David Simpson and the 11-year-old gelding Foudre F claimed victory in Sunday’s three-star Grand Prix at Bolesworth in England with the only double clear of the competition. Just two of the 12 combinations who went forward to the jump-off did so on a clear scorecard with the time allowed in particular causing difficulty to the first round starters. Simpson’s second round clear in 42.22 seconds saw him land the first prize of almost €20,000.
“I thought the course builder Louis Konickx did a great job, the time allowed was tight, but being a Grand Prix, it should be tough. I just went over the course; I knew Holly [Smith] was the only one I was focused on that I had to beat. I just stuck to my plan, and it paid off.
“Foudre F was Shane Breen’s horse. I rode him in a couple of classes in Dubai, and we hit it off straight away. After two months riding him in Dubai, we came back and I had to buy him, I had a feeling he was a really special horse. It took about a year to get him to this level of consistency but he’s an incredible horse. He gets a bit tense around the ring but has a great brain. I’ve never ridden something that is so consistently careful and tries so hard, I can’t speak highly enough of him.”
Britain’s William Whitaker finished as runner-up with Galtur after picking up just a time fault in the opening round while third place went to Daniel Coyle and Oak Grove’s Carlyle on the same score but a slightly slower time. Five Irish riders finished inside the top eight with Eoin Gallagher fifth aboard Faltic B, Anthony Condon sixth with Zira vh Kapelhof Z and Michael Duffy eighth with Jeff Ten Halven.
