Our Mini team of Prep School riders (Izzy Graham-Watson, Bryony Pearson, Hattie Allison and Ailsa Wates) started the day off in fine style by finishing in second place and securing their place at the finals, with a sixth place individually for Hattie Allison.

 

The Novice ‘B’ team went one better when Izzy and Hattie were joined by Indi Thompson and Lizzie Wait and, in winning their competition, left no-one in any doubt about their intentions at the finals. Hattie was again our highest placed individual, finishing in fourth place, with Indi finishing fifth out of the 75 riders in the class.

 

One of our Intermediate teams had already secured a qualification at St Leonards-Mayfield earlier in September and were unlucky to miss out on a second one here, finally finishing in sixth place with a the team of Imogen Way, Georgina Ambrose, Chloe Allison and Lizzie Wait.

 

In the final competition of the day our Open team of Josie and Lizzie Wait, Phoebe Roberts and Imogen Way held off the team from Farlington to snatch their qualifying spot, with Imogen Way finishing in sixth place individually.

 

The competition is not merely a test of who can jump a course of jumps without knocking them down: riders have to jump a phase of show jumps, followed by a timed phase of cross-country jumps where they have to try to get as close to the optimum time as possible. In addition, the whole round is judged on particular points of style before the totals for all the riders are added together. The various competitions at the finals are likely to be extremely close, given that the best teams from around the various regions have qualified, and will, in all probability, be decided by the minutest points of style or tenths of seconds on the cross country phase. All of the riders are extremely excited about the prospect of riding at the finals, however, and they will be hoping to match the successes of teams over the last two years.

 

Christine Allison