WHEN former Olympic champion David O’Connor saw Ariel Grald in her red US squad coat ready for the showjumping at the eventing World Championships last September, he said: “You look nice in that, you should wear it a lot.”
Ariel replied: “That’s the plan.”
If the 34-year-old’s result at Pratoni is anything to go by, her plans already seem set to become reality.
Ariel’s 11th place at the worlds with the Irish-bred Leamore Master Plan (Simon) followed four top-15 results at four different five-stars, including Badminton and Burghley, since the pair’s top-level debut at Kentucky 2019. They were among only five pairs who finished on their dressage score at Pratoni.
Simon is Ariel’s first five-star horse and she chose him in Ireland as a youngster. She has produced this big, rangy 14-year-old carefully and learnt how to draw the best from him - including not overdoing his fitness work, which has caused her problems in the past.
“If you ramp him up too early, you’re stuck with a really fit horse almost trying to let the fitness taper off,” she says.
Supported by her loyal backer Annie Eldridge, Ariel has spent
