AT the end of the first day at The Festival of British Eventing, Gatcombe Park – presented by British Equestrian Trade Association, British team rider William Fox-Pitt has got off to a flying start heading the leader board, after the dressage phase, in both Advanced sections.

In section A William is leading the 37-strong class with Seacookie (27.5pen) who is entered for The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials next month. William has a slight lead of one penalty over Andrew Nicholson and Calico (28.6).

William heads Section B with Cool Mountain 30.0 – his team horse for the forthcoming World Equestrian Games in Kentucky at the end of September. Andrew Nicholson is again in second place on Quimbo (31.3) ahead of Australian Sam Griffiths and Danaan Prince (32.9). Show jumping and cross-country for these two sections takes place tomorrow morning (Saturday).

Dressage started in both The Smith & Williamson Intermediate Championship and The Dodson & Horrell Novice Championship and at the halfway stage Ruth Edge is leading the intermediate championship with the Dutch-bred Applejack (26.9) a recent winner of the two-star at Barbury. Ruth has a four penalty lead over Cotswold based Australian Bill Levett and One Two Many NJ (30.7).

Lucinda Fredericks currently heads the novice championship with Flying Finish (27.9) just 0.1 penalty ahead of William Fox-Pitt and Fernhill Highlight.

The Vale of the White Horse Pony Club (VWH) won the BETA Pony Club Inter-Branch Team jumping competition ahead of the Cotswold after a jump off between two riders from each club. Twenty four teams started the popular two-round competition.

In the Burghley Dubarry Young Event Horse qualifiers Helen Wilson and Billy Pastime – another bred at the Billy Stud in Surrey and by William Funnell’s show jumping stallion Billy Congo – won the four-year-old class and Antoinette Mckeowen and ‘A’ a chestnut gelding by leading dressage sire Jazz, won the five-year-old class.