Three Aussie Riders finish within Top 10 of 2017 Event Rider Masters

The seventh and final leg of the Event Rider Masters (ERM) was held at Blenheim Castle International Horse Trials over the weekend, placing three of the four Australian riders within the top 10 of the overall series.

Bill Levett and Shannondale Titan placed fifth at the historic English venue, producing a lovely dressage test on 41 penalties, clear show jumping, and 6.4 time penalties cross-country. This secured their final ERM score (shared with fellow Aussie, Shane Rose) in an impressive sixth position, taking home a total of £5,000 in prize money.

Bill Levett: “Nice to finish the ERM series in sixth place. Alfie (Shannondale Titan) did all the legs and did me proud. It's a great addition to the circuit, long may it continue” Levett said.

Shane Rose and Olympic mount, CP Qualified, produced a nail-biting dressage test on the Saturday to score 35.8 penalties in second position. Following a win in the previous leg six, podium hopes for the finale event were high. Rose went on to have some bad luck cross-country, receiving 32 faults and 12 time penalties dropping them down to 21st position.

Shane Rose Eventing on facebook: “Well, not everything went to plan cross country! But that's horses and we will now focus on the next event” Rose said.

Rose’s first European debut well and truly showcased the highs and lows of Eventing. However, the final ERM result placing him in equal sixth position on a total of 58 points and £16,000 prize money is a truly commendable and well-deserved result.

Chris Burton had a fabulous event at Blenheim in third position from start to finish. Graf Liberty, scoreboard leader after the dressage at Badminton, produced another beautiful test finishing on 39.4 penalties. This was then followed by one rail in the dressage and a clear cross country round, one of only two.

Chris Burton: “Isn't it fun - what great competition ERM is, and what a thing for the sport! The cross country caused more trouble than we thought it would - I'm gutted for my mate Shane. I thought we might have another Aussie 1-2 on the podium, which would have been fun but that's the thing about this sport and in ERM the reverse order really does put the pressure on" Burton said.

Burton is ranked 10th in the 2017 ERM series on 54 points, taking home a total of £12,000. The series overlapped with the birth of his first child with wife Rebecca, resulting in participation of two of the seven ERM legs.   

English-based Australian competitor, Catherine Burrell, made her ERM debut at Barbury Horse Trials finishing 19th and receiving two ERM points. We look forward to seeing the progression of Burrell and 3* mount, Duke, across the seasons to come.

Britain’s Izzy Taylor led the final ERM leg at Blenheim Castle from start to finish. She secured her first ERM podium finish, followed by Tim Price (NZ) on Ascona M in second.

Britain’s Gemma Tattersall was crowned the 2017 Event Rider Masters Champion producing another competitive performance at Blenheim Castle finishing fourth on Chico Bella P. Gemma Tattersall made history at Leg 1 by becoming the first female rider to win a leg. Then, at Leg 5, she produced a remarkable cross country performance clocking just 1.2 time penalties, the quickest in the competition to secure her second win.

For more information and to view the series highlights, visit www.eventridermasters.tv/