In it’s 37th year of running and 13th year of BEDE Events at the helm, it was a record crowd to watch one of Britain’s leading lady riders scoop the feature prize at Belton International Horse Trials.
The sun soaked crowds we treated to a world class display of equestrian sport across the three days of competition. It was the Lycetts Grantham Cup and the first leg of the Shearwater Insurance Tri-Star Grand Slam that everyone had come to see and they were in for a treat with the first British winner since 2012. Izzy Taylor and KBIS Starburst lifted the dual trophy class in a closely fought CIC3* class, narrowly beating 2014 winner Sir Mark Todd and Olympic ride Leonidas II into 2nd place with early leader Piggy French staying within a penalty of Taylor, in 3rd with Quarrycrest Echo.
“I’m delighted with this win,” commented Izzy Taylor. “KBIS Starburst has had nearly two years away from competition, and he does get nervous in an atmosphere of which there is plenty here, but I’ve worked hard on that and couldn’t be happier with his performance this weekend.”
The Belton win gives Izzy the first leg of the 2017 Shearwater Insurance Tri-Star Grand Slam, where one rider could walk away with a whopping £50,000 for winning any 3 out of the 5 CIC3* included in the series. With three horses entered in the Barefoot Estates Burnham Market Leg Two in a matter of weeks, all eyes will be in Izzy to see if she can jump one step closer to the £50,000 pay day.
You can keep up to date on the all the scores from the series here.
