…Or those of you that want to hear about what went on behind the scenes… Let us fill you in!
Excuse my French…
French Fisherman protesting against EU fishing quotas blockaded three Channel ports on the week of the British Open, almost singlehandedly stranding our foreign competitors in Europe! The International trot-up was due to take place on the Wednesday evening before the start of the show on the Thursday. All horses competing in International classes must attend the trot-up to be applicable to compete. However, a significant number of horses had not yet made it across from France and it was unclear whether they would make it at all. At the eleventh hour the remaining lorries got through the blockade and arrived on site on Thursday morning! A revised trot-up was organised and by a feat of logistics and hard work the late arrivals were able to compete in their afternoon classes! PHEW!
Spotted!
Footballer Paul Ince in the Shopping Pavilion!
Amy Guy and fellow Gladiator friends at the BSJA Ball
Katie Price in Hospitality
Myleene Klass in the Press Office
Lights, Camera, Action!
You never know who you’re going to bump into in the Shopping Pavilion, but you would be forgiven for not expecting to see Myleene Klass and the crew from 10 Years Younger! Channel 4 were on site at the NEC to film the age polls in our very own Shopping Pavilion. Unsuspecting members of the public were put on the spot to guess the contestant’s age whilst browsing the trade stands. Floor Manager Ben Baseley was cornered and asked to give his answer too. Don’t you know never to ask a lady’s age Ben?! This episode of 10 Years Younger will be shown in the autumn so keep an eye out for your friends and family in the background!
Sleepy head
So what do you do if you have been in a horse box for the best part of 48 hours, you are in a foreign country and you are competing against some of the world’s best show jumpers in less than a few hours? Get some sleep? Well you might try but the British Open Press team are hard task masters and when we want someone’s photo for press purposes I am afraid we will not be deterred. Cue the search. Riders are elusive creatures and try as you might to find them in the Rider’s Lounge or with their horses they are usually in some other undisclosed location. Hence in driving rain and wind, we found ourselves trudging the length of the lorry park looking for a rider. After knocking on several doors and stepping over several ramps we located the Belgian Vincent Lambrecht’s lorry. There was a small pause before the door opened and then a very sleepy Vincent appeared, surprised to say the least, to see two strangers brandishing a camera and requesting a picture. We are not sure to this day whether he thought we were officials or stalking fans but he very obligingly put his boots on, rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stood in the rain for us to take his picture!
Testing Testing 123!
CBBC Competition winner Jess had her dream come true at this year’s show when she won the chance to join legendary commentator Mike Tucker in the Commentary box, announcing her favourite rider Joe Whitaker as he entered the International arena for the BEF World Class Development Programme Pathfinder. On show day, Jess had another treat in store by meeting Joe himself! Joe met up with Jess to wish her luck in her debut at commentating… and because Jess had won the CBBC competition that had taken place earlier in the day she was granted VIP access to the International stable block to help Joe get ready for his big class! What a day!
Prior to Jess’s big day CBBC and the team from Sportsround visited Joe and his brothers, Donald and Thomas at their family home in Yorkshire to see their training regime for the show in full swing! The tv crew were treated to watching the boys exercising and jumping their horses and interviewed Joe about his preparation for the show, his top horse and his thoughts about being the next hotly tipped Whitaker! A very cold but good day was had by all and we’re sure these younger Whitakers are going to be just as popular with the media as their famous relatives!
A certain ‘je ne sais quoi’…
For those of you unfamiliar with this unique horseman, Jean François Pignon is to horses what the pied piper was to rats! Except glamorous, infinitely more enchanting and actually real! Watching this man work with the horses in the arena was a sight to behold in itself. You would think that with over 140 horses on site, stabled in a car park at the NEC, a stone’s throw from Birmingham International Airport, you would need to keep your horses under tight control. Not Jean Francois, his happy brood of horses stood when they were asked, moved when they were asked, walked with him and even had their feet washed without once being tied up or having a headcollar on! Everyday Jean François set off for the International Arena to perform his display, accompanied by five very relaxed, immaculately behaved horses ambling next to him for the five minute walk down to the arena entrance, without a headcollar or bridle in sight! Now that is something you don’t see every day…
Champion MIA:
When filming behind the scenes at the British Open, it is really important to interview key contenders for the Championship title and of course the reigning Champion, Robert Whitaker. So Horse and Country TV patiently parked up outside Lacroix’s stable in the International block to seize the perfect opportunity to interview Robert on Thursday morning. However, Robert was MIA somewhere on the enormous NEC site and not even his long term groom Russ had any idea as to his whereabouts! So like a seasoned media professional, Russ gave a lovely interview to the presenter discussing Robert’s horses and what it was like being a top groom at such a prestigious event.
Rest assured when H&C TV did eventually track Robert down later in the day he was taken hostage by the film crew and gave his thoughts and feelings on this year’s Championship!
‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances….’ 
Markus Fuchs is one of the greatest and most respected show jumpers of this generation and at the age of 54yrs is hanging up his spurs at the end of the year. The British Open was to be Markus’ last show in the UK and therefore the last opportunity to see this legend in action. Markus has an impressive CV by anyone’s standards; World Champion in 2001, representing Switzerland at every Olympic Games since 1988, ridden in 142 Nations Cups and competed in every European Championship since 1987. Well we couldn’t just let him leave quietly out the back door! Markus has been one of the biggest supporters of the show since its conception so we felt it only right to mark the occasion with a beautiful framed print by Terry Kirkwood, presented to him in the International Arena in front of all his British fans. Markus’ skill and knowledge of the sport will be greatly missed so we wish him all the best for his last year in competitive show jumping.
Both Glamour Girls go lame!
Luck was down in the Katie Price camp when Jordan’s Glamour Girl had to be withdrawn from the Dressage Pas de Deux due to a small injury. The lovely black mare was due to partner Andrew Gould and perform alongside Daniel Timson and Feinthyme in the Dressage to Music routine choreographed exclusively for the British Open. At such a late stage, no replacement was found but Daniel Timson and Feinthyme stepped up to the challenge and pulled off a beautiful solo routine to the delight of the audience.
It was then poor Katie Price’s turn to be sidelined. Due to commence battle in the Celebrity Arena Polo Match against Gladiator Siren, Amy Guy. Katie was forced to pull out after sustaining a knee injury whilst training for the London Marathon. Keen to show her support she cheered on her team, signed autographs and presented the prizes at the end. Fingers crossed this equestrian duo recover tout de suite and continue to take the equestrian world by storm.
