Horse & Hound
Trending: Clarke Johnstone and Balmoral Sensation
A Tokyo contender who enjoyed top-five finishes at Badminton and Aachen has retired from the sport following injury.
New Zealand rider Clarke Johnstone announced his 17-year-old gelding Balmoral Sensation, known as Ritchie, sustained an injury at the Sydney International Three-Day Event (6-9 May).
“After jumping a fantastic clear cross-country with his ears pricked all the way to the finish flags like he always does, unfortunately it became clear that Balmoral Sensation had picked up an injury and he wouldn’t be continuing in the competition,” said Clarke.
“Sadly this has also ruled us out of Olympic contention for the Tokyo Games.”
Sunday, 13 December 2020, 8:21 am
Clarke Johnstone and Aces High showed their class and
experience by putting in a faultless round and claiming the
lead in the 4 Long format cross country at the Puhinui horse
trials. “It was a very, very good round after number 7. He
was pretty flightly to begin with – strong winds and the
flags – he took a bit of an exception to that but after
fence 7 I gave him a slap on the shoulder and told him to
pull his head in! After that he was completely
focussed.”
When asked whether it was now Aces High
or his Rio mount Balmoral Sensation (Richie) who was top of