British Trio Have the Edge after Dressage at Badminton

Ruth Edge (GBR) on Two Thyme takes the lead on Day 2 of Dressage at Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials 2011 – first leg of the HSBC FEI Classics 2011 © Kit Houghton/FEI

Lausanne (SUI), 23 April 2011 – A trio of British girls head the leaderboard after the Dressage phase at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials (GBR), the first leg of the HSBC FEI Classics 2011.

Ruth Edge (GBR), in pole position with the excellent score of 33.3 penalties on the 17-year-old Two Thyme, winner at Luhmühlen in 2007, is no stranger to the limelight in this phase – indeed, she regularly wins national titles in this discipline.

“There’s always a lot of pressure on me here and I’m anxious not to let anyone down because it’s a lot of work to get this horse here,’ she said. “But he was awesome today and belied his age. As he’s older, I hadn’t done much work with him this week and, as a result, he felt physically fresh.”

Piggy French (GBR), second, had the distinction of scoring the only 10 of the competition, awarded by Ground Jury President Anne-Mette Binder (DEN) for her halt on Jakata, and it was greeted by a deafening roar of approval from the packed stands.

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Tags: Badminton Horse Trials, cross country, dressage, equestrian competitions, equestrian disciplines, Eventing, FEI, HSBC FEI Classics, Laura Collett, Piggy French, Ruth Edge, Show Jumping

Belgium and Britain Share Dressage Honours on Pau

Joint leader Ruth Edge at Pau

Pau, 5 November – Two of the world’s best exponents of the Dressage phase are sharing the lead at Les Etoiles de Pau (FRA), the eagerly awaited finale to the 2010 HSBC FEI Classics.

Karin Donckers (BEL), who only just missed an individual medal at the recent Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, was the first of the field of 38 to score below 50, and about an hour later there were no surprises when Britain’s Ruth Edge equalled her score of 41.8 penalties.

Their two horses have contrasting experience: Donckers’s Lamicell Charizard, who she bought as a two-year-old from racing sales in Germany, is now 10 and contesting his first CCI4; Edge’s 17-year-old Two Thyme won Luhmühlen in 2007 and led the Dressage at Burghley this year before a Cross-Country refusal put paid to their chances.

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Tags: dressage, equestrian competitions, equestrian disciplines, FEI, HSBC FEI Classics, Karin Donckers, Ruth Edge

Edge Has the Upper Hand after Dressage at Burghley

Ruth Edge (GBR) and Two Thyme head the leaderboard after the Dressage phase at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials, the fourth leg of the HSBC FEI Classics. (Photo: Kit Houghton/FEI)

3 September 2010 – Ruth Edge (GBR) and the 17-year-old Two Thyme lead the clutch of superbly executed Dressage tests which brought the first phase of the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials (GBR), the fourth leg of the HSBC FEI Classics, to a close today.

However, Edge, a renowned exponent of this phase, has just 0.4 of a penalty in hand over New Zealander Caroline Powell, who scored a career best on another 17-year-old, the evergreen Lenamore, and defending champions Oliver Townend and Carousel Quest, who produced the only other sub-40 penalty test, are a further 0.5 of a penalty behind in third.

Two Thyme is only competed sparingly these days – his last Cross-Country run was in June – but Edge has prepared him specifically for his first crack at the Land Rover Trophy.

“He always tries so hard,” said Edge, whose previous best placing at Burghley was 17th on Marsh Mayfly in 2006. “He’s on great form and feels really up for it.”

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Tags: dressage, equestrian competitions, equestrian disciplines, FEI, HSBC FEI Classics, Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials, Ruth Edge