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It's that time again... Unbelievably we are at the end of another Pony Club Showjumping Series, and all involved have agreed
that holding it over the summer months rather than the winter ones is a much better idea.
For once we were able to cheer on our riders without freezing to death in the process!
We held the Championship show for 2008 on Friday 26th September, with a full turn out of sixteen riders.
The supporters were out in force, and there was a very jovial atmosphere as our qualifying riders walked the course.
As usual the horses for the Championship were drawn from a hat, and then it was time to warm up for the first class.
There were five finalists in the Novice section, and all of them went through to the jump-off. The twisty course designed by Emma
gave them no trouble, and we quickly moved on to the first round for the Intermediates. Again, the five finalists jumped clear and
into the jump-off. The Open section had six riders who had made it through, and five out of the six went clear. It was going to be down to speed and accuracy to determine who our champions would be.
The jump-off course was relatively straightforward, and it was one of our closest finishes yet with only fractions of a second separating some of the riders.
In the Novice class it was a two horse race between Kate Evans on Pip and Amelia Ward on Tucker. However, it was Amelia who managed to go that extra second faster to become our
Novice Champion for 2008. It has been an especially good year for Amelia as she also became our youngest rider to pass her C test in August!
The Intermediate section had five excellent finalists in it, any one of whom could have won. This year the intermediates had the
faster ponies, and it was a real test of speed for them. Both Joanna Lees (Bruno) and Martha Vernon (Prince)
put up a good fight, but they were pushed into second and third place respectively by the dynamic duo of Alexa Holland and Schuey, who retained
their 2007 title with a blindlingly fast jump-off (the quickest time of the night at 15.01 seconds!).
In the Open section we had six extremely experienced and consistent performers. The horse draw seemed like fate, as everybody got the horse they had been hoping for!
All six riders have worked hard to improve their jumping this year, and they coped well as the fences crept higher and the courses became more difficult.
It was wide open going into the five-horse jump off, and there were plenty of action with a couple of knockdowns and some scarily sharp turns. With
just a three second difference between all five, and a two second difference between the top three, it was always going to be close. In the end Lucy Cobb and Rosie took
third place and Jamie Duffill and Prince were second. As a true testament to the part that a good flatwork grounding plays when it comes to showjumping, it was Claudia Ryan who became our Open Champion.
She and Benny went clear in 15.02 seconds, and her round was accurate and well balanced as well as extremely fast!
Emma had special awards for the most improved riders in each class. These went to Emma Calderbank (Novice), Martha Vernon (Inter) and Harry Vernon (Open). Extra mentions must also go
to Alexa Holland and George Duffill, who were the only two riders to win two out of the four series competitions, and to Lydia Boyle-Chambers who accumulated the most points throughout the series.
Once again, Anna and Emma would like to thank everyone who has helped out over the months. As always, the support of parents and family has been
wonderful, and without it none of the Pony Club competitions would be possible. The course was taken down in record time on the night, and the
atmosphere is always fabulous. The next series will begin in May 2009, so watch this space!
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