Edwards makes his mark with winning double

In a repeat of last week, the two Breen Equestrian 1.40m classes went to the same rider – though this time it was Mark Edwards who claimed the double win on week two of the All England September Tour.

Whereas last week saw Philip Spivey win both classes on the same horse, Billy Pearl, Mark clocked up the two victories on two different horses – with Flying Tinker II taking Thursday’s renewal, and Royale Tale finishing on top of the leaderboard.

“This was Flying Tinkers’ first time in the main ring, though he’s done a fair bit, including winning the Grand Prix at Bolesworth. He really enjoyed it in there today, he’s an out-and-out winner. We had a really nice first round and then let the handbrake off a bit in the jump-off,” said Mark.

Both of Mark’s rides factored in Thursday’s prizegiving, with Royale Tale leading the jump-off until the end of the class when they were beaten by Will Fletcher and the experienced Persimmon. “Luckily we had Flying Tinker to come and we just pipped Will by 300ths of a second. It helps when you have a couple of rides.”

But Royale Tale didn’t have to wait long for his moment in the spotlight. Friday’s feature class saw many of the leading names of the sport reach the jump-off, including Team GB regular Joe Stockdale and recent European team silver medallist Trevor Breen. But once again Mark produced the fastest time of the day, finishing on a time of 61.54sec to keep Allana Clutterbuck and Vykinbay in second place.

“She’s naturally quick and she had a great spin around the ring today,” said Mark. “She’s only eight but she’s been around the county shows this year and is learning her trade.”

This week’s Billy Stud Auction young horse finals got underway, with 11 combinations jumping clear to share the honours in the All England Four Year Old Championship.

In the Five Year Old section, Irish rider Jessica Burke produced an excellent round on Billy Caspin to go more than three seconds clear of Zoe Megihan and Z7 Pink Panther in second place.

“He’s always really fast, I just kept moving and kept tight everywhere,” said Jess. “He’s been amazing all year, he won the five-year-olds here at the Royal International, and he has a really good record. He is really cheeky and a bit cocky.”

There was another winning double in The Billy Stud Auction Six Year Old Championship, with Lottie Tutt and Billy Dynamite taking the title for the second week in a row. 

"He probably jumped even better this week than he did last week, so I'm really happy," said Lottie. "This is such a good show for the young horses." 

For full results click here.