabel Shields and Gerona, with third place going to Angela Thompson and Cornet Obolensky Junior.
