Flawless jumping by Ben Leuwers' Zuccini in Blenheim; a rider passed Aldinger and Bart on the cross-country course

There was a change at the top of the CCI4*-S for eight- and nine-year-olds. After Astier Nicolas’s Hitchqote du Coudray wasn’t quite as focused on the course as he was in the dressage arena and finished with three knockdowns, the French duo lost the lead to team world champion Tom McEwen and Brookfield Danny de Muze. They completed the course with a dressage score of 27.2 penalty points.

Especially since Bubby Upton, who was still in second place yesterday, was penalized an additional 8.8 penalty points on Westfalen Auckland and dropped to 30th place. A small consolation: Upton’s Sancerre de Tiji added only 0.4 penalty points for exceeding the time limit to its dressage score of 26.9, and thus still holds second place.

In third place is another British rider, Izzy Taylor, riding Barrington Boy, who also finished with a dressage score of 27.4 penalty points. The three leading pairs are thus separated by just one-tenth of a point each.

Top Ten Starting Position for Leuwer

Ben Leuwers’ Holsteiner Zuccero son, Zuccini MN, is currently off to a perfect start at the Blenheim Premiere. After the Road2LA contender had already posted one of his best results in dressage, he completed a flawless round on the show jumping course today. He already had a clean slate, and it shone even a little brighter afterward. With 30.1 penalty points, the pair is currently in tenth place.

Things didn’t go quite as well for Pia Leuwer and Hanami. The pair had two knockdowns and are now in 55th place with 41.1 penalty points.

Phoebe Locke, who is actually British but is now competing under the German flag —thanks to her German grandfather, who secured her a better chance of qualifying for the championships—had a rather mixed result in yesterday’s dressage with her horse Kilmanahan Ulysses, scoring 39.4 penalty points. But things went well in show jumping: just 0.4 time penalties, currently ranked 49th (39.8).

A “break” for Bart

As expected, the cross-country course at the CCI4*-L in Blenheim proved to be challenging. Twelve pairs withdrew, and eight were eliminated. There was only one instance of a horse falling; the rider fell four times; refusals were the cause in two cases; and in one instance, the Ground Jury intervened and removed the pair from the competition.

Nicolai Aldinger and his 10-year-old Holsteiner Bart by Barcley, on the other hand, crossed the finish line safe and sound—though with a break and, as a result, 20 fence faults plus time penalty points. What a shame! The pair had fought their way to such a great starting position in the dressage round during their joint Blenheim debut. Ahead of tomorrow’s jumping competition, they now rank 44th out of the 52 pairs still in the running.

At the top of the field, Tom McEwen has once again demonstrated his brilliance. His nine-year-old Irish horse, The Fieldmaster, is confidently leading his first CCI4*-L competition with 30.4 penalty points (1.2 time penalties today). The veteran Brookfield Quality, at 17 years young, is in second place just one-tenth of a point behind with 30.5 penalty points after incurring four time penalties.

Currently in third place, with a dressage score of 34 penalty points, is Oliver Townend riding the 14-year-old Mecklenburg horse Sommersby by Sergeant Pepper. The gelding, bred in Germany by Anja Schwarz, was brought into competition by U.S. rider Jennifer Caras, who competed with him in the CCI5*-L events at Luhmühlen and Pau in 2025. However, she fell in Luhmühlen, and in Pau they were eliminated after two refusals. Townend has been riding Sommersby since this spring; he has placed fifth twice with him in short courses and today completed their first cross-country section of a long course together without any faults.

You can find all the results here.