Area Novice SJ Qualifier

Well probably not the coldest day of winter for once but rather wet instead! Chiltern had 2 teams at the SJ - Seniors Julie Middleton on Hero, Sam Allen on Legend, Tracy Patient on Freeway and Charlotte Deacon on Secret Juniors Emma Durcan on Wuzi, Annaliese Tunrbull on George, Rhiannon Honey on Cruise and Allice Thatcher on Cinnamon.

A huge number of teams entered meant a long wait between rounds but riders and horses seemed to cope well and with some good jumping over the bigger second round that sorted out a lot of clears in the first round, the Juniors finished 2nd and the Seniors just outside of the placings.

Liaison Trophy 17th April

The Liaison Trophy runs as a competition for clubs in Area 6 allowing less experienced combinations a chance to take part in team events. This year we had 2 teams entered in dressage and SJ and one in the XC. Lots of young horses and new combinations competing for the club making the most of this opportunity. The dressage teams were Becky Janes on Milo, Helen Keen on Quigley, Roz Gibbs on Storm, Charlotte Eley on Charlie and Isla Gilmour on Epic. With first tests for some and first out on grass for others a very good effort saw Charlotte in 6th place, Isla in 8th and Becky in 9th with a team placing of 8th. Showjumping over 2'3 and 2'6 were Akeila Lynam on Buzz, Liz Ruffler, Helen, Becky, Julie Middleton on Jessie, Sam Allen on Woody, Roz, Alice Thatcher on Cinnamon. Superb double clears from Akeila (8th ind) and Becky with only the odd pole from the others left team 3rd. On to the XC and a long course meant there was a short timed section allowing the riders to then go at their own pace around the rest. Unfortunately Charlie and Epic decided they didn't fancy getting their feet wet but as the water was towards the end they had built up some confidence over the other fences on the way round. Alice and Julie both jumped round clear just seconds too fast for individual honours. All in all a glorious sunny day - yes the team manager did get sun burnt! - and everyone I hope went home pleased with their performances which were all a credit to club and riders.

Helen and Becky waiting to SJ

Area Horse Trials teams

We had a senior novice team competing at the Area Horse Trials at Snowball Farm on 28th May. A chilly day but fortunately dry though that had been the case for some weeks and the ground was firm but Snowball had done a good job trying to prepare it. First up was Julie Middleton riding Hero (thanks to Rupert) who started their day with a tidy test which scored 37. Following this up with a double clear in the time pulled them right up the leaderboard to 4th place. Next up was Amy Thrower riding Boris who unfortunately took exception to the 2nd SJ and Amy had a close encounter with the wing leading to a check up at A&E. Fortunately all was OK. Charlotte Eley started the day well with dressage and SJ but the course was a step too far for inexperienced Charlie so they finished their day there. Charlotte Deacon and Secret put up another great performance for the club with 33 Dr but an unfortunate couple of poles and clear XC left them just out of the placings.

Area Dressage

Chiltern ran the Area Dressage at Hambledon Estate on 19th June, so was a busy day for all the club. Competing we had 2 teams in the L&SE dressage, 1 Area Novice and Open team and a junior team. Congratulations to the L&SE blue team of Jo Munitng, Colin Hawkins, Akeila Lynam and Tracy Patient who were 3rd and have qualified for the L&SE championships on 25th Sept at Mattingly near Hook.  Akeila was 3rd and Tracy was =5th  in this class individually.  Tracy was also 8th in the Area Novice.  Our junior team of Emma Durcan, Brittany Pearce, Akeila Lynam and Annaliese Turnbull were a very close 2nd.  Emma unfortunately found out the hard way how strict the RC flu rules are – particularly hard when she’d ridden a super test.  Brittany was 2nd in the prelim with Akeila 3rd and Annaliese 4th in the novice.  Charlotte was 7th in her novice test in the Area Open team.

Area SJ

We had a great turnout for the club at the Area SJ with a team in the L&SE, 2 seniors in the Area Intermediate and a Junior Team in the Area Intermediate. Special mention has to go to Brittany Pearce and Malcolm who not only won the Junior intermediate but jumped one of only 2 double clears in the senior and junior intermediate. Annaliese wasn’t far behind with just one unlucky fence. Alice jumped a great first round but Cinnamon decided the second round on hard ground was a bit too far.   Julie and Hero were slightly arm twisted into having a go at the intermediate which I was very grateful for and stepped up to the mark with a great clear in the second round.  Charlotte and Secret were looking to do the same just to have an unlucky stride to the last double but still 2 good rounds with a course that was causing carnage!  Becky and Helen had made the step up from Liaison in the spring and Milo just had one unlucky pole in the second round.  Quigley showed his naughtier side but with a bit more filler practice they both showed they are more than capable round those courses.  Freeway was his usual reliable Team Chiltern SJ pony with Tracy. Akeila and Buzz jumped a lovely first round but unfortunately was unwell so had to miss the second round.

Hickstead Teams of 3 SJ
After a long trip and one ‘incident’ (Tracy falling off!) on Saturday, a night in the lorry and not a lot of sleep, it was an early start to Sunday for most of the girls. Hannah joined the team on Sunday afternoon due to her later time.
The class was well represented by riding clubs from all over the UK – 102 were entered with 97 competing on the day.
The competition ran in 3 rounds, 85cms, 95cms and 105cms over the same course. The course was fair and quite straight forward but had a couple of related distances and undulating ground that caught a few people out.
Julie was second to go at 8am on Jessie, her 6 year old mare she has owned for less than a year.  She did not put a foot wrong and jumped an impeccable round albeit on very slippery ground. The ‘big party’ atmosphere was a little overwhelming for Isla’s Epic, so sadly they were out after a couple of very promising and scopey jumps. Tracy was in midmorning as a stand in on Limerick who has just come back from a year off through injury and although the distances were short for him, they went clear. Charlotte was next on her ‘super’ Secret with a speedy clear.
At this stage there were only four teams on 2 clear rounds at the end of the second phase. 
Last in for Chiltern Blue was Hannah on her mare Mary, who flew round as if it were 5cms! Having had a year off to go to Uni, this really was quite an achievement. Unfortunately due to a freak accident at home, Annaliese and George couldn’t make it to Hickstead so it was great that Hannah was able to do her proud.
After a tense wait for the other teams to complete their final rounds, Chiltern Blue suddenly realised they were the fastest of two clear teams – by only 4 seconds! Needless to say, the team were rather weary & surprised, but delighted!
Thank you to all the supporters and helpers that were there on the day, it was great to have people on the ground to make the riders lives a whole lot easier!

Photo by kind permission of www.spidge.co.uk