LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY: Manx Equestrian Yasmin Ingham has finished in third place at the Defender Kentucky Three Day Event.
Going in to today’s show jumping, Ingham sat in second place and couldn’t afford a pole down or a single second over the optimum time to keep the pressure on the overnight leader. Sadly for the 26-year old, the former happened and a pole gently rolled to the floor at fence 8 with Banzai seeming to have barely breathed on the rail.
Such was the quality of the three British riders, and the technicality of the course causing alot of trouble for other riders, Ingham only dropped one place to third.
Although disappointed with the rail coming down, Ingham was delighted with the overall performance of Banzai during the whole weekend. “Obviously I’m a bit gutted but at the same time I’m delighted with how he jumped, he jumped a super round today but breathed on one oxer which is really unfortunate.”
It’s not been our day today, but he’s certainly put out a very strong performance at the highest level of the sport
Yasmin Ingham GB Rider
Overnight leader Tom McEwen also tipped a rail dropping him to second. This allowed fellow Brit and current World Number 1 rider, Oliver Townend, to capitalise on his clear round on Cooley Rosalent to take the win on his 100th 5* competition.
Asked what she’d do differently, Ingham said: “I think I was very conscious of the time, and maybe I’d got a little forward around the turn and I maybe should have had him back on his hocks a little before the oxer; hindsight is a wonderful thing.”
Dressage
Having got her Defender Kentucky campaign off to a great start, Ingham sat in second place having scored 26.0 in the dressage phase. Compatriot Tom McEwen led the field on 24.6, the British pair being the only two competitors to score below 30 penalties.
Ingham said of her test “He felt really good today, it just such a treat to be back here and to be able to perform dressage in the Rolex Stadium, its very, very special. I’m incredibly grateful to be here and he’s feeling really good and produced a brilliant score. He’s a joy to ride.”
Cross Country
Derek di Grazia’s substantial cross country course caused its fair share of problems all around the course, but Ingham and Banzai showed they meant business and came home clear and just 14 seconds over the time to remain in second place.
He was 10 out of 10
Yasmin Ingham on Banzai’s cross country ride at Kentucky 2024
Ingham said after her round “He was 10 out of 10, it was all down to him today. Every combination, he just picked everything up, just delighted. We’ve done a lot of training throughout the winter with Chris Bartle and my dressage trainer and it showed out there.
“The time was a little harder to get which was expected, with the rolling terrain but he dealt with it so well. He actually saved my bacon at the Head of the Lake (fence 13) I slipped my reins as we landed, and didn’t really feel I had time to gather them back again so I stayed long, kept my balance and he picked up the line for me, we were a bit close to the corner but he tried so hard and got over it.
“Everything is a lot easier said than done, the fences out there are absolutely enormous and there is no let up anywhere.”
Olympics
Ingham now turns her attention back to her other horses, whilst Banzai will have a holiday and they will be keeping their fingers crossed if they have done enough to earn a coveted place at this summers Olympic Games in Paris.
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