**Ros Canter Scoops CCI4* and CCI3* Wins at FEI Land Rover Blair Castle International Horse Trials**

Ros Canter scooped a double win during last weekends Land Rover Blair Castle International Horse Trials, taking the high-quality CCI4*-S class on Michele Saul’s exciting nine-year-old Lordships Graffalo.

Despite cross country course-designer and event director Alec Lochore’s challenging track, Ros – the reigning world champion – led from pillar to post. She added just three seconds’ worth of time-faults in the jumping phases to her dressage mark of 25.2.

He’s an amazing horse”,

said Ros, who is due to represent Britain at the upcoming European Championships in Switzerland.

He just has an ability to gallop really fast, balance very quickly, gallop down a hill like he’s on the flat ground and be really careful when he gets there. It appears at the moment that he can cope with any kind of track.”

Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Image credit Trevor Holt / Kingfisher Media Services

Frenchman Astier Nicolas, who is a regular visitor to Land Rover Blair Castle, achieved the feat of the only cross-country clear inside the time in the CCI4*-S to finish second on Babylon De Gamma, winner of this class in 2019. The pair will aim for a five-star this autumn, either at Maryland in the US or Pau closer to home in France.

I’m in admiration of him – he’s even better than I thought he was. I always knew he was a good jumper, but dressage wasn’t so easy for him, but he’s improved a lot and now he can do dressage too,”

said Astier.

Emily King finished third on Valmy Biats, having risen from sixth after dressage with a showjumping clear and 7.6 cross-country time-faults.

Ros Canter also took a win with her own and Alex Moody’s Izilot DHI in the CCI3*-L section, after withdrawing her overnight leader, Shannondale Nadia. The mare incurred a minor knock during the cross-country course and Ros felt she wasn’t 100% right.