Bertram Allen (equestrian)

Bertram Allen (born 1 August 1995) is an Irish show jumping rider.[1] Originally from Wexford, he has won international medals at the pony, junior, and senior level. He won the opening round of the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Normandy at age 19, receiving international recognition.[2] Allen is the youngest winner of a Grand Prix on the Longines Global Champions Tour, and was a team gold medalist at the 2017 European Championship in Gothenburg.[3]

Bertram Allen
Allen on the podium after winning the Dublin Grand Prix
Personal information
Born (1995-08-01) August 1, 1995 (age 29)
Websitehttp://www.bertram-allen.com/
Sport
SportShow jumping
TeamValkenswaard United
Medal record
Equestrian
Representing  Ireland
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Gothenburg Team jumping

He runs his Ballywalter Stables in Hünxe with his sister, April, who manages the operation. Allen has been based in Germany since 2011.[4]

Early life and career

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Allen and Izzy by Picobello in 2015

Allen and his six siblings grew up with a strong equestrian influence, since their father owned and developed racehorses. Allen began riding at a local stable, and soon began competing. He then trained with Mag and Con Power; the helped him join Billy Twomey, who has influenced Allen's career.[4]

He had successfully competed on ponies, winning every championship at the Dublin Horse Show and individual gold and team silver medals at the European Championships on Bishop Burton in the pony jumper classes in 2010. Allen competed on horses as a juniors, winning a team gold medal with Wild Thing L in 2012 and an individual silver medal with Molly Malone V in 2013.[5] Twomey found Allen's early horses, Romanov, Molly Malone V and Wild Thing L, on whom he was successful.[4]

At age 15, Allen moved to Hünxe. He rode his first senior competitions at age 17, where he jumped a double clear round in his first Nations Cup.[6] Allen was introduced to Marcus Ehning (whose stable is 20 minutes away from Allen's) around this time, and Ehning became Allen's trainer.[7]

Professional career

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Allen was successful early on the senior international level. At age 18 he won the opening speed round of the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Normandy, finishing seventh overall.[citation needed] Allen finished third overall at the World Cup Jumping Finals in Las Vegas; both were on Molly Malone V.[5] He won the 2014 Dublin Grand Prix on Molly Malone V, and was a member of the Irish Nations Cup team at Dublin (on Romanov) which won the Aga Khan Trophy.[8] Allen is also the youngest rider to win a 5* Grand Prix on the Global Champions Tour, in Paris in 2015.[3][2]

Allen was not chosen for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.[5][9] At the 2015 London International Horse Show, Allen was disqualified due to the "blood rule" when he drew blood from excessive use of spurs.[10]

 
Allen and Romanov in Geneva in 2013

He was on the gold medal-winning Irish team at the 2017 European Championships with Hector van d'Abdijhoeve, despite a fall during the competition.[11] Allen won the 5* Grand Prix in St. Gallen on Hector van d'Abdijhoeve, in addition to 5* wins in Doha, Mexico City, Hamburg, Helsinki, Olympia London Olympia and at the Dutch Masters.[5] In 2018, he rode for the Global Champions League team Valkenswaard United, placing second in the league playoffs.[12] Allen purchased Harley vd Bisschop (a stallion formerly ridden by Nicola Philippaerts) in October of that year, selling Hector van d'Abdijhoeve ro Denis Lynch in January 2019.[13][14] He and GK Caspar won the World Cup Qualifier at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, and had several wins in 2020 before the season was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[citation needed]

In 2024, he was selected as Ireland's travelling reserve for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. A week before the games, Allen had to rescind his place after his mount, Pacino Amiro sustained a minor injury.[15]

Major results

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Year Place Horse Event Rating Show Location
2020 1 GK Casper WEF Challenge Cup CSI4* Winter Equestrian Festival Wellington, Florida
2019 1 GK Casper Toronto World Cup Qualifier CSI4*-W The Royal Toronto
2019 1 GK Casper 1.55m Speed CSI5* LGCT Doha Doha, Qatar
2018 1 Harley vd Bisschop GCL Playoffs CSI5* LGCT Prague Prague
2018 1 Gin Chin van het Lindenhof Longines Trophy Grand Prix CSI4* Jumping Indoor Maastricht Maastricht
2018 2 Molly Malone V LGCT Grand Prix of Paris CSI5* LGCT Paris Paris
2018 3 Hector van d'Abdijhoeve Rolex Grand Prix of Rome CSI5* Rome Piazza di Siena Rome
2017 1 Gin Chin van het Lindenhof Christmas Tree Stakes 1.55m CSI5*-W London Olympia London
2017 1 Gin Chin van het Lindenhof Sweden Grand Prix CSI4* Sweden International Horse Show Stockholm
2017 Gold Hector van d'Abdijhoeve European Championships CH-EU European Championships Gothenburg
2017 1 Izzy by Picobello Anglesea Serpentine Stakes 1.55m CSIO5* Dublin Horse Show Dublin
2016 1 Molly Malone V Sweden Grand Prix CSI4* Sweden International Horse Show Stockholm
2015 3 Molly Malone V FEI World Cup Jumping Finals WC World Cup Finals Las Vegas
2015 1 Romanov Bordeaux World Cup Qualifier CSI5*-W Jumping International of Bordeaux Bordeaux
2015 1 Romanov LGCT Grand Prix of Paris CSI5* LGCT Paris Paris
2015 1 Molly Malone V Grand Prix of Dinard CSI5* Dinard Dinard
2014 7 Molly Malone V World Equestrian Games - Individual WEG World Equestrian Games Normandy

References

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  1. ^ "Bertram Allen". fei.org. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  2. ^ a b Walsh, Dan. "Bertram Allen announces Molly's retirement | WexfordToday.com". Wexford Today. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Bertram Allen - LONGINES GLOBAL CHAMPIONS TOUR". www.globalchampionstour.com. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  4. ^ a b c AS, Norgesdesign AS / AMC Media Production. "ABOUT - Bertram Allen". www.bertram-allen.com. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d "FEI Database - Bertram Allen". Archived from the original on 30 October 2013.
  6. ^ "Worls Class Portrait: Bertram Allen". Equilife World. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  7. ^ "Rider profile: Bertram Allen". HQ Magazine. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  8. ^ "'I knew who was making the decision so it wasn't any big surprise to me' - Bertram Allen on Olympics omission". independent. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  9. ^ Jackson, Lorraine (8 June 2016). "Meanwhile in Ireland, Bertram Allen Won't Compete at these Olympics". Jumper Nation. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  10. ^ Breunlich, Bettina (22 December 2015). "Kurioser Grand Prix Sieg für Michael Whitaker nach Disqualifikation von Bertram Allen". Equestrian Worldwide | Pferdesport weltweit | EQWO.net (in German). Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  11. ^ Contributor (26 August 2017). "Long time coming: Ireland leaps to European jumping champs victory". Horsetalk.co.nz. Retrieved 15 June 2020. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  12. ^ "Results of Bertram Allen - GCL". www.globalchampionsleague.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  13. ^ "H&M Haeley V/D Bisschop and Nicola's Ways Part ..." Equnews International. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  14. ^ Showjumping, www worldofshowjumping com, World of. "Bertram Allen's Hector van d'Abdijhoeve to Denis Lynch | World of Showjumping". www.worldofshowjumping.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ "Bertram Allen misses out on 2024 Olympics as Pacino Amiro sustains minor injury". World of Showjumping. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
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