SOME spectacular equine acrobatics may have kept eventer Nicola Wilson out of the water at the Equi-Trek Bramham International Horse Trials at the weekend, but it ended her bid for glory on her Yorkshire home turf.

Northallerton-based Wilson, who is nursing a knee injury after a horse fall recently, was in 11th place after the dressage stage of the CCI3* event with her main ride, One Two Many, when disaster struck.

Coming into the second element of one of the water jumps, the 16-year-old bay gelding took off badly and straddled the bush fence, catapulting Wilson backwards onto the horse’s rump.

Amazingly, she managed to get back into the saddle, but retired from the course.

It was the second disappointment for her many fans – earlier she had withdrawn her other ride, Bulana, from the Beta CIC3* after rising from third place after the dressage to first following a faultless showjumping round.

But with the World Equestrian Games in the US coming up in the autumn, Bulana, owned by North Yorkshire businessman James Lambert, is destined next for the four-star Luhmuhlen event, in Germany.

Storm Straker, from Richmond, competing in her first three-star event on her own 16-year-old gelding Well Designed, came up the rankings from 50th after the dressage, adding only 4 showjumping faults and 20 jumping and 13 time penalties in the cross country to finish in 27th place.

Boroughbridge-based James Sommerville finished in 12th place in the CIC3* on Altaskin Jack, adding only 3.2 cross country time penalties to his dressage score.

His second ride, Rapide GII finished in 52nd place.

With a high contingent of top global riders at the event, it was perhaps no surprise that the prizes were internationally distributed, with Julia Krajewski taking first place in the CCI3* for Germany, Andrew Nicholson, for New Zealand second, and Bill Levett for Australia third.

In the British Horse Feeds CCI***u25s, Emily King took first for Great Britain, Thibault Fournier was second for France, and Britains’s Sam Ecroyd third.