Mark Edwards took the Southdown Stakes speed class in emphatic style at the Prenetics Royal International Horse Show today (24 July) on his consistent homebred performer Montreuxs Tale.
Mark and the huge, scopey 11-year-old beat Ireland’s Anthony Condon on Zira VH Kapelhof Z into second place, making nothing of Ben Townley’s track that had caused issues in a number of places throughout the class.
“He loves these big grass rings and it’s a joy to get him here, and out winning again,” he said.
“It’s always a joy to come to Hickstead, and to win in the international ring makes it even more special.”
Mark and Montreuxs are in the lead in the international stairway series with two legs to go, at the Royal Lancashire (30 July-1 August) and the British Showjumping national championships (3-10 August).
“He’s very scopey; as a five- and six-year-old, he was always very weak in his body so we took our time with him and he came into his own as a seven-year-old, qualifying for the newcomers, Foxhunter and talent seekers finals,” Mark said. “He’s 17.2hh but really soft and easy to ride — anyone can ride him at home — and the big rings suit him.
“He’s such a big-striding horse so you keep on that forward stride and he covers the ground and you can always trust him to jump; for a big horse, he’s very careful.”
Mark is jumping Montreuxs’ 15-year-old sire Tinkers Tale in this afternoon’s CSI2* class, and has high hopes for Montreuxs himself in tomorrow’s feature class, the CSI2* Science Supplements BHS Queen Elizabeth II Cup.
“I should have won it two years ago but I had the last jump-off fence down; it was rider error!” he said. “But that’s the sort of class that really suits him.”
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