Last weekend, at the Haras du Pin, French driver Tony Ecalle won the CAI3* in the “One-horse driving” category with Kensington. This international driving event, also supporting the French championship, allowed him to win his second French champion title in this category. A title that does not make him forget his number one goal: the world championships.
Congratulations on your title of French single-horse harness champion. In what frame of mind were you approaching this competition?
To be completely honest, I arrived at the Haras du Pin without even thinking about the French championship. In my head, I was only thinking about the international dimension of the competition and I didn’t expect to get such a good result. This year, since the world championships in my category are held in September, at the Haras du Pin too, the French championships are held earlier in the year. As I built my season with the World Championships as my number one goal, I kind of ignored this French championship. But obviously, I’m very happy with the result.
“The weather conditions made the ground quite slippery”
You came fifth after the first event, the dressage. Were you satisfied with your performance when you left the arena?
I had mixed feelings. My horse is young and still lacks experience, he has done less than ten internationals in his entire career, but I had mistakes that I shouldn’t have, including one at the walk that particularly displeased me.
The marathon was held in weather conditions that could be described as capricious. Was this disturbing for you and your horse?
I would say that, despite the rain, we ran in good conditions. The two previous days, it was very hot but on the Saturday of the marathon, it was around 19°C. This is ideal for the horses and it doesn’t impact their physique too much. We all know that the Haras du Pin terrain is demanding so running the marathon in 19°C is a very good thing. As for my event, we had rain for 20 or 25 minutes at the end of the event. It caused a bit of chaos and made the ground quite slippery, but the conditions were the same for all the best pairs in the event because we are starting in the opposite direction of the provisional ranking.
“Kensington gives everything he can, sometimes even too much”
Could your horse be upset by such conditions?
No, it has no impact on him. I am lucky to have a horse that is fantastic. Without him, I would not be doing what I am doing now. You can always say that it is the driver who does the work, but if you do not have a good horse, you cannot achieve the results I am achieving at the moment. When he is in the carriage, he gives everything he can, sometimes even a little too much.
Is he one of those horses who sometimes flirt with overbidding?
Yes, he will want to give himself and go a little faster at the gallop when he shouldn’t, he will want to go into a gate that is not for him, take initiatives on his own because he wants to go there and do well. It is not always easy to lead horses like that because you have to be very vigilant about everything.
Tell us about your horse: who is he, where does he come from and what are his qualities?
Kensington, known as Kenny to his friends, is a 9-year-old KPWN from the Netherlands. I have been working with a Dutch friend since 2011. He is the one who finds all my horses for me. As for Kenny, he has many qualities. He is exceptional, kind, demonstrative… He always wants to do well and he is very cool. When he is not in the harness car, when I take him to the paddock or elsewhere, he is more than basic. Sometimes I even call him Bob Marley because he is so cool (laughs). He is not emotional at all and remains the same absolutely everywhere, which is great. We still have to improve on the quality of his gathering. On the physical construction, he is neither late nor early, I think he is in a normal progression.
“I worked a lot on handling”
With Kenny, you took the lead of the competition at the very end of the contest, on the occasion of the handling from which you emerged without penalty. (the Canadian leader, then in the lead, was given 3 points for a reverse ball, editor’s note). Is this a test you are comfortable with?
I suffered from a shoulder problem that caused complications. I had to learn to steer with one hand. For two seasons, we have been doing federal training courses in Lamotte-Beuvron and I worked a lot on handling. I suffered, I cried sometimes because I couldn’t do it. But I continued to work at home. I did handling almost every day or two.
Last year, I did a competition in Sélestat. I won it but I knocked over three balls, which is way too many. The national coach (Félix-Marie Brasseur, editor’s note) ma dit « Handling is two balls maximum per season “. I can tell you that when he said that, I got back into it very seriously. Before my arm problem, I didn’t have too many difficulties, I was doing very good maneuvers. But I’m managing to get back into the competition. I train a lot for that and fortunately the work is paying off.
“I remain very calm, collected and cool”
What will the rest of your season look like between now and the Haras du Pin World Championships?
Obviously, we will work hard at home. Then, there will be a competition in Chablis (89) and it will be important. It is the only competition we will have before the World Championships. There should be good competition.
Given that you particularly shone at this international, are your expectations for the world championship higher?
No, I remain very calm, collected and cool. The national coach called me on Monday morning to get my feelings. I told him that there was still a lot of work to do and that it was not because we had won a competition that everything was done. Far from it! I even think that, if we look at the statistics of recent years, those who have performed well in competitions before a deadline like the World Championships are not necessarily those who have won them. Obviously, I am very happy to have won this international because I did not expect it at all. But I remain cool and collected, anything can happen during a world championship, both for me and for others.
To view all the results of the CAI3* of the Haras du Pin, click HERE.
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