London and South East Championships at Ardingly. 16th of October 2010.
By Jessica Gill
Your news
22 October 2010 09:11
Pinnerwood and District Riding club took four teams forward to the L&SE Championships this month.
Our show jumping team started the day off, with three out of four riders starting. Sadly, Joules Wickstead and Buddy had to pull out due to a field injury and there wasn’t enough time to find a replacement. First to go was Stephanie Brookfield and Diamond Rolex, who completed a stylish and speedy clear in the first round, leading to a double clear in the second and a final 5thplace. Lisa Bluett and Byron, at their first external show; alongside KP and her youngster Rufus, also performed two commendable rounds.
At the opposite end of the show ground the Riding Test team were putting in some great performances. Pippa Sharpe with Crackers (Kelray Crackerjack) and Jessica Gill with Lord Darcy produced good quality, (if speedy) tests. After a hair raising warm up, Helen Francis and Action Z produced a skilful test coming tenth with 63.3%. Sarah Bird and Bob (Cilsane Bob) exhibited real class with a fantastic 69.5% and a 5th place rosette. The combination produced a stunning test, challenging almost 80 competitors in the class. Sarah, who was suffering from whiplash at the time said, ‘I was so thrilled to be placed 5th as it was the first time he's ever competed on grass. It is the biggest competition he has been to. He was his usual cool headed self and after having a good look around and a couple of feel good bucks, he got to the job at hand. It was also a personal achievement for me as I have never managed to remember a dressage test but this weekend managed two!’
Sarah also competed in the pure dressage class and gained an impressive 64.2%. Lisa Bluett with Byron and Jessica Gill with Lord Darcy also competed in the Prelim for the Pinnerwood team. Helen Francis with Action Z finished off the day, very last to go in the dressage. Helen produced a beautiful test and gained a somewhat unwarranted 60.0%, with some rather odd comments on her score sheet.
Pinnerwood also sent out a full Horse Trails team on the day. However, it didn’t help our chances when, after a predominantly sunny day, the heavens opened just as our girls took to the cross country course! There were a few tumbles and one piece of (mis) judgement at the steps, where hesitation was wrongly seen as a refusal. However, there were no injuries to horse or rider and everyone enjoyed themselves.
Chef d’Equipe, Trish Baker said ‘We had a mixed bag results wise, but for a little club with some young and inexperienced horses, we certainly gave a good account of ourselves. It was lovely to see Pinnerwood field a team in every category, and some of the performances bode extremely well for future competitions.’
Results
Showjumping- Lisa Bluett and Byron, KP and Rufus, Stephanie Brookfield and Diamond Rolex-5th place
Riding Test- Sarah Bird and Bob-69.50%, Helen Francis and Action Z-63.3%, Pippa Sharpe and Crackers-57.6%, Jessica Gill-Darcy-58.60%
Prelim/ Pure Dressage- Sarah Bird and Bob-64.2%, Helen Francis and Action Z-60.0%, Jessica Gill-Darcy-60.8%, Lisa Bluett and Byron-55.0%
Horse Trials- Zoe Jones and Rosie, Helen Francis and Lizzie, Victoria Heywood and Rosecourt Lady, Pippa Sharpe and Crackers.