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The final competition of the Winter showjumping series was held on Friday 23rd November. This was the last chance for riders to collect points to decide
who would go on to the Christmas Championship show, and the competition was fierce!
For the first time it was the Novice section who gave spectators an edge-of-the-seat jump-off. Our younger riders have obviously been watching the older ones closely, and their turns were even more daring than the Open class!
For a change we ran the Open jump-off first. The course was simple, but the turns were everything. The pace was a little slower than usual for these older riders,
as speed had to be sacrificed for accuracy. However, they still managed to clock up some fast times, with Claudia Ryan and Zak in third, Jamie Duffill and Flint in second, and Denielle Gent having her first much-deserved win of the series
on Sadie.
In the Upper Intermediate class it was the turn of another consistant rider to have her first win of the series. This time it was Lucy Cobb who took first place, again partnered by Sadie. The little dark bay excelled herself on the night,
and has now moved on to a lovely new home with Lisa! Second place went to Mike Hodgson and Bruno, who managed to take the blue despite time faults. The yellow rosette went to Harry Vernon and Flint, who also had time faults but rode flat out to make up for them!
The Lower Intermediate class had a much better sense of direction, and also the benefit of watching others round the course. The times in this section were extremely close together for fourth to second place, with Abbie Stockdale-Fisher and Prince coming third
and Flossie Eastwood and Mary second. However, Evie Whitehouse produced a very quick round several seconds faster than her nearest rival to win the class on Fergal and ensuring her place in the Championship as rider with the most points in her section!
However, it was the Novice riders who really showed how much they have improved. The times were tight, the turns were even tighter. Some fences were practically jumped diagonally in the race to first place and those seven points that would make all the
difference in the final placings. Harriet Stennings and Spice took third place, but only a fraction of a second separated Richard Hodgson riding Teddy and Alice Evans on Mary. Both Mary and Teddy were initially seen as unlikely contenders for first place,
but Alice and Richard rode excellently, gaining seconds on every turn. But there can only be one winner, and this time it was Alice and Mary!
A huge well done to all our riders for this year. The following riders will be competing at the Christmas Championships, to be held on Friday 21st December 2007. Make sure you have collected a letter from Anna with all the information in it.
For full results and points tables click here.
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