Bates bags first big win

A first-time international winner takes the feature class, while Jem Rose hits new heights

- ELLIE HUGHES

Nunney, Somerset

HELEN BATES admitted that she is no speed queen, yet the 25-year-old full-time eventer pushed the pedal to the metal to win the CCI3*-S with her own Carpe Diem V.

It was a resounding victory for the pair, who finished on their first-phase score of 28 – some eight marks ahead of Daisy Berkeley and Ballinteskin Cooper S.

“I wasn’t expecting to be leading after the dressage, so I felt I had to get out there and give it a good crack,” said Helen, who runs her own yard near Cirencester and has six horses to compete.

“He felt class. It’s been a long game with him. In the beginning I struggled to get him around an indoor school because he was so spooky, then he injured himself as an eight-year-old and needed some time off, but now it feels like everything is finally coming together.”

Helen credits her trainers, Rebecca Howard and Kevin McNab, for helping her devise a training plan that allows her to get the best out of her 11-year-old Contendro I gelding.

“He has quite an unorthodox jump, so although I don’t tend to jump him much at home Kevin makes sure that every session I do is as productive as possible by devising exercises that help his technique,” she explained.

Lucinda Mesquita and Jem Rose’s confidence-boosting run in the open intermediate (OI) led to a win.