Niro and Halliday-Sharp Take Two Victories

Niro and Halliday-Sharp Take Two Victories in as Many Weeks



• BE100 success at Tweseldown and Eridge

• Chailey Stud horses out in force over consecutive weekends



Liz Halliday-Sharp’s run of British Eventing victories continued over consecutive weekends at Tweseldown (July 12) and Eridge (July 18) where Niro (Deniro Z) scored BE100 victories in only his second and third-ever competitive outings.



Both venues also witnessed a raft of top-10 finishes for Chailey Stud’s other horses. Tweseldown saw Ozzy (HS Oskar) maintain his recent strong form with a fourth place at Novice level, while Lobo (Gorsehill Lobo) lead his BE100 section after Dressage before finishing seventh with a steady Cross Country round. He followed that up a week later with eighth in the Five-Year-Old section at Eridge, with Swift (Cooley Elusive) finishing fifth in the Novice.



But over back-to-back weekends when Chailey Stud’s young horses impressed across the board it was one of the least experienced that shined brightest. Only a week had passed since finishing 11th at Brightling Park but such has been Niro’s rate of progress that he was a victory contender throughout Tweseldown’s competition.



A decent Dressage test helped the pair occupy joint-fourth ahead of Show Jumping where a crisp and clear round bolstered their hopes of a first win together. But it was a standout Cross Country run featuring just 0.8 time penalties that ultimately proved decisive in overhauling those ahead.



Eridge was even more straightforward thanks to a super section-leading Dressage outing followed by foot perfect Show Jumping and Cross Country rounds that resulted in no further penalty points and a finishing score of just 24.



Those consecutive victories have taken Liz’s 2015 British Eventing total to five and once again proven the strength in depth of her current roster following her previous win – this time at CIC2* level – the week before Tweseldown.



“They were two fantastic performances from Niro over both weekends that again demonstrated why we have such high hopes for him,” said the British-based Californian. “I was keen to see an improvement across the board after Brightling and that’s exactly what I got. Dressage was excellent and his Show Jumping performances absolutely spot on. But it was over Cross Country where he really stepped up: he answered all of the questions asked of him. He’s obviously still quite new to eventing but gets better with each outing and has such a great attitude about his work. I'm looking forward to moving him up to Novice level in a couple of weeks!”



Another of Tweseldown’s BE100 sections featured one of Chailey Stud’s newest and youngest horses, Lobo, but the five-year-old hinted that he might also be one for the future after producing an accomplished performance on his BE debut.



Indeed, a Dressage score of just 22.5 and clear Show Jumping round helped him carry a healthy advantage into the Cross Country. And although he produced a flawless performance, Liz’s decision to take it steady on their first run together resulted in a few time faults.



“Lobo was leading ahead of the final phase but I chose not to push him too hard on Cross Country as we are a new partnership and I wanted to get to know him and give him a confident run,” she confirmed. “But considering he’s fairly inexperienced I was still very happy with his overall performance. He hadn’t been with us for long before the event and I was thrilled to discover what a cool little horse he is! I think this one could have a big future!”



There was another opportunity to impress just seven days later with a Five-Year-Old outing at Eridge. A rail down in the Show Jumping ensured Lobo was unlikely to challenge the leaders over Cross Country, but the subsequent under-time and error-free round was just what Liz had been hoping for en route to eighth.



A week on from finishing fifth at Brightling Park, Ozzy went one better in his Tweseldown Novice section by finishing fourth over a very challenging course that caused problems for much of the field.



Having maintained their slender Dressage lead with a faultless Show Jumping round, Liz gave the inexperienced young mount a confident run around the Cross Country course. And in spite of a few time faults that resulted from his inexperience, she was thrilled with how well he answered the questions.



Back at Eridge, Swift enjoyed a first competitive run for some time by netting fifth in his Novice section. Having initially posted the joint-third best Dressage score and then gone double clear in Show Jumping and Cross Country, Liz chose not to push him particularly hard over the latter, instead focusing on an accurate round while managing his enthusiasm. The resulting handful of time faults ultimately dropped them two places in the final classification.



Swift has another opportunity to impress when Liz takes three horses to Aston-le-Walls. He’s joined by Ozzy in the Novice competition while Blackie, fresh from his recent CIC2* victory at Brightling, takes on the Advanced.



Keep up with Liz by following her on Twitter – @lizhalliday – or on either her personal or Chailey Stud Facebook pages.