23 June 2010

Two clear jumping rounds from Peter Charles and Murka’s Pom D’Ami in the fourth leg of the Meydan Nations Cup league in Rotterdam helped Britain to claim second place in the competition. The runner-up spot means that Team GBR retains its second place on the leader board, narrowing the gap between leaders France.

Peter and Murka’s Pom D’Ami were the first to go of the British team and the second combination to tackle the course. They were without fault and set Britain off to a good start with a clean sheet

“The course was plenty big enough and technical and the ring was tight,” said Peter. “Murka’s Pom D’Ami coped very well. Last season was his first in top-level Nations Cup teams. This year he is much stronger, listening to me and always gives me what he has in the tank, which is 110%.”

One time fault apiece for John Whitaker (Peppermill) and David McPherson (Chamberlain Z) meant the British team had a score of two behind the zero-scored Americans going into round two. Scott Brash (Intertoy Z) was the discard scorer having had one fence down.

“Before the second round, we had a discussion as a team and decided keeping the fences up was more important than carrying a time fault,” said Peter.

Again, he and Murka’s Pom D’Ami didn’t touch a fence, but were slightly over the allocated time to finish with one penalty. John jumped clear, while David and Scott each had a fence down. The team finished with a score of seven behind the USA on zero.

The result means that Peter and Murka’s Pom D’Ami still remain one of the very strongest combinations in the series. In the eight rounds they have jumped, they have only touched two fences.

“I have a great support team behind me; the best I’ve had in my life,” said Peter. “That includes [Team Murka founder] Olga White and [my groom] Julie Baker. It makes my job a whole lot easier and means I can concentrate on getting the results.”