Equestrianism: Funnell finds success with Walk on Star

Pippa Funnell continued her remarkable run of success yesterday, when she added a win in the Yorkshire Post Bramham International Horse Trials to those achieved at Badminton and Saumur last month. The latest victory was on Nicolas and Barbara Walkinshaw's impressive nine-year-old Walk on Star, who was clear in both the cross-country and show jumping to finish on his dressage score.

"As a young horse I wasn't sure whether he had any tiger in him, but he had it on the cross-country here," Funnell said. "His show jumping round was one of the best he's done, he seems to have found another gear over the weekend." She finished with a 5.2-point advantage over her regular team-mate, Jeanette Brakewell, who was runner-up on The Busker, with Sara Algotsson of Sweden best of the overseas riders in third place on Robin des Bois.

Zara Phillips, the 20-year-old daughter of Princess Anne, was another to finish on her dressage score when winning the Hartpury College Under-25 contest on Toytown. The nine-year-old chestnut gelding's clear show jumping round was in stark contrast to his performance last year at Windsor, where he lowered five fences. She put the improvement down to "a combination of things" that included help from her father, Captain Mark Phillips.

YORKSHIRE POST BRAMHAM INTERNATIONAL HORSE TRIALS: Final standings: 1 Walk on Star (P Funnell, GB) 44.21 penalties; 2 The Busker (J Brakewell, GB) 49.41; 3 Robin des Bois (S Algotsson, Swe) 50.81; 4 Mallards Treat (A Nicholson, NZ) 51.4; 5 Royal Venture (K Vinoski, US) 54.00; 6 Highland Lad (W Fox-Pitt, GB) 55.41. Hartpury College Under-25: 1 Toytown (Z Phillips) 59.21; 2 Bridgestone (E Chandler) 61.00; 3 Bush Powder (R Smith) 65.80.