ABBOT'S Moreton rider Carolyne Ryan-Bell was just one hiccup away from a top place at the Blenheim Petplan International three- day event in Oxfordshire, after a great performance in the opening dressage phase.

Carolyne was competing in a top class field that included Olympic medallists and riders from more than 10 nations, on both the 16hh ex-racehorse Admiral Bruny and the ten- year-old chestnut Peggy's Boy.

Admiral Bruny had been a last minute entry, just days before the event started but he made an outstanding start in the dressage phase, where he lay in 14th place on a score that would have proved good enough to win the event.

"Admiral Bruny went fantastically - lots of the other riders came up to me and said it was a lovely test," said Carolyne. "He hasn't had many runs and had competed in just three advanced events before Blenheim, so this was quite a step up."

The pair began well cross country, over a testing 27 fence course that included two water crossings. Carolyne admitted that Admiral Bruny got "stronger and stronger" as the round went on, when they approached the tricky oxer and two corners combination at fence 18. "My horse was getting more and more pingy and he flew over the oxer element leading to the first corner and landed in a heap at the bottom," Carol-yne explained.

"He carried on but in my efforts to get him right for the last part I crossed my tracks and that meant we picked up 20 penalties under the rules. He jumped the second corner well and at the time I didn't even realise what I'd done."

The 20 penalties, and subsequent time penalties, meant Carolyne slipped down the order and, after fences fell in the final show-jumping phase, they finished just outside the top 50.

Carolyne's other ride Peg-gy's Boy had two stops cross country, running past a narrow brush fence in overeager style.

Carolyne then felt she had him 'too collected' coming into the Dew Pond water fence, where her over cautious approach led to the second stop. "It was a super weekend though - I now know both horses are capable of a big track and both finished sound and well, which is great," she added.

Carolyne will be taking a novice ride to the Gatcombe event in Gloucestershire this weekend, which includes an international one day event. This is the 15.3hh bay Oscar Bravo, who has just two British Eventing points at the moment and so is 'on the bottom rung of the ladder.'

Blenheim was won by Lucin-da Fredericks, who rides for Australia and pulled up from 13th after dressage riding Headley Britannia. The show-jumping course, which included a wide water tray with a triple bar, proved influential and overnight cross-country leader Jessica Irvine-Brown dropped right out of contention with 21 penalties.